Topic 2 Exchanging Information - forms of communication with their advantages and disadvantages.
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by
sam_atwalbtinternetcom (student)
Topic 2 Exchanging Information Worksheet
Starting Point: Communication methods (25 minutes)
Use your textbook or the resources on Student Portal or the Internet to help you research these topics. The first one has been done for you so you can see the level of detail expected.
http://www.enkivillage.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-mobile-phones.html
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=teact+ict+advnat%5Cges+of+mobile+phones&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-GB:IE-Address&ie=&oe=&surl=1&safe=active&gws_rd=ssl
Method Of communication
What is it?
Benefits/advantages
Drawbacks/disadvantages
Mobile phones
Hand-help device for making calls, texting, listen to music, surf web, email
* Portable so the communication is easy
* Can be contacted anytime / You are always connected
* There are multiply uses
* Security – children feel safer as they can easily contact their parents
* In emergency situations , help can be reached
* You can call people anywhere on the planet
* No specialist equipment is needed.
* Cause accidents as they are a distraction for example driving
* Disturb other people
* Might be inference so the quality of the call can be poor.
* You can’t see body language so a lot of non verbal communication is lost
* Its hard to make a record of what’s being said , things may get forgotten or misinterpreted
SMS (texting)
Texts are sent from one mobile phone to another. It is a quick and convenient way of sending a short message to someone .Sending messages, images, videos and sound clips between devices.
* Can send them at any time, day or night
* Good for informal messages
* Good for helping friends and family keep in touch
* Only short messages can be sent
* Needs basic typing skills
* Text speak spills over into written school work and formal communication.
* Fast
* Cheap
* No internet needed
Instant Messaging (IM)
A system for exchanging typed electronic messages instantly via the Internet or a cellular network, using a shared software application on a personal computer or mobile device.
* Conversations happen in real time .
* You can add video using webcams or add a mic rather than talking . This helps show that the person you’re talking to is genuine.
* Useful for customer support
* Internet is needed
* There’s no time to reflect on the message before sending
* There’s a lot of ads , you have to pay extra to remove ads
* Anyone can send you a message
Chat rooms
An area on the Internet or other computer ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
* Conversations happen in real time .
* You can add video using webcams or add a mic rather than talking . This helps show that the person you’re talking to is genuine.
* Useful for customer support
* Internet is needed
* There’s no time to reflect on the message before sending
* There’s a lot of ads , you have to pay extra to remove ads
* Anyone can send you a message
Chat rooms
An area on the Internet or other computer network where users can communicate, typically one dedicated to a particular topic.
* Gives the ability to chat to more than one person at the same time
* Extremely useful for gamers where there are hundreds of players
* You can also private message people
* People can fake their identity
* Cyber bullying can occur
Fax
A system that normally uses telephone lines to send images of documents to others .
* Good for places where security and legal issues are important
* Fair inexpensive
* Simple to use and require very little training
* As long as the machine is on , messages can be received day and night
* No specialist installation/ cabling needed because it uses the existing telephone line
* No immediate response
* You might dial wrong number and sent important document to someone else
* If the machine is busy , the fax will not be delivered.
* The quality is often poor and might have some of the smaller details
* You need to buy ink , the machine and paper
Social networking
A place where people of the same interests or backgrounds can communication .
* Keep in contact with old friends
* Free
* You can make new friends
* Cyberbullying can occur
* Discrimination can occur
* People may be able to find out personal details
* Its time consuming
* People can easily lie about who they are
* You need internet
Weblogs
A place where people can write down their activities on a website for others to read giving a commentary on their life . There can be photos / videos but are mainly text based.
* Can easily be viewed / updated from any device that connects to the internet .
* Allows you to express your thoughts
* Easy to set up , little technical knowledge needed
* There’s millions of blogs to read from
* You can leave comments on blogs
* Everyone can see what you publish , you may regret something later .
* Personal blogs can be biased or contain inaccurate information
* People may leave rude comments
* There are many dull blogs , you have to look at many before you find one worth reading.
File sharing
Any electronic document can be placed on a webpage for all to see.
* Co-workers can easily have access to files
* No size limit of file that can be transferred
* Easy to share share music and videos
* You have to decide in advance how you intend on naming the files
* Someone could save an older version over a new version
* Everyone involved in the project must use the same naming convention
* Transferring long files can take a long time .
E-mail
A way of exchanging messages electronically
* Messages are written, stored and sent to recipient so sender and recipient do not have to be online at the same time.
* Documents, videos , sound , pictures can all be sent and can be very large
* Cheap
* Less time consuming than writing a letter .
* Can cause miscommunication and the recipient can not hear your tone.
* You need internet
* 2/3 of mail sent are spam
* people can waste time at work by sending emails to friends
* you may have to wait long for a reply
* email attachments can contain viruses
* there are lots of scams , its easily to fall for one
Video conferencing
Used to connect 2 or more people over network/internet so that they can see and hear each other .
* Meetings can be called at short notice so there’s no need to arrange for people to travel to meeting or for people to re-arrange their work
* The cost of travel is saved
* The cost of hiring a conference venue is saved
* The time saved travelling is used more efficiently
* Can be used to keep easy contact with employees who work from home.
* Initial cost of hardware and software can be high. You need a monitor , microphone , webcam/digital camera , speakers/headphones.
* There needs to be a reliable connection via internet/network , if this connection fails then the conference s disrupted.
* Some people don’t like being on camera and become self-conscious
* There’s a lack of personal contact
* Different time zones mean that conferences may be out of working hours – some people don’t work as well out of working hours
* There’s difficult when handing out documents to other as they’ll have to be sent and printed in advance.
VoIP
Voice over internet protocol . Used to make cheap phone calls over the internet.
* You can integrate it with existing phone connection
* Inexpensive and easy to use
* You need VoIP software , a computer , internet and a mic
* In an emergency during power cut , VoIP phones are useless
Feature
What is it used for?
Address book
The names and email addresses of contacts are stored here. Sometimes called a contacts list.
cc
Used to send same email to other contacts at the same time . All recipients can see who it has been sent to. CC stands for carbon copy
bcc
Used to send same email to other contacts at the same time. The recipients cannot see who it has been sent to. Bcc stands for blind carbon copy .
Return receipt
The sender can set this to be automatically told is recipient has received and read the message . This is not reliable as recipient can refuse to send the receipt .
Security options
Lets the user decide how sensitive or confidential the information is and may be used to encrypt the message.
High/low importance
Indicates how important the message is and put may put message at the top of a list or flag it for immediate attention.
Attachments
Files such as documents, videos , sound can be attached to emails . It’s possible to attach more than one file – multiple attachments .
What problems are associated with exchanging information? (15 minutes)
In recent years there has been a huge increase in the way we can use the Internet to communicate and exchange information and this has affected many aspects of people’s lives – home life, working life, leisure time and entertainment, education, shopping and so on.
* File naming conventions. You need to decide in advance how you intend to name files , everyone using these files must use same naming convention. Files usually put into share area where co-workers can access.
* Version control. Each version of a file should have a different filename . There’s always danger of someone saving an old version over a new version.
* Secure transfer of data (threat from hackers)
Encryption codes files before sending over the internet. If they are intercepted by hackers , the data cannot be understood.
* Secure access to data (userids, passwords, firewalls, encryption, read/write permissions). Username – used to allocate programs , settings , storage area and files . Password- used to ensure the person who is using the network is genuine.
How can we stay safe while using these methods of communication (and avoid breaking the law!)?
* Showing respect to others . Do not be impolite and use appropriate language .
* Complying with Data Protection regulations . The data protection act was passed by parliament to control the way information is handled and to give legal rights to people who ace information stored about them .
* Using appropriate language. Do not swear. Do not use racially offensive words. Do not use words that will offend certain groups of people. Ensure that everything you write is appropriate to all ages. Do not cyberbully.
* Disclosure of personal information . Do not give out any personal information about you or pictures
* Misuse of images. Images can be altered to tell lies . You cannot tell if images are genuine. A picture can be passed on with your permission . Your image could end up on a website which paedophiles use. You can be identified from your image and then stalked.
