Mobile telephones: mobile telephones are a way of contacting family and friends when you are out and about; they are also great if you need to contact someone in an emergency, i.e. emergency services. However, there are a few disadvantages with mobile telephones; in certain areas (on top of hills, under bridges etc) you can loose reception on your mobile telephone, which means you are unable to make or receive calls. Also you have to make sure the battery is charged, because if it is not your mobile will go dead and therefore you will be unable to use it. I use my mobile constantly to make arrangements with friends and to keep in touch with family; I don’t know what I would do without it. My mobile also comes in use when I am at work on a weekend; I use it to contact my mum to tell her what time I need picking up. I also use it to keep in contact with my boss so she can tell me if she wants me to work extra hours or if I don’t need to work.
SMS (Simple Messaging Service): SMS is a cost efficient service set up so the public can communicate with each other through text. I use my SMS on my mobile more than I talk on it. It saves a lot of time and hassle. I use this service a lot in school; it means that I can contact my friends without the teachers knowing – I’m sure I am not the only one! When I am at work I get bored sometimes so I use SMS to catch up with the latest gossip.
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol): this service is only on the latest mobile phones out. It is a free Internet service (for those on contract phones) but costs only a small amount for downloads. It is a much easier way of finding out train times, what’s on TV. that night, and the latest football scores; while you are out. You can also search for some latest ring tones and screensavers for your mobile phone, and it doesn’t cost much to down load them. I use WAP on my mobile to down load ring tones, I also have a look to see what time the soaps are on so that I can get my mum to record them if I am out!
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant): even though I am a very organised person I still have a PDA. I use it to store all my friends and family numbers just in case I ever loose my mobile. It also has important dates; such as birthdays, days off school and any holidays. You can also use a PDA to work out calculations and the exchange rate for different currencies.
DVD’s: DVD players are similar to video recorders but much better. They can play your favourite movie just like a video recorder, but the DVD’s are disks instead of tapes. DVD players can also play CD’s. They also come with special effects; such as scene selection, language, improved sound (it sounds like you are in the cinema) etc. I have a DVD player and I much prefer it to a video recorder, I can play my CD’s as well as watch DVD’s. I also prefer the quality of a DVD player, and the sound effects.
Teletext: Teletext comes with most televisions now a days, and is an easy way of finding out the news up dates, weather reports, lottery numbers, football scores etc. I use Teletext to find out what the weather is going to be like, so that I know what to wear – very important! My family also use Teletext to find out the lottery results and whether they have become millionaires over night.
Laptops: laptops are a smaller version of computers and are better. They can be carried around which makes them so much easier for those who attend a lot of meetings. You can also by a device, which means you, can go onto the Internet without plugging the laptop into a network point. I only the use a laptop at school when doing coursework or Internet based research. It is useful for the teachers as well as the students, because it means we don’t have to go into a computer room just to do a bit of research or type up a few words. I would much prefer a laptop at home because it would mean I could get on with my work in peace and quite.
Smart Boards: like laptops smart boards are mainly used in schools for teaching. They are connected up to either a laptop or a computer and the information that appears on either the computer or laptop is projected onto a board. The board is interactive. The idea of the smart board is so that lessons are more planned and time is not wasted with righting up information. At my school smart boards are set up in most departments, and are used quite a lot in lessons. The only problem with smart boards is that if the bulb goes it does not work, and the bulb cost around £250 to replace, schools do not have this kind of money to afford this cost all the time.
Touch Screens: touch screens are a lot like smart boards, except they are a computer monitor and not an interactive white board. I have a weekend job and the reception computer has a touch screen monitor. It is quicker than using a mouse, but you can use the mouse if you want to. Although touch screen monitors do freeze frequently, and are easy to damage if you are not careful.
By doing this report it has made me realise that I have began to rely on technology, along with everyone else. Without ICT systems our lives would be totally different, and time consuming. Technology is improving all the time. Without the relevant ICT systems teaching methods within schools would be different, and you would not be able to communicate with the world as easily. There are some disadvantages about the latest technology; for example there are a lot more reports of burglary’s, people being mugged etc. also the technology is not that reliable; such as mobile phones and laptops need to be charged. Some of the technology is not that cost efficient, for example smart board bulbs are a lot of money, and laptops and mobile phones can cost a lot of money for a decent one.
