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.

Life in the Information Age - Banking and Shopping

Banking

What is Banking??
Banking is a method used by many in the world to keep account of their money and what is and/or isn't being taken in and/or out of your account.

How does Banking (via ICT) affect society??
Banking has a huge affect on society, we are all able to save huge amounts of money in one place without the worry of losing any (except if a recession falls upon us). Banking also allows us to make money just by hanign money in a bank; it can also help with storin money; if you are very unorganised with money your bank can help you finance your money right (in a way that benefits both yourself and the bank).

How does ICT assist in Banking??

ICT has assisted us to make Banking much easier by allowing us to find our bank statements online and transfer money from account to account, at the click of a mouse. Banks can also use the following ICT made programs:

An ATM - these are very useful and are usually located around town and in villages

 centres.

• Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)
• Banker's Automated Clearing Services (BACS)
• Automated Teller Machines (ATM)
• Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPOS)
• Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
• Smart Cards

All of these programs are on credit/debit cards and allow the owner easy access of funds; and make it easier for Banks to keep track of the person's money.

Advantages

1. Quicker --> than having to check through everyone's bank statements by hand, it can be done quickly with a computer and avoids human error.
2. Efficient --> ATM's are common to most banking customers and they can get all the information they need within minutes; whereas if they were to go to a bank they could be waiting a while if the banker has to find all their documents and go through everything in order to give them the information that they want.
3. PIN --> customers can change their security pin extremely quickly in a place that they know no-one will be able to know what it is (seeing as it is safer to change it quite regularly, being able to do it quickly means that it is more efficient).

Disadvantages

1.  Details --> there is a high chance of someone hacking into your banking account and then having access to all your banking details (identity theft/fraud is the hardest type of theft/fraud to fight).

Overall Banking has now become essential to everyday living because money is kept more secure and you are able to keep a better track of it.

Shopping


What is Shopping??
Shopping is the exchanging of goods for money. In some cases (mainly for women) shopping is a leisure activity rather than a business.


How does Shopping (via ICT) affect society??
Shopping affects society because it allows us to buy goods and services at our own convenience; and now with the development of online shopping and home drop-offs, there is now less need for people to go into a shop to pirchase items and find their goods. However their are disadvantages - although when it comes to nessecities like washing up liquid, soap etc that never go-off - other nessecities such as fruit and vegetables are harder to buy online because you can't have any idea of what condition it might arrive to you (as you would not have seen it first-hand).

How does ICT assist in Shopping??
ICT has not only assisted in shopping but has made it much easier to shop; much more efficient and helped develop it in ways that would have once seemed impossible.  ICT has made shopping that much quicker with the development of equipment that make it easier to:

1. Purchase Items
1. Self-Checkout
2. The fact that you can now access your money in the bank in a store
2. Withdraw Money
1. Most stores and/or supermarkets now have ATMs outside or within a short distance

Advantages

1. Efficient --> it is much quicker than going to the shop and having to choose each individual time by yourself.
2. Cheaper --> it does not cost you as much, because now you can pay for delivery online, which would cost you less than if you were to go  yourself because if the constantly rising price of petrol.
3. Favourites --> when setting up an account (and having used it for a while) the site will then bring all your favourites and designers to your customer screen.
4. Variety --> online shopping offers you a wider variety of products to choose from because it is not part of the stock that is in store because there is always a rather limited amount because you just can't have that much stock in one shop, whereas when you are shopping online, they get most of their products from the warehouses.

Disadvantages

1. See Product --> when buying goods online you can not see the product first-hand, so you can never tell if the product is of good quality.
2. Details --> you put your details on the Internet and if someone were to hack into your account they would have access to all your bank details (identity theft/fraud is the hardest type of theft/fraud to fight).
3. High Street Shopping --> because of the efficiency, and generally cheaper price, of online shopping, the market for high street shops will decline (and - maybe - eventually become non-existant).

News Stories

UK’s ten-year love affair with online shopping

— filed under: Retail

Added:

Jul 06, 2010

UK consumers spent a staggering £250 billion shopping online in the last decade. That’s according to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

 http://www.netimperative.com/news/2010/july/uk2019s-ten-year-love-affair-with-online-shopping







Overall Shopping has always essential to human survival, but has become easier nd more efficient over-time. With Online Shopping becoming even easier and the varied items that you can buy online and not in store, what could be easier?!?

Morrisons to test online shopping

Click to play

Click to play

Dalton Phillips: "We've probably got the industry-leading sales in the market"

The UK's fourth biggest grocer, Morrisons, has said it hopes to trial online shopping and convenience stores next year.

The Bradford-based firm also announced half-yearly profit before tax of £410m, against profit of £359m a year before, an increase of 14%.

The firm said that in a "tight environment" it would continue to "exercise strong control of costs".

It expects low market growth to continue in the second half of 2010.

Morrisons chairman Sir Ian Gibson said: "Our first half performance has been solid, in a tight market."

Online Services --> Blogs

Blogs

A Blog is a type of website, or part of a website, that allows the owner to post feelings and opinions on a daily/weekle/monthly basis. It can be very flexible and you can update it as you please, whenever you want.
Blogger

Using a blog is easy to do, but firstly you have to make your blog.

You must go onto 'www.blogger.com', then you must enter you google account into the 'Sign In' panel.

This picture shows you were you have to enter your Google account. Click on 'SIGN IN' and you will be redirected to the next page . . .

When you have selected the 'START BLOGGING' icon you are redirected to the 'Posting' section of your blog so that you can begin blogging.

As you can see making and starting your own blog is very easy to do; it's quick, free and there is no hassle involved!  However, if continuously updating your blog becomes tedious, you have the option of deleting your blog and account.

Blogger has the basic features of a blog. It allows you to post comments and opinions regularly (even multiple times a day); it allows you to design it in a way that reflects your personality and style.

Advantages

1. Easy --> is it easy to learn about and use.
2. New Features --> the new blogger has made it much easier to upload files; movies; clips and images.
3. Styling --> you can style your blog to suit your personality.

Disadvantages

1. Posts --> posts that are seen on your page, can be seen by anyone, even if they aren't on your blog list.

SquareSpace (http://www.squarespace.com)

<-- This is a picture of the home page of SquareSpace.

SquareSpace is a proffessional blog site, you are able to have a trial run and then you have to sign up and pay for use; unlike 'Blogger' it isn't free!

SquareSpace offers Webhosting and Domains and very clear and high quality audio.



Below is a video in which you are able to learn how SquareSpace and all the features that are available.



Advantages

1. High Quality Audio and Definition --> SquareSpace has very high quality audio and definition. This videos are of a very high and clear standard and the audio that comes with the videos is incredily clear.
2. Access --> you are able to access SquareSpace very easily on the internet.
3. Easy --> it is very easy to sign-up to SquareSpace and even easier to use it.

Disadvantages

1. Pay --> you have to pay for full use. In order to use all the features of SquareSpace you have to pay a monthly fee of $12.

Online Services --> EMail

E-Mail

E-mail is electronic mail. A program for receiving and sending e-mails quickly, efficiently and for free. It is quite similar to writing a letter, except that an e-mail can reach its recipient on the same day whereas a letter would take several days to reach it's destination.

E-mail is also very useful for sending images, files and recorded information quickly and easily. That is another difference between e-mail and writing a letter by hand, you can't post recorded files and documents.

GMail

GMail is Google's version of an E-Mail account.  It has exactly the same functions as a normal E-Mail account, except more to offer.

1. Gmail prioritises your mail and sorts out which mail is most important and which ones can wait.
2. The important emails are brought to the top and everything else will be underneath
3. There is a star feature, this feature allows you to put messages that you feel are important into a separate folder; this way you can get to it later on.
4. Tools like this help you to avoid information overload, allowing you to filter information better. This is good because there is less time taken on getting rid on spam emails.
5. If there is a person that you know is important and you NEED to get their emails, you can make GMail filter through your emails and put a star onto that persons emails and there messages will be put into the star folder; ready for you to read.
6. Gmail records which emails you read on a daily basis, it remembers which are important, so if you don't read spam GMail recognises it.
7. It can change prioritisation manually based on what you do and don't read over a period of time.

In order to fully understand GMails most popular application (which is sorting E-Mail by prioritisation) I have below a video that shows a step-by-step process of how to use it:

Yahoo

Yahoo is a simpler version of Hotmail. It is not as advanced as GMail, being able to sort through your mail, however if you receive mail continuously from an e-mail address and you don't want it, you can move it to the 'Spam' folder and all messages that come from that e-mail address will automatically be put into the 'Spam' folder.  It will then delete the contents of that folder, over a period of time that you can change in the 'Settings' option.  You can also get a daily update on important news that is going on around the world and in your area.  Yahoo also has a handy messenger, incredibly similar to 'Hotmail Messenger'. The only difference between the two is that one is 'Yahoo!' and the other is 'Hotmail'.

Here is a tutorial demonstrating just how easy it is to set-up a Yahoo! e-mail account.



Advantages

• More publicity --> for instance if a company sends an e-mail, the recipient knows that it is from that particular company, because the e-mail contains the companies name; this makes people more aware of the company.
• Fast --> e-mails can arrive at their destination pretty much simultaneously as of when it was sent.
• Cheap --> they are cheap because you can send as many e-mails as you want and all you have to pay for is the electricity. Whereas if you were to text someone something important, via. mobile, it would cost you about 10pence.
• Environmentally friendly --> considering that when you write a letter you use up paper; which was made by trees which allow us to breath, e-mail is considerably more environmentally friendly.
• Multiple e-mails --> one can send the same e-mail to multiple recipients, quickly and easily. This also allows for better use of time, because if you were to write a letter to each individual person, it could take a VERY LONG TIME!
• Numerous attachments --> when writing an e-mail you can also send pictures, videos, music etc. without any delay and it can be seen the very same day without anything missing and your point would have got across immediately. Whereas if you were to write a letter and try to explain the images, videos etc. it would have been very difficult and tedious.

Disadvantages

• Inappropriate e-mails --> people are able to send offensive and/or sexually explicit e-mails to others; but seeing as they are already on the web, they are unable to right their wrong.
• Trick or treat --> people may hack into others accounts and send crude and unearthly messages to others; but because it is on another persons account, they may be mistaken as the person who sent the e-mail.
• Trick or treat 2 --> people may create false websites of new and/or already known business' and trick people to send them money. The worst kind are the sites that trick people to send their bank details and then identity theft is out into place; and identity theft is the hardest kind of theft to fight.
• Viruses --> people may send e-mails with attachments that the recipients may think is one thing but is in-fact a virus, that is waiting to be downloaded.
• News stories related to e-mails

News stories related to e-mails

"Leaked email from furious young Tory Adele Douglas reveals the abuse she received from Conservatives for being northern"

On the 13th of April, 2010, a man called Bob Roberts reported the abuse the Conservative party had dished out to a young woman called Tory Adele Douglas. They abused her accent, origin and the fact that she was seeing a man of Asian origin.

This proves that even in our own Government there are prejudice people.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/04/13/leaked-email-from-furious-young-tory-adele-douglas-reveals-the-abuse-she-received-from-conservatives-for-being-northern-115875-22181740/

"Ticket site closed on fraud fears.  Thousands of people have been warned they may not receive concert tickets from a website that has been shut down by the Metropolitan Police"

"Ticket site closed on fraud fears. Thousands of people have been warned they may not receive concert tickets from a website that has been shut down by the Metropolitan Police"

On the 21st of October, 2008, the BBC reported the suspicious behaviour of a box office site that was - supposedly - selling tickets for upcoming gigs. It turned out that the site was a fake but by this time - paperticket.com - had managed to swindle over £2.5m out of people before it was shut down.

This just proves how careful one must when buying things online, unless you are fully aware of the site and have checked its authenticity, you should NEVER give out bank details and/or register.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7680814.stm

Life in the Information Age

In the next chapter, I will be covering sections on:

--> Education
--> Banking and Shopping
--> Communication
--> Entertainment and Leisure
--> Employment Opportunities

Online Services --> Social Networking

Social Networking

Social Networking consists of different groupd of individuals, who have the same interests and likes, who can then come together in one place and contact each other.  They can be people you already know or people you have never met before; social networking is the way the 21st Century people communicate with each other and meet new people! Social Networking is often referred to as an online community for people.
Facebook

Facebook is a 'Social Networking' site.  It allows you to chat with people for free, via the chat icon at the bottom, and find people all over the world that you have not seen in a very long time.  Facebook is easy to use and very efficient; you can find long lost friends, family members and people who you may be interested in (and become friends)!

Facebook! has different appliations that allow you to make and join groups (therefore discussions with people all over the world), and you can post comments on friends walls; there is also a way that people can have conversations that no-one else can read, this is because there is a small CHAT column at the bottom of the screen which allows people to chat privately without the intervention of anyone else.

Facebook also allows you to join and make groups for people all over the globs or just friends to join together and talk (or slander) the topic that they have created a group about.

Facebook is owned by 'Mark Zuckerberg' who is aged 26 made Facebook because he saw a 'Gap In The Market' that allowed people an easy and simple way to find anyone and everyone.  Facebook is easy to use and very easy to set, here is a video that shows you just how easy it is to set-up a Facebook account:



Advantages

1. Easy to Search --> Allows the user to search for old and new friends at their own convenience - and has applications that make searching quick and easy.
2. Finding is easy --> Makes it easier to find people, especially people you have never had a real conversation with, so when you see them face-to-face again you are less awkward with one another.
3. Variety of different uses --> Can be used as a dating service, without any chance of being inappropriate.
4. Similar interests --> Easy to join groups that have similar likes and dislikes.

Disadvantages

1. Overcrowded --> because of the amount of people who have Facebook accounts.
2. Relationships -->Weakens long distance relationships.
3. Health --> It can become an addiction.
4. Labeling may be false --> Acquaintances can be labeled as friends.

MSN Messenger

MSN is a networking site where people communicate via Messenger. You can add people from around the world and talk to them for free. It is extremely easy to set-up an MSN account and launch MSN Web Messenger.

Below is a video that show how to do both these thing step-by-step in 5 minutes.



Advantages

1. Free --> can talk to anyone, anywhere and all you have to pay for is the electricity.
2. Calls --> can make calls for free and video calls, using a web-cam if  you have one.
3. Viruses --> has no viruses unless you open content that may include viruses.
4. Send --> can send pictures, music, documents to people on your contact list.
5. Quick --> quick to install.
6. Anywhere --> can sign in anywhere on any one's computer if they have MSN installed.

Disadvantages

1. Break Down --> can break down quite easily if your web connection is not good; may just not let you sign in and you may not be able to sign in for a good couple of days.
2. Anyone --> anyone can add you, it's completely your responsibility not to accept people you don't know.