IGCSE ICT The ways in which IT is used

The ways in which IT is used: 

The ways in which IT is used IGCSE ICT (0417) Unit-7

Remember: 

Remember The human mind is like a parachute, it works only when open Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 2

What is an ICT System?: 

What is an ICT System? An ICT system is a set-up consisting of hardware, software, data and the people who use them. It commonly includes communications technology, such as the Internet. ICT and computers are not the same thing. Computers are the hardware that is often part of an ICT system. This is why our IGCSE ICT is not just about computers but about how, why and when people use them. It is the power of computers and communications that has allowed ICT systems to become so important. Like any piece of equipment, the important thing about it is what it lets us do. ICT Systems are used in a number of environments, such as: offices shops factories aircraft ships They're also used in fields such as: communications medicine farming ICT Systems are everyday and ordinary, yet extraordinary in how they can add extra power to what we do and want to do. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 3

The importance of ICT systems: 

The importance of ICT systems By using ICT systems we are: more productive - we can complete a greater number of tasks in the same time at reduced cost by using computers than we could prior to their invention able to deal with vast amounts of information and process it quickly able to transmit and receive information rapidly Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 4

Types of ICT system: 

Types of ICT system The three main types of ICT system to be considered for GCSE are: Information systems- This type of ICT system is focused on managing data and Information. Control systems- These ICT systems mainly control machines. Communications systems- The output of these ICT systems is the successful transport of data from one place to another. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 5

Word processing and desktop publishing: 

Word processing and desktop publishing Word processing applications allow users to type and edit text. Desktop publishing (DTP) applications allow users to create page layouts using text and pictures. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 6

Word processing: 

Word processing All word processing allow us to: Cut/Copy & Paste- Cut and copy work in a similar way. Highlighting a piece of text, right-clicking and selecting copy/cut will store the text in memory. The difference is copy leaves the highlighted text behind where as cut removes it. To insert the copied/cut text into a different area of the document, a different document, or an entirely different application altogether, right-click and select paste . The use of cut, copy, and paste is not necessarily limited to text. Text formatting - Formatting text makes a document easier to read. We can: change font - style applied to text, type and size change the alignment of text (left, centre, right or justified) Bold, Underline and Italicize text create bulleted or numbered lists Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 7

Word processing: 

Word processing Other features that may be expected includes find and replace, which replaces one word with another, and the ability to import graphics from a clipart library Insert Headers and footers Insert Tables Insert page numbering. Insert Pictures, Images Page Layout Check the spelling and grammar of text in the document . Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 8 clip art : clip art is a library of images, photos and sounds provided by Microsoft as part of its office suite

Word processing: 

Word processing Mail merge is a word processing feature that allows users to personalize letters with names and addresses from a database. The five main steps in setting up a mail-merged letter are: Create the database with fields for the names and addresses of the people to send the letter to. Write the letter using a word processing package and link the letter to the database. Use a query to find a subset of relevant people and send a targeted letter to them. Using the mail merge wizard, enter codes in the letter where the name and address of the customers should appear. Merge-print, taking the data from the database and inserting it in the letters, producing one letter for each person in the subset of relevant people from the database. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 9

Word processing: 

Word processing Advantages of Mail Merge one standard letter can be written and sent to all customers without having to manually add each name and address the letter can be personalized - it looks as though the letter has been written to the individual person it’s a very fast way to produce hundreds of personalized letters Disadvantages of Mail Merge letters can lack the personal touch the database that provides the information for the mail merge letter must be kept up to date if it is going to be useful Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 10

Desktop publishing: 

Desktop publishing A word processor is not always the best package to use to produce a document. If more control over the layout of a page is required or the document is to include a lot of graphics- visuals intended to brand, inform, illustrate or entertain, e.g. photographs, drawings, maps, diagrams etc. , then a desktop publishing package such as Microsoft Publisher would be more suitable. Desktop publishers are often used to produce newspapers, magazines, newsletters and leaflets. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 11

Desktop publishing: 

Desktop publishing The main advantage of desktop publishing is that it is frame based . Text and picture frames can be laid out on the page, and moved and resized as necessary. Text and graphics can be inserted, e.g. from clipart and imported from other sources too. For example, text written by a professional writer or photos and illustrations provided by a professional designer. The view of the page is WYSIWYG ( w hat y ou s ee i s w hat y ou g et). Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 12

Question: 

Question A newspaper classified sales clerk notes down this advertisement over the phone: Laptop for sale, Intel Pentium M 760 Processor 2.0 GHz, 512MB memory, 80GB hard disk. £225. Excellent condition. Phone John Smith 417639. Describe five different features of a Word Processing package you could use to improve this advertisement. Answer frame the advertisement centre the text import photos of the laptop use different font and sizes for important words make bullet points to list the features clearly bold and/or colour key words to make them stand out Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 13

Question: 

Question A DTP is used to create a company newsletter. Give advantages of using a DTP package to produce the newsletter rather than a word processing package. Answer DTP packages contain most features of a word processing package as well as layout and design features. DTP are frame based so you can be more creative with layout and the layout can be easily changed. Text and picture frames can be moved and resized as required. Images can be easily imported from Clip Art libraries and other software. Professional looking documents can be made with little knowledge of graphic design. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 14

Important: 

Important Word processing software is the most suitable choice for creating and editing large amounts of text in a report. Desktop publishing software is the most suitable for creating a newspaper page layout with text and images. Word processing packages are not able to design new fonts as standard. The mail-merge process enables you to personalise letters with names and addresses from a database. Find and replace allows you to find one word in a document and automatically replace with with another. A DTP package makes use of the frames feature to help with page layout. The acronym WYSIWYG stands for what you see is what you get . The correct order for writing a mail-merge letter is: create the database, write the letter, insert special codes, merge-print . Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 15

Graphics software: 

Graphics software The range of pictures, drawings and images which can be produced by a computer are called graphics . The main types of graphics packages are painting, drawing, photo editing and CAD. There may be some cross over between the packages, i.e. certain packages may be suitable for more than one task. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 16

Graphics software: 

Graphics software Painting packages- A painting application allows freehand drawing and colouring , usually with a mouse. Generally the features are: a palette from which the user can choose colours freehand pens and brushes offering different styles and line thickness a range of standard shape tools such as rectangles and circles colour fill tools spray cans and eraser tools cut, copy and paste zoom (to work in finer detail) Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 17

Graphics software: 

Graphics software Bitmap graphics- Bitmap graphics made with painting packages consist of many tiny dots called pixels. It is possible to edit each individual pixel. Since the computer has to store information about every single pixel (the colour for example) in the image, the file size of a bitmap graphic is often quite large. Bitmap graphics lose quality when they're resized. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 18

Graphics software: 

Graphics software Drawing packages- Images made with drawing packages consist of lines, shapes and co-ordinates. Drawing packages are also known as vector drawing packages. Generally a drawing package offers many similar features to a painting. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 19  Vector graphics are based on mathematical relationships with control points that make up the image, information is not stored about each pixel. These points are connected by lines and curves called vector paths or vectors.

Graphics software: 

Graphics software Photo editing- Photo editing software allows the user to edit and adjust photographs. Usually these photos come from a digital camera, but they could also be scanned from existing photos. Digital photos are bitmap images. There is a large range of photo editing software available, eg Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paint Shop Pro, GIMP and Paint.NET. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 20

Graphics software: 

Graphics software Features of Photo Editing Software Crop – cut off sides of an image to make it a suitable size or remove unwanted areas. Adjust contrast and brightness. Remove red-eye. Layers - you can have several different elements of the graphic as separate layers. These layers can be made invisible or even deleted at any time. Clone tool – allows the user to clone one part of the picture to another to remove an unwanted element. Special effects – the effects vary from one piece of software to another but usually include: Artistic effects - for example, making a picture look like an oil painting. Geometric effects - for example, making an image appear to be on the surface of a ball. Colour adjustments - for example, turning a photo into grayscale or brightening certain colours . Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 21

Graphics software: 

Graphics software Computer Aided Design (CAD)- CAD packages are more sophisticated drawing packages. They are used by engineers, architects and designers to produce detailed design plans and technical drawings. CAD software all the features of standard drawing software but in addition may also offer: greater accuracy (it is possible to work to within 1/72 of an inch) objects and drawings can be created in 2D, 3D, 2D CAD and 3D CAD images can be viewed from any angle powerful scaling, rotation and reflection options libraries of engineering components which can be imported links to packages to calculate costs Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 22

Important: 

Important A collective name for the range of pictures, images and drawings produced by a computer is graphics . The tiny dots that make up images produced with painting packages are called pixels . Images stored in bitmap format take up a large amount of memory . Images stored in bitmap format lose their quality when resized . Sound clips are NOT a feature commonly found in painting packages. Vector images are made up of lines, shapes and coordinates. CAD stands for Computer Aided Design . CAD packages are used by engineers and architects to produce technical drawings . Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 23

Presentation software: 

Presentation software Presentation software is used to create presentations, quizzes, e-learning packages, information points and many other multimedia products. Most presentation software packages allow you to create your multimedia product using a series of slides. Text, images, video, animations, links and sound can be combined on each slide to create a sophisticated final product. The most widely used presentation software is Microsoft PowerPoint but there is other presentation software, such as Impress (part of the OpenOffice suite). Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 24  Multimedia is the use of several types of media outputs from a computer in order to give the user a richer and more interesting experience

Presentation software: 

Presentation software Common features of presentation software Slides that can contain any mixture of text, images, video, animations, links and sound. Animation effects that allow the various elements on each slide to appear after a certain amount of time or when a presenter presses a button. Slide master – this allows the style to be set once and then used throughout the presentation. Transitions – this is how the presentation software “moves” the display of one slide to another. Transitions usually include dissolving from one slide to the next or the current slide being moved in some way to show the next slide as though it was underneath. Slide notes – when these are used the presenter will see the current slide and any notes associated with it on his/her display and the audience will see just the slide on another screen or from a projector. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 25

Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML): 

H yper T ext M arkup L anguage ( HTML ) Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is a basic programming language for building web pages. It uses a set of predefined tags that the web browser then interprets and renders/displays. Working with HTML HTML is typically written (or generated) in two ways: using a plain text editor, eg Notepad, Notepad++, TextPad etc using a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor, eg Frontpage , Dreamweaver, iWeb , SeaMonkey Composer etc Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 26

Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML): 

H yper T ext M arkup L anguage ( HTML ) Plain text editor An editor like Notepad offers greater control over the code when compared to a WYSIWYG editor because each and every character that forms the HTML and the resulting web page is hand typed. The disadvantage is it’s a slow process. WYSIWYG editor The web page is designed, and the content written and styled, using a series of tools. The page can be previewed in the default browser from within the application. This makes building a web page much faster because only a limited knowledge of HTML is needed as it’s automatically generated. However, the code can still be edited by hand. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 27

Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML): 

H yper T ext M arkup L anguage ( HTML ) Different types of browser Not all browsers render (display) web pages in the same way. Common browsers include: Internet Explorer Firefox Safari Opera Chrome The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) W3C is responsible for standardizing HTML and releasing updated specifications that revise existing tags, introduce new tags and identify deprecated tags and should be the first reference point for any matters concerning HTML. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 28

Important: 

Important A web browser ( a software application used to locate and display Web pages. ) is needed to view web pages. Web pages (A document on the World Wide Web. Every Web page is identified by a unique URL - U niform R esource L ocator ) are written in HTML . WYSIWYG stands for what you see is what you get . HTML stands for Hyper Text Mark-up Language . HTML uses tags to tell the web browser how to display text. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 29

Question: 

Question A student has been asked by his headmaster to produce a way of advertising the school to the local public. One option is to use a desktop publishing package to produce a magazine to distribute to every household in the neighborhood. He could also create a presentation to be shown in the local library. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each option. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 30 Click for answer……..

Answer: 

Answer DTP Advantages Disabled people / elderly people do not have to go to the library It can be printed in Braille You can read it at a time which suits you Disadvantages Need for physical distribution No sound No animation No video Printing costs/paper and ink costs Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 31 Presentation Advantages Sound Animation Video Interactive / hyperlinks Disadvantages Library will need to have screen / computer / appropriate software Not everyone will visit the library / takes time to go to the library / costs money to travel to the library / may not be seen by everyone

Applications and Programming Languages: 

Applications and Programming Languages Applications are programs written to carry out a specific task or set of tasks, for example: spreadsheets word processors accounting packages media players games. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 32

Applications and Programming Languages: 

Applications and Programming Languages Types of applications software Applications come in several different types: Utility programs - examples include virus scanners, disk defragmenters and backup utilities. Generic - general purpose software that is not written for any particular type of business. Examples of this include word processors and spreadsheets. Integrated - a collection of software that has a common set of commands/icons. Usually they include word processors, spreadsheets and graphics software, but they can contain databases as well. They tend to be cheaper than purchasing each application separately. Specific - software written for a defined purpose. Accountancy software is a good example of this that can be bought by anyone. Other Example is Railway Reservation System. Bespoke - bespoke software is written when a company requires a piece of software to perform a very specific task or function and there's no existing software that does what they need. It can be very expensive. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 33  Utility is a program that performs a very specific task, usually related to managing system resources. Operating systems contain a number of utilities for managing disk drives, printers, and other devices. Utilities differ from applications mostly in terms of size, complexity and function. For example, word processors, spreadsheet programs, and database applications are considered applications because they are large programs that perform a variety of functions not directly related to managing computer resources.

Applications and Programming Languages: 

Applications and Programming Languages Programming languages A programming language is a specially written code used for writing applications. C++ and Java are examples of programming languages. These are known as high level languages because they have been developed to be a little like a human language . High level languages are much easier to use than a low level language such as Machine Code, or Assembly Language. The advantage of a low level language is that it runs very fast on the computer. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 34 Programming Languages- 1. Machine Language- Machine Friendly 2. Assembly Language- Machine Friendly 3. High Level Language- Human/User Friendly

Operating systems: 

Operating systems An Operating System is the most important program that runs on a computer. Every general-purpose computer must have an operating system to run other programs. Operating systems perform basic tasks, such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 35

Operating systems: 

Operating systems Operating systems provide a software platform on top of which other programs, called application programs, can run. The application programs must be written to run on top of a particular operating system. Your choice of operating system, therefore, determines to a great extent the applications you can run. In any computer, the operating system: controls the backing store and peripherals such as scanners and printers deals with the transfer of programs in and out of memory organizes the use of memory between programs organizes processing time between programs and users maintains security and access rights of users deals with errors and user instructions allows the user to save files to a backing store provides the interface between the user and the computer - for example, Windows Vista and Apple OSX . issues simple error messages Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 36  The platform defines a standard around which a system can be developed.

Operating systems: 

Operating systems Modes of operation Computers can operate in many different ways requiring different and complex operating systems. Real-time processing Data is processed so quickly that the results are able to influence the activity currently taking place. Possible applications are: process control - in a chemical plant it may be necessary for the system to react to a change in temperature, simulation systems – in an aircraft simulator the instruments must reflect the controls of the pilot and the simulator itself must react instantly, airline bookings – when a customer’s booking is complete the files need to be updated immediately before another customer tries to book the same ‘seat’. Real time systems must be quick and reliable. They have complex (and expensive) OS. They may involve multiprocessing (2 or more CPUs ‘sharing’ the workload), plus a front end processor handling communications problems so that the main CPU can concentrate on other tasks. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 37

Operating systems: 

Operating systems Multi-programming Multi-programming is a method of operating such that several programs appear to be running at once. The operating system switches jobs in and out of processor time according to priority. For example, while one job is being allocated printer time, another will be being processed in memory. The processor is so fast that it seems that many jobs are being processed at the same time. Batch processing A batch processing system is where programs or data are collected together in a batch and processed in one go. Typically the processing of payrolls, electricity bills, invoices and daily transactions are dealt with this way. This method of operation lends itself to jobs with similar inputs, processing and outputs where no human intervention is needed. Jobs are stored in a queue until the computer is ready to deal with them. Often batch processed jobs are done overnight. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 38

Operating systems: 

Operating systems Interactive processing An interactive processing system is where the tasks on the computer system require a continual exchange of information between the user and the computer system. It can be seen as the opposite of batch processing. Multi-tasking This isn't just about running more than one application at the same time. Multi-tasking allows multiple tasks to run concurrently, taking turns using the resources of the computer. This can mean running a couple of applications, sending a document to the printer and downloading a web page. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 39

Operating systems: 

Operating systems Multi-access or multi-user Modern personal computers can allow multi-user access . A multi-access (or multi-user) system is one where several users can use the same system together via a LAN-Local Area Network. The CPU (central processing unit) deals with users in turn; clearly the more users, the slower the response time. Generally, however, the processor is so fast that the response time at the most is a fraction of a second and the user feels they are being dealt with immediately. Multithreading The ability of an operating system to execute different parts of a program, called threads, simultaneously. The programmer must carefully design the program in such a way that all the threads can run at the same time without interfering with each other. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 40

Important: 

Important An operating system can't adjust the bass level on a music file, but it can controls the transfer of data to peripherals such as printers Real-time processing is the best type of operating system when the computer has to react within a guaranteed time to an input. Multi-tasking allows multiple tasks to run at the same time, each taking turns using the resources of the computer. Multi-user will allow a number of users to use the same system at the same time. Multi-user would be needed to allow the students in a class to read a file that the teacher also had open. Batch processing is the processing method where tasks are collected together, stored and then processed in one go at a designated time. Batch processing would be the most appropriate for printing the bank statements ordered by customers each day. Real-time processing would be the best choice to control the braking system on a car. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 41

User Interfaces: 

User Interfaces A user interface is the method by which the user and the computer exchange information and instructions. There are two main types: Command Line or Character User Interface (CUI) Graphical User Interface (GUI) Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 42

User Interfaces: 

User Interfaces Command-line interfaces A command-line interface allows the user to interact with the computer by typing in commands -set of instruction . The computer displays a prompt, the user keys in the command and presses enter or return. An example of a common command driven interface is MS-DOS . Features of a command-line interface Commands must be typed correctly and in the right order or the command will not work. Experienced users who know the commands can work very quickly without having to find their way around menus. An inexperienced user can sometimes find a command driven program difficult to use because of the number of commands that have to be learnt. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 43

User Interfaces: 

User Interfaces Graphical user interfaces Graphical user interface is sometimes shortened to GUI . The user chooses an option usually by pointing a mouse at an icon representing that option. Features of GUIs include: They are much easier to use for beginners. They enable you to easily exchange information between softwareusing cut and paste or 'drag and drop'. They use a lot of memory and processing power. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 44

User Interfaces: 

User Interfaces When discussing user interfaces, it is important to note that Windows XP, Windows Vista, Apple OSX and Ubuntu all have graphical user interfaces . Windows XP : an operating system by Microsoft Windows Vista : an operating system by Microsoft Apple OSX : an operating system by Apple Computers Ubuntu : an open source (freely available) operating system Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 45  Simply, a GUI is a one where the Operating System uses a WIMP- W indows I cons M enus P ointers environment.

User Interfaces: 

User Interfaces Good user interfaces A good user interface should: be attractive and pleasing to the eye allow the user to try out different options easily be easy to use use suitable colours for key areas use words that are easy to understand aimed at the type of user have help documentation It should also consider the needs of the users. Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 46

Why Use Computers to Keep Records?: 

Why Use Computers to Keep Records? Even if you don't work for a huge business, It can be useful to use computers to keep track of data. Data that is stored on a computer (as opposed to data written on paper) can be easily: organized / sorted in different ways displayed / printed in a variety of styles and layouts searched for specific things updated - adding / changing / deleting items backed-up - a copy can be made with just a few clicks stored / moved – store and move data easily Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 47

What Might You Store on a Computer?: 

What Might You Store on a Computer? Your Address Book Most people need to keep track of lots of telephone numbers, postal addresses, e-mail address, etc. We can use a computer (don't forget your phone is a computer too!) to help keep this data organised in an address database. A typical computerised address book might store: Name Address Phone number (home) Phone number (mobile) Phone number (work) E-mail address Birthday Photograph Etc. Most address book applications have features that help you organize the records so that you can quickly access the ones you want: Place your entries into groups (e.g. 'Family', Friends', 'Work', etc.) Search (by name, groups, address, etc.) Synchronisation with other devices (computer, phone, PDA, etc.) Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 48

What Might You Store on a Computer?: 

What Might You Store on a Computer? Your Address Book Most people need to keep track of lots of telephone numbers, postal addresses, e-mail address, etc. We can use a computer (don't forget your phone is a computer too!) to help keep this data organised in an address database. A typical computerised address book might store: Name Address Phone number (home) Phone number (mobile) Phone number (work) E-mail address Birthday Photograph Etc. Most address book applications have features that help you organize the records so that you can quickly access the ones you want: Place your entries into groups (e.g. 'Family', Friends', 'Work', etc.) Search (by name, groups, address, etc.) Synchronisation with other devices (computer, phone, PDA, etc.) Manoj K. CVS Lonavala 49