Life in the Information Age - Communication

Communication

How does Communication (via ICT) affect society??

Communication affects society because it provides us with more ways to communicate with the same people. First you had to pay for everything, call just around in your area, and then you got calls free in your area but still had to pay a ridiculous amount of money to talk to a friend and/or relative in other parts of the world. Communication has allowed us to develop new and more efficient ways to contact people we know and/or love; with wireless Internet to all over the world and packages that can be bought that allow you to make calls to all over the world from certain time (this is also the same with texting).

What is Communication??

Communication is a learned skill. Most people - at birth - are able to talk but we must learn to speak well and communicate effectively. But ICT has helped develop easier ways to communicate for those who are blind and dumb; and just for those who do not like to communicate with words! There are many different ways of communicated in the 21st Century and they have been greatly developed since they were first created. Some of the things that had been created and have been developed into communication devices that people are carrying with them everywhere consist of:

• Phones
• Texting
• Calling
• E-Mail (as now phones can connect to the Internet)

• Laptop
• E-Mail
• Web Messengers
• Social Networking Sites

• Pagers
• Send Messages

However before these devices were created, there were other ways of communicating. The most popular was:

• Morse Code
• Sends information via on-off lights, tones or clicks

However the most popular form of communication is via mobile phone.  It has since been developed significantly and companies are always coming up with new ideas for mobile phones that will keep the public interested.

How does ICT assist in Communication??

ICT has allowed Communication to develop in ways that were once unimaginable to the human-race. At the beginning mobile phones were created in order to contact people all over the world; now it is seen and used more of a social networking device and an accessory. We are now able to communicate via:

• E-Mail
• Face to Face Chat
• Skype
• Messaging
• MSN
• Yahoo!
• Hotmail
• Skype

Communication has been developed and is now allowing people to communicate for FREE. People are also now able to communicate with people all over the world. Communication has changed significantly over the years, but the most popular is via mobile phone and this is the time line for the development of mobile phones up to the 21st Century:

• At the beginning:
• Cave paintings were used (supposedly the oldest form of communication)
• Then speech was developed as homosapiens brain functions became more efficient (necessary for survival) 

• Middle Ages: 




Brick Phone - has to be charged and lasts
for only several hours.


• The first telephone was created by 'Alexander Graham Bell' in 1876
• It was the first practical telephone (and from there more up-to-date mobile phones were created - there were the phones that maybe only one person in one town would have had one)
• More advance phones were developed, created and now used
• The only problem with phones of that time, is that they take a very long time to charge (10hours) and last for a very small amount of time (8hours)

•  21st Century



iPhone vs. Blackberry
There are constant battles on what
phone can hold the most data and so far the
iPhone and Blackberry hold the most information
in small and compact sizes.

• More up-to-date, include handy applications that are used every day
• Hold a lot more information and data; and the batteries can last for days
• Mobile phones are updated almost every couple of months because of market trends
• They appeal much more to the target market

Advantages

• Quicker --> instead of having to send letters all over the world, for (sometimes) ridiculously large amounts of money.
• Immediate --> works incredibly quickly and at your convenience which means that you are able to dial emergency numbers very easily.
• Portable --> it is portable and can be carried every with you, because of its small size (and it can do many things).
• Applications --> it has many very useful applications that you can use everyday i.e. calendar, making notes, alarm clock, timer and calculator.
• Internet --> because mobile phones are now connected to the World Wide Web people are able to surf the web on the move.

Disadvantages

• Expensive --> mobile phones can be very expensive in the 21st Century; this is because of the vast amounts of applications that one can now hold.
• Damaging --> they are very bad for your hearing. Seeing as they can now hold music and have to be loud enough to take calls, when they are held right beside ones ear they are slowly damaging ones ear-drums (therefore hearing).
• Reception --> depending on what network you have signed on to and what area one lives in the reception and signal will differ (either for better or for worse).
• Dangerous --> because they are now VERY portable people are able to talk on them whilst driving (which can be very dangerous for pedestrians and people in close proximity to them).
• Unreliable --> they can crash and become faulty within months of buying it, but because you would have bought a contract to go with it, you have to pay the fee for the rest of your contract.
• Out-Dated --> because of the people they are aimed (which is teens and young adults) senior citizens are left out and find it very difficult to use because of the extra functions.

Overall Communication is a vital part of everyday human life.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh once said, "Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after."

This proves that without even acknowledging it we are constantly using communication in everything we do.

Life in the Information Age - Employment Opportunities

Employment Opportunities

What is an Employment Opportunity??
An Employment Opportunity is an opportunity to get employed. It may sound simple and easy, but finding an Employment Opportunity is not the easiest thing to do.

How do Employment Opportunities (via ICT) affect society??

This is an example CV.
It is very clear and easy to read, which
makes it very easy to understand.

Employment Opportunities affect society because people who are umemployed are able to find employment a lot easier than they once were. At the beginning people had to go from shop to shop enquiring if there was ever any jobs available and if there wasn't at that time they would have to keep going, whereas now you are able to go into a shop; give them your CV (which has been typed up and printed several times); give them your e-mail address and phone number so that they are able to get a hold of you quickly and efficiently to inform you of whether you have got the job or not. Also because of the innovation of the World Wide Web, people are now able to search for jobs on the internet and contact people quite eaiser.

How does ICT assist in Employment Opportunities??
ICT assists in Employment opportunities because it allows you to research all kinds of jobs, including:

• Part-Time Jobs
• Full-Time Jobs
• Summer Jobs
• Saturday Jobs

This is 'monster.com'.
A site that allows you to seach for 1000s
of jobs all over the world, or just in your
area.

You are also able to contact the employer using your e-mail address and mobile number. This allows them to contact you very quickly, informing you whether you have or have not got the job. ICT has allowed this process to become so much easier because of the development of wireless internet, the employer is able to read all the CVs on the go and give their chosen employee the good news very quickly.

The main way that ICT has allowed Employment Opportunities to become so much eaiser to find is because of job surfing on the internet, which has become INCREDIBLY easy to do.

Advantages

1. Work --> you can get work all over the world and you will learn skills you never had before.
2. Opportunities --> from working with a big enough company you many more opportunities will become available to you.
3. Skill --> a chance to develop skills; learn new skills and adopt a creativeness you (may) never (have) had before.
4. Training --> you are given training in that particular field and are able to develop more from the training given. It won't cost you a penny, so you will be givn free training in every job you get and it won't put a dent in your funds.

Disadvantages

1. Education --> You may not have the qualifications or knowledge and because of this the opportunity will pass you buy because the business may deem you unworthy of working in their company.
2. Disability --> although it is against the law, some people will not hire someone with a disability; because they feel they will be unable to cope, even though they could be perfectly capable of working.
3. First-Come, First- Serve --> because it is so easy to get hold of someone who is hiring, the employer may have to cut off many people from the opportunity becaase it is just too many people and not enough spaces.

Overall ICT assists in providing Employment Opportunities very well, because of the easy access anyone cab get to an available job anywhere in the world.

Life in The Information Age - Education

Education

What is Education??
Education is a period in a child's life, where they are taught life skills, and basic knowledge so that they will be able to survive in the world of business.

How does Education (via ICT) affect society??

Education affects society very much, because it allows young children to be taught the basics to human survival. Firstly they are taught enough to survive on, which is:

- Maths

- Science

- English

All of these are very useful because they give children an understanding of what employers will be looking for in an employee. When children come to secondary they are given a much wider bearth of subjects because this is the time where they might have decided what they want to be when they ae older and secondary education is supposed to offer them the choices they need.

Then A Level/6th Form comes into play which will then narrow down the choices you are allowed to take and focus specifically on what subjects you wish to take (and maybe go into as a profession).

How does ICT assist in Education??


This is Fronter.
This allows you access to comments on work set by your
teacher and assignments that you may need to do.
It also allows your teacher to see whether you are up-to-date
with your work.



ICT assists Education a lot because, in schools it now allows teachers to set online homework and monitor which children are and are not doing this homework.  IT also allows teachers to mark homework easily and give each student an individual comment very quickly and efficiently.  There are now many sites that allow students to keep up-to-date on homework; stay ahead in school and be prepared and aware of upcoming homework assignments.



This is MyMaths.
This is a site for Mathematics students, whose teachers will
set them assignments to do for particular days and their
teachers can see whether they have done them, or
whether they are doing them late.



There have been sites (like Fronter or MyMaths) that help to improve knowledge of subjects or keep a track of how you are doing in that particular subject.



Also the invention of SmartBoards has made it easier for teachers to bring work into school and become mor interactive with their students. This is because they are now able to carry masses of work on memory sticks (another ICT invention) instead of carrying masses and masses of paperwork to and from home and/or work.

This is a SmartBoard.
This allows students to be more interactive
and understanding is higher because
of visual images.

This is a USB Drive.
This allows teachers (and students) to bring in a lot of work
on documents instead of having to carry lots of paper documents around with them





Advantages

1. Educate --> they teach children the basics of supporting themselves.
2. Jobs --> with an education you are more likely to get a very good job when you have finished your education.
3. Paid --> if you have a very good education then people will notice this and may actually pay you to work for them (aswell as a normal salary) or pay you to go to school and they may even pay off all your student debts; if you decided to go to University!
4. Access --> ICT allows students and teachers very easy access to work and homework. Teachers can comment on work that has been given in and can set new pieces of homework.

Disadvantages

1. Jobs --> although you may have amazinf credentials, people may still be reluctant to hirer you.
2. Checking --> you will have check regularly to see if you have been any homework; this can be very tedious work.

Overall ICT has assisted in Education tremendously because of the development of student - teacher work, where teachers can see what their students are doing and students can see what homework assignments their teachers have set them.