Discussion Impact of Game Players

Discussion Impact of game Players

• Why are computer games so popular?
• Do computer games make you more violent?
• Do computer games make you isolated?
• Do networked computer games make you more or less social?

Unit 1.2: Discussion Pirated Entertainment

Discussion Pirated Entertainment

• What is the advantage of paying a supplier such as Apple for a legal music download?
• What is the disadvantage of buying a pirate DVD from a market stall?
• What is the disadvantage of getting a pirate download of the latest Hollywood blockbuster before its UK release?
• What is the Disadvantage to you of visiting an illicit music download site?
• Does widespread illicit downloading discourage the funding of new talent?

Unit 1.2: Activity 10: Discussion access to orginal entertainment

Discussion access to original entertainment

It has never been easier to publish original entertainment.

It has never been harder to see and hear the original entertainment.

Unit 1.1: Activity 9: Use an Internet Group

Google groups is a advanced search site to find discussions on any sort of subject, the subject that I used Google groups to research was the ‘Digital Divide’. These sites are good for finding different peoples opinions on a subject, this can help the readers to understand the different sides that there could be to one subject, the limitation of this learning method is that it is unorganised, you have no idea what you will find if anything and there is no set format for the text to be in, this can make it harder to understand, also you may not be able to find anything that is even remotely linked to the searched subject.

            I would not personally use this as a way to learn information, as the discussions are mostly not very helpful and the information is not ordered to make sense, you have no really way to see if the information that is portrayed is true or false without having done extra research first. It is up on the web for people to add to the knowledge of others but I feel that it is just a complete waste of time.

Unit 2: 2.2: Activity 2 investigate local government online

What is the major information and who does it supply it to/for?

                The Gosport Council website, www.gosport.gov.uk , provides lots of information on most things like accounts, business rates, building control, community services, democratic services, economic prosperity, housing services, leisure and cultural services, personnel and traffic management, along with many more. The information is supplied for  (young) adults, they are the ones who are more likely to have to take a note of these sorts of things, children would probably not bother with this sort of site, as to them it’s boring and colourless. There are benefits for both the council and the consumer for having this information online, for the council it allows them to keep everyone up to date on all the happenings in the consumer’s area, and for the consumer they can pay some bills (council) online and then not have to worry about going down to the actual council building for enquires. They have a section, within the top (main) tool bar which allows the consumer to pay a number of council concerned bills like council tax, housing rents, debtors and overpaid housing benefits. This is a great way for people to pay them as they can pay by using credit card, which they have a selection of cards you can use, then once you have paid then you don’t have to worry about it until the next bill is due.

                With in the A to Z of services you can select any of them and the one I chose to look at was if I could report a fault with any roads or pavements, and once you have selected the “road and Pathway Maintenance” link you can in fact send in a report about any problems you may of come across. One of the other important things that you should be able to report or complain about does not have a section where you can actually do that and is for dog fouling, a major problem and I feel this should be improved on. You can actually “vote” online, again within the online services but you can download a PDF form and then post in your vote for local council.

                The purpose of the website is to allow people to find out what is happening within their local area, to be able to pay bills online and find out different things about key subjects for them. You can browse though lots of important information at your own pace and send in any problems or queries you may have to the council email and then you can have a response, you can visit extra links all to do with the council and what it can provide, also this is a way to save some money for them as they don’t have to print out lots of newsletters or information packs, just for them to be put in the bin, so this way the people who want the information or help can receive it as and when they need it without wasting paper.

My Proposal: for council services online collaboration.

 I feel that all the council’s services online need to be collaborated, the services will includes the services already listed plus many more, like the fouling section for the keen (dog) walkers, they should included this and have in about within Walpole Park about the swans, as they can cause an issue for people passing by. Some of the subjects can interlink with one or other, like having a main section on animals and wildlife and then being able to list some of the problems or queries that people may have about this subject,. The benefits of this site would be to give a better experience to people looking on the website, they would be able to see/report anything they need to and you can automatically receive the information and be able to put measures in place to stop it or decrease the number of times it happens. The target audience is from about 18 years plus, as they are the people who have the right to vote in national elections so let them voice their opinions on their local area, without having to literally speak to someone, if they don’t want to, they would in turn gain a voice and gain the changes they feel are needed with in the area.  The limitations of this it that to start with it will cost a lot to improve the current site but over time it will have a good return, as you as a council would be saving money focusing on the areas that are reported about the most, instead of doing all the work on things that the public feel are satisfactory already. You also can transform your own living environment.

Unit 2: 2.2: Activity 1- when is there a need for speed?

We as a society have many different uses of the internet and we do prefer to have a quicker higher quality internet access but in all honesty, we only really need those for a select number of things like:

Listening to internet radio

Downloading MP3’s

Downloading Videos

These things need the fast internet connection as it is all for downloading and listening to a live fed. The listening to the internet radio you’d need to be up with the actual broadcast and not lagging behind, you would want to be hearing thing at the right time not five minutes after they have be said. Downloading MP3’s and Videos, you would need a fast and high quality for these as you want it to be a fast download you don’t want to be sat around waiting for days for one song or one video to download just to turn out that its frozen in the middle due to the sudden loss of internet connection.

                Some things we feel we should have a quick connection for but in fact they are okay on a normal speed connection, things like buying the latest CD of your favourite band, buying a basket of goods from an online grocer, creating a travel itinerary for a round the world trip, subscribing to a news service and looking up information on a  driving test, you don’t need the fast connection for these as you could of gone down to the shop or made a phone call to the shop/store about these things, so the internet is not a key part in these though it does make it easier.

Unit 2: Activity 5 Look for uses of ICT manufacturing sector website

Five uses of ICT on http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/ :

1. Capturing and processing data: They present you with options to view all or some information on a certain car and then you can watch a “tour” of some of the cars in the showroom, which the drop up box of being able to see more information on each.

   

   2. Presenting and exchanging information: There is a contact us menu within the top tool bar,

          you can send in enquires and fill out your information for use if you chose to purchase a car.

     

        3.Conducting transactions: You can request a quote, in top tool bar, meaning you pick out your

         car from how you’d want it and then you hand over your details and receive a quote or you could

          maybe buy or rent a car online.

  
   4.Managing customer relations:  Again like with most websites there is a contact us tab, like in

        the sections about Presenting and exchanging information.

     5.Marketing goods and services:  the whole website is based on the selling the different cars and

      presenting them in a way to encourage buyers to actually want to buy them. (see previous

      screenshots)

Unit 2: Activity 4- look for uses of ICT in a public sector website

What do you consider the main purpose of each of the websites is?

The main purpose of the websites is to expand peoples understanding and knowledge of what the army and police do.

Army

            Their website tells you information about the British Army Structure, Operations and Deployments, News and Press, Equipment, Events, Activities and leisure and joining the army and many more links into other separate sections. They use Capturing and processing data, presenting and exchanging information and managing customer relations.

Metropolitan police

            This website is an interactive website, you can select anything from contacting the met to crime mapping, you can also take part in a “Who Killed Deon?” video this allows you to try and work out who actually was the murder. They use many ICT systems in their website like Capturing and processing data, presenting and exchanging information, marketing services and managing customer relations.

Metropolitan police



Army



Unit 2: Activity 3- look for uses of ict in a charity website

 The British Heart Foundation website, this website is a great example of the use of technology using it for things like:

·         Presenting and exchanging information

·         Conducting transactions

·         Marketing goods and services

·         Managing customer relations

Presenting and exchanging information: this is used in the home page; it gives the user links into various different sections, it also has the contact pages to be able to contact any of the shops or headquarters in various different ways, the contact tab is on the top toolbar of the website and is clearly marked for easy view.

Conducting transactions: there is a shop tool on their website, you can view all the products and prices and locate your nearest store, once you have selected the items you would like you can purchase them by using an online transaction.

Marketing goods and services: they have sections where you can view all different types of products before you purchase and you can subsections all of them into for him, her and wedding etc. Then view for details and more information and then purchase with the transaction. Also you can see any events that maybe taking place around the country and information on what they do is also clearly shown.

Managing customer relations: there is also a help page which allows you to seek any help you may or may not need or to answer some of your questions, i.e. how much does it cost to deliver my items? Also within the top tool bar there is a e-newsletter allowing people to read about any recent events or up and coming ideas for BHF.

Unit 1.2: Acitivty 1- Tool Man

How could John use ICT to change and hopefully improve his working style?

            He could use any of the following technology:

PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)-He could use a PDA to change his working style as he could hold a copy of files or folders also for a calendar and contacts for when he is out and about on business. One of the problems of him using a PDA is that the technology changes very regularly, he would also been at risk of it being stolen when he is out and about.

GPS- He could use a GPS to locate the houses of the customers he needs to see, to be able to find his way away in the quickest times meaning losing as less fuel as he can plan ahead and can never really get lost also means he does not need to carry around a “A to Z” map of the country. The disadvantage is that if there is no registered address it will take forever to find the correct one, also if there are a lot of houses under the same address then it will take him time to locate which one he actually needs to go to.

Laptop- This would be of a benefit to him as it means that he can present any information to his customers, he can use the internet to locate other information, if its needed and there is always a way to record any contacts or questions to find the answers to, he can have a copy of files and folders and be able to send out emails to his boss if there is a major problem. The disadvantage is that he would need to be able to put it on charge while at a visit which is not really appropriate, it also means he can store his music on his laptop and play through windows media player, but if he leaves it then it could run the risk of getting stolen or receive a virus as he would be joining many different wireless networks but due to the amount of travel it means that it could get damaged or broken when going to different customers.

Software- by having software on his laptop he would allow him to store his documents, like in a bundle pack of Microsoft which would mean he could use word, PowerPoint, excel and many more, the trouble with some software is that he might need training for particular parts which would enable him to use the software while out, he could also have troubles if the software just crashes and he does not know how to fix it, this would waste selling time and the customers time.

Mobile Phone – Mobile’s are becoming increasingly popular, they are easy to use, small and can store massive amounts of information. For John to have a decent mobile phone it would benefit him and his work it means that he can call ahead to the customers to ensure they are in and are still happy for him to visit, he can update his boss after a visit: telling him what he has sold or if there were any problems, he can save or edit any of the customers details i.e. if they change home number. He may also be able to access the internet, so he could send emails and look up a location. The downside is that mobiles have a short battery life if it dies when he is out on a job and then needs it he would have no way to charge it or to contact a next customer, also if the phone stops working as there is a problem with it again there is no way to contact anyone to let them know.

Internet-the internet would be very helpful for John, it would mean he would be able to search the web when he needs to, he can send emails to customers or to his boss, he can double check any information he is unsure on and he would also be able to show a picture of any of the product on the website. The downside of the internet is that he would need a continual connection where ever he is at that particular time, not all households have an internet connection or would be happy enough to give across the personal code for it.

Unit 2: Activity 1- Identify Different types of organisation

Online Entertainment

Technology:

Internet:

Msn

iTunes

Youtube

Facebook

Different forms of online entertainment

What are the purposes of technology?

The purposes of technology in the 21^st century is basically anything you can think of you can do a wide range of things from buying selling and viewing , playing, reading, paying and communicating to a simple search. You can achieve most things with the varieties of technologies used to create the World Wide Web and all that inter links with it.

Who is it targeted at?

Online entertainment Is aimed at anyone there are games for preschool children, secondary school, there are learning resources for college and university students and entertainment for adults and for the over 60’s with the online bingo.

To what extent it is enhanced by being online

You feel more in touch with the world as “everyone” is seen to be online, for the more mature adult it’s a way to talk to people and have a game of bingo without having to move and if they have a health problem they can still do the things they want with the access to the online entertainment world. The younger adult can just do whatever they want within reason and the children can experience their favourite TV shows and games over and over i.e. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/

What are current limitations?

Limitations are that you can only access the entertainment you are old enough to  and are allowed to access, which is set up by the parent or carer, who is in charge of the internet connection. You can’t have a proper talking conversation with someone and if you are not inline you have no way to keep in contact or updated with all the resources at your fingertips.

What extent does it fulfil its potential?

The potential is to allow people of all ages to go “online” and be able to spend as short or longer time as they want playing/socialising at anytime and anywhere. IT will just to be able to be extended to the people who are unfortunate in the fact that their country has not be able to gain any type of internet connection or any household because they can’t afford the computer. Internet has gone mostly global and mobile, most people in a third world country had their first experience of the internet on a mobile device not a computer type device.  

Investigate downloading goods and services

The different types of items that people download:

1. Games
2. Music
3. Books
4. Radio links
5. Podcasts
6. Videos

People download these types of items either illegally or legally. The public decide to download items instead of buying them in a shop, for example, as it is quicker and the price is normally a lot less than the shops prices. We, the public feel that you don’t actually need to own a physical copy of something when you can download it as and when you want or need it. For each of the list above we download for a number of reasons:

1. Games- We download as it easy and its always there until we delete it, you can just save it to your computer desktop and it will remain there, ease and cheap.
2. Music- You can download an individual track and not having to go out to a store and buy the whole single/album for the one track you like; also there is a continual stock of most things.
3. Books- Using an e-reader or e-book, books have become quite expensive due to the raise in price of paper and the process of actually making a physically book, you can download a copy of a book, print it out or leave it on your computer, it also means you don’t have any heavy books to carry around with you after you have brought them or when you are taking them somewhere.
4. Radio Links- You can download a free application that links you to a live radio feed, meaning you can just click on and off whenever and wherever you are.
5. Podcasts- we download podcast to have to reference and to listen as many time as we need, you can’t really buy any physical type of podcast so download is the only way.  
6. Videos- Either music or trailers or a reference for how to do something, again you can’t really buy videos you can only buy films so it’s better and easier to download them where you know you “own” it and can view it as many times as you want to.

The main reasons are ease, price and convenient, also if it’s a rare copy of something it’s probably easier to find it online then in a shop.

Problem with downloading from online

            The main problem with downloading items online is the risk of viruses or security of all your personal details. You could also be sold a complete bluff of an item, due to the lower price and you may not have any way to return it or get hold of the seller to complain. Your bank details, if you give any, may be used by a fraud as you don’t need any prove that you know that card you just need the numbers you could end up losing lots of money all for a song, for example.

Investigate Government Services online

According to the cabinet office report in 2004, by changing most services onto online services would save the government £1.3 thousand million within three years and to have saved consumers £1 thousand million, this is possible as by transferring all the information to online links it saves paper, saving trees, saving money spent on equipment and employment and in the long run would help save the environment so less money is spent on trying to improve tit when it’s too late. It would save consumers money as all they’d need to do is load up the www.direct.gov.uk website and ask all the questions they want to, without having to use the phone or make a journey down to the local council offices only to be told that they don’t know or that they don’t deal with that sort of enquiry.

Use a Learning Object

www.lynda.com

Evaluation of Lynda.com's videos

By using the top search bar you can type in the name of any sort of video and it appears with a list of all the videos on that site that have the name you want or need to view you simply click on the video you would like to see and watch/listen to it.

List of video's from a search of "welcome"

            The “What’s a blog really?” Video is a good learning method that any of the different learners will be able to learn something from as you can watch the video and listen to it and you can watch as someone else is doing each step, you can stop, rewind and forward over the parts you need /want to know about and s an easy way for something like a blog to be broken down into sections with easy instructions and guidance, for any user to be able to follow.

           

A print screen of "what's a blog really?" video

Unit 2- Activity 2: Explore ICT and The Health Information

What are the different forms of information that are presented?

NHS Website

NHS Direct: the information is presented in a variety of ways, same in pictures, diagrams and text; it is easy to use with useful links into helping you to figure out what is causing your symptoms and how to help dealing with them. It also allows you to locate your nearest GP, Pharmacy, Dentist and A&E. It has a member section to the site and you can seek advice for mental health problems.

Best treatments:

Best Treatments website

Best Treatments is more text then the NHS direct website it lists the main health topics and links into other pages that may help, it has a search bar for conditions and treatments that you can go through to find the correct pages with the information you would need. There is a toolbar type option at the top which you can select and browse through.

What are the different methods that can be used to find information?

You can do a manual search, by using the top search bar on the website, you could follow the links that appear on the side or go through a body map (only on NHS) selecting the area that is in pain and choose from there. You can search through all the other parts of the website under particular areas to locate what you need/want to find out. On best treatments.org you can go and select form men’s or women’s health topic.

What are the different audiences for the information and how does the presentation for these audiences varies?

NHS- The audience for the information is adults and anyone who can use a computer and load up the correct area on the correct website.

Best Treatments- Adults as it is mainly text and can be a bit confusing on where you need to look and find out the information you may need.

In what ways does this service add to the service from GP's and hospitals?

This online service can add to the government’s service to the public within hospitals and GP surgeries by lessening the number of patients that go in to these services, meaning that the doctors and nurses can spend more time with the people who really need their help. The doctors can be kept up to date with recent increase enquires and see if there are any continually look up’s about a certain symptoms.

In what ways does this lead to more efficient government?

With these sites set up and with a call centre for bigger enquiries it means that the government can overall save more money due to the decreasing number of little cases taking up the heath systems time and equipment, meaning that the saved money can be put to good use and buy more operating equipment and medicine also meaning that they can save more life’s.

Weather Forecast



The BBC weather Forecast for the south for the dates of the 13th to the 17th, I will compare the forecast given to the actual weather that occurred on that day:

Monday- The weather forecast was for partly cloudy but mainly sunny with a slight wind.
                The actual weather was light rain and cold, very little sunshine.

Tuesday- The forecast was for light rain throughout the day
               The actual weather was there was a slight wind and it was moderately warm throughout the day.

Wednesday- The forecast predicted that it would be warm with sunny intervals
                     The weather was in fact windy and with some sunny intervals.

Thursday- The weather prediction was for a light rain shower and wind but warm,
                 The weather actually was sunny and moderately warm.

Friday-  The Weather forecast predicted that it would be warm with sunny intervals
              The weather was sunny, moderately warm but with a slight wind.

BBC weather forecast

This goes to show that the weather forecast is very rarely fully correct or correct about one particular part, you have to go by the weather in the morning mostly and that the weather can't ever be predicted fully as it changes at random moments.

Online Learning Resources

The different learning resources and ways to learn online

There are many ways that people can learn from online, i have selected five:

1. Questions/quizzes and games
2. Powerpoint presentations
3. Text
4. Online demonstrations
5. Listening to an audio clip

Questions/quizzes and games that are all linked into the subject you need are helpful as it means you can see some questions that are linked to that particular part, like on the www.bbc.co.uk/schools they have individual quizzes in each sub section of sections, with linking in games to make the experience of that subject more fun. This sort of ‘education’ is probably better for the visual and kinaesthetic learners.

Powerpoint presentations are helpful as they give a wider range of views on one subject, you can upload a powerpoint and share it with the world like on http://www.slideshare.net/ this site allows you to view the uploaded a powerpoint and all you have to do is use a search to find the topic you would want they range from powerpoints on pictures of France to the inner workings of a computer. This helps people if they are a visual learner as they can see the information move around the screen and you can view it for as long or shorter time as you need to.

Text is another way you could learn. By using a site like http://www.wikipedia.org/  would help the learner to see the text of information and draw a conclusion form it how ever they may please. The thing is with text online is that not all of it is true and you have to be able to realise what is right and what is just made up, for example if you were reading a page on Bismarck, leader of “Germany”, and in the text it said that he always wore a big fluffy cowboy hat then you’d know that, the information was not correct. This method is better for the visual learners who have the higher concentration levels.

Online demonstrations, you can sit and view experiments taking place without actually having to be there or have the resources to do it yourself. Using a site like Net Frog Choice Page: Old or New? you can see the dissection taking place, pre-recorded, you can read the information that is around the videos and view the same thing as many times as you want to, you can also take part in activities that are based on what you have either just watch or seen, you are in control of certain points of the dissections, actively involving yourself in the experiment. This method is better for the visual and kinaesthetic learners, who prefer to watch or actively take part in something.           

You could also listen to information, as another way to learn. You could use www.youtube.com as a learner site by typing in the subject you’d like to hear about and also sometimes there is some visual aid as well and the comments below the clip can also be helpful. This way you can actually hear how the words are built and put together and you can listen to it while you are busy doing something else, multitasking. This method is better for the audio learner but also depending on the video can be good for the visual learner.

Net frog

The Net.Frog Website

The website is spilt into two halves the older version from 1994 and the newer version from 2002:

Home Page





Purpose of the practicing online

            There are advantages and disadvantages of practicing a frog dissection online. Some of the advantages are that you can gain all the basic skills and get the practice as much as you want without actually dissection hundreds of frogs, for practice. Also you can then see all the handy hints and tips, before you have to discover them the hard way. You can watch the selection of videos on the site to actually see the process and see how they make the cuts initially. The disadvantages are that you may not be able to see the demonstrations that are videoed and you may not be able to see the text that has the helpful information in it.

What general lessons does it teach you about online simulations in education?

Online simulations are good for practice but they can sometimes not work properly or portray the wrong information meaning that when you come to do the actual thing you fail due to the wrong information you were given, you don’t know what sort of problems you may come across in real life as a simulation does not really factor them in. They give you the basic skills you need and they are a continual resource for information if you need to check up on something but not something you should always use, due to changes in the process that have not been changed on the simulation.



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Older Version



Net Frog Link

This site allows you practice a frog dissection online, it shows you step by step and uses videos:

http://frog.edschool.virginia.edu/

Education Online

What do lessons online teach us?

They teach us all sorts of things like:

1.      They sometimes teach from a different point of view on a subject

2.      They can create an easy picture of a situation or time period then a teacher can in an hour

3.      You can continually read over the same piece of text until you understand it completely.

4.      You can learn at your own pace then you do in class

5.      You can spend as long or short-a-time on a particular part of a subject that you are stuck on.

The Purpose of these types of sites



The Website

            The purpose is to create an alternate learning experience for students to study from. With more resources with different information, in a different way of presenting it to ensure that all types of learners can understand it and process it into another piece of work. This Site is good at showing the information in an interesting format with the interactive parts to it (see Image below), it allows the learner to read the information at a pace they are happy with and the use of video and the continual story line down the side helps to show how much they reader has covered and how much they have left, there are the different ways of learning involved as you can see, read and listen to the information, if needs be. It fits the purpose of learning via the Internet.

One of the Interactive parts of the site



Time Line

          

  It teaches us that this sort of site can make even the least interesting work seem fun with the range of activities and the interactive sections, making it more likely for the reader to remember parts of it, it shows that not everything has to be learnt in a classroom and that sometimes using a site like http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/ for ICT work is better then just getting set some sheet work or reading work in class, this way the brain is actively working and understanding the text in front of it and its portrayed in a fun way to make it easier to understand

Time line: Is on the interactive website as one of the features. 



Online Banking

Purposes of online banking

A way to check personal bank statements. You can see if any transactions have happened, without the trouble of going to the bank its self.



Examples of two Online banking Log in's. Top: Halifax
and bottom Lloyds TSB



Target Audiences

Everyone who has a bank account, of any sort.

How it fulfils these purposes

 A side bar with the categories of which you can go through to view your accounts without using any paper. You go can select which part you’d like to view and it presents you with the information.



The First side bar that the site loads



A Sidebar with all the correct Links for further
banking

Major advantages

Easy and fast banking, less travel and paper wasted so better for the environment in the long run. You can now even check your details on your phone for when you are out and about to make sure you will not go overdrawn.

Improvements in the future

 To have everything online as its safer then standing at a bank desk, you can view it anywhere and not by having to remember a user name and password but just by a four digit number to log on, and after half an hour if nothing has been pressed on it automatically logs you out for safety reasons.