Life in the information age- Entertainment

With the development of technology the life of entertainment has improved massively with new technology being developed every day. Technology has impacted our entertainment we now have new applications we can use for entertainment, a huge aspect of entertainment is games. The platforms of games is rapidly expanding with more users using different sources of games, including the playstation, xbox and the Nintendo however these video games have no been developed so they can also be motion captured games.  Although, games is not the only popular aspect of entertainment many people also use music as a source of entertainment, MP3 known as 'MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3' is what started the listening to music using a portable device known as the mp3 player however this developed to the ipod which is know being developed every year to improve the ipod with new ideas the latest ipod consisted of a touch screen with games applications that could be installed.

MPEGS- Are a group that develops standards for digital video and digital audio compression. Certain types of audio or video files are called MPEGs. They are usually of a short duration. You can access MPEGs through your Windows Media Player. In my personal experience I have used windows media player to construct a video and the MPEGS were very effective the quality of the video was good with good pictures and sound quality. MPEGS have a variety of advantages and disadvantages some advantages of using MPEGS are videos can be compressed in an encoder before transmission or storage, perhaps to 1/50 of the original size, and then decompressed in a decoder for playback. Disadvantages of using MPEGS are MPEGS are tightly compressed videos and tends to lose quality quickly the smaller you try and make the file. If you are looking to place video online, you may try QuickTime, or even better - Flash video, which is optimized for web-streaming.

Digital Television- is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals. Digital television is a contrast to analog television that uses analog signals. With the develop of technology analog televisions are now being scraped and all television broadcasting is in digital television, therefore this shows the development reflecting technology with the old analog signals being withdrawn. Digital television has allowed consumers to view broadcasts in ways not possible with analog signals. Images broadcast by digital means arrive to the television with less distortion and with less delay. Even with all of its technological advantages, some drawbacks do exist for the technology. Digital television is an all or nothing scenario. Either the signal comes through in crystal-clear quality or the image is not present this is probably the biggest disadvantage because comparing with analog televisions seeing nothing on a television was not common even if the signal was bad the picture could still be seen, whereas digital television has the all or nothing effect. Advantages of using digital television are digital television allows stations to broadcast in more than one programming stream. I believe that digital television was a great creation and has impacted society massively with digital television becoming worldwide.

Games- Games is probably the most popular source of entertainment, video games. Sixty-eight percent of American households play computer or video games. But what is a video game? A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction. The electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms; examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles. These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld devices.  Video games have expanded massively with the growth of technology. The video games consoles began with playstation and Xbox however with the development of technology motion censored games began to become popular with the Nintendo wii console furthermore Xbox and Playstation developed the Playstation move and Xbox kinect both motion censored consoles. U.S. computer and video game software sales grew 22.9 percent in 2008 to $11.7 billion – more than quadrupling industry software sales since 1996. This fact conveys on the impact these video games have had in society. Advantages of using games are fun and enjoyable, there is also a wide range of different video games platforms therefore choice is a huge advantage. Although these games do have disadvantages video games can cause video game addiction which can cause many problems furthermore, video games not including motion censored video games can cause serious illnesses. I view video games as a huge element of entertainment, nowadays mostly all children and teenagers have a video game console there wide range of games play allows for games for everyone and the games are fully enjoyable.

Music- Music is massive part of everyday life, with the expansion of technology handheld musical devices have now been created allowing music to be played portably. MP3 players more commonly known as a portable media player. Again the contrast is evident with the growth of technology cassette players are now being replaced by MP3 players or ipods. However ipods and MP3 players have got their downfalls. With loud music playing regularly in the ear this can damage ear drums which can cause people becoming death in the ear.  Although the key aspect of why these portable media devices are so popular is they are so easy to use and can be used anywhere. I believe these portable media devices is a great piece of technology they are simple and easy to use they are also effective and not highly priced I have a ipod touch and believe its very good.

DVDS- A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, again the key talking point is with technology being developed the videos have been replaced by DVDS. Why is this? A factor I believe that has withdrawn videos and replaced with DVDS is the fact that DVDS are formatted using digital rather than analog whereas videos use analog, with analog signals being overshadowed by digital signals this factor is a key aspect of why DVDS have replaced videos. Advantages of using DVDS are good for large media files furthermore the quality is a lot better than videos, although DVDS have some disadvantages the key disadvantage being a DVD being played requires a DVD player, it also requires a physical distribution.

E book readers-A e-book reader, also called an e-book device or e-reader, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books.  My knowledge of e- book readers is very basic as I have had no experience using a e-book readers. The e-book readers have a wide range of advantages including the have a specific screen size, battery lifespan, lighting and weight making the picture clear and easy to read. Although the e- book readers also have disadvantages such as they are often expensive when compared to multi-purpose devices such as laptops.  

Digital cameras- A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images. Again my knowledge on digital cameras is basic as I have not got much experience using digital cameras. The digital cameras have various advantages including the key advantage being  Digital cameras can do things film cameras cannot for example they can display images on a screen immediately after they are recorded, storing thousands of images on a single small memory device, and deleting images to free storage space. However, digital cameras do have disadvantages a disadvantage of digital cameras is that the cameras are much more sensitive to breaking after being dropped or hit, as the casing is usually made of plastic. In addition another disadvantage is they usually have poor focusing ability in poor or low-light situations.

Virtual learning enviroment

What is Virtual learning environment?

“A virtual learning environment is a collection of integrated tools enabling the management of online learning, providing a delivery mechanism, student tracking, assessment and access to resources its more commonly known as a VLE it is a computer program that facilitates computerized learning or e-learning. A more correct term may be a virtual environment for learning, rather than virtual learning environment. A student will normally work over the Internet and a VLE provides a collection of tools such as those for assessment (particularly of types that can be marked automatically, such as multiple choice), communication, uploading of content, return of students' work, peer assessment, administration of student groups, collecting and organizing student grades, questionnaires, tracking tools, etc. New features in these systems include wikis, blogs, RSS and 3D virtual learning spaces. VLEs are often used in schools and other educational establishments in order to make the learning experience more interactive and with the technology of today all in done via the internet. With the modern technology increasing everyday programs like VLE are beginning designed to make it easier for students and teachers. I believe that VLE’s are a great learning tool, Their interactive easy to use. Work is easily set by teachers. An example of a VLE I use is frog the program is easy to use. Work is easily accessible, I believe that frog has developed my learning. There are resources on frog such as revision notes submitted by teachers that is really useful.

What can we do with Virtual learning environment?

Using a virtual learning environment allows us to do a wide range of different function, the key aspect of using a virtual learning environment is for handing work set by teachers and also if for an circumstances we are not in teachers can set us work via are virtual learning environment. For my virtual learning environment frog has a variety of different functions including I can access my timetable using frog therefore so if I forget my journal I can still access my timetable using frog. In addition, using frog I can also look at my set work by teachers.

Using frog I can access my school work from home, I believe this is the key aspect of why a virtual learning environment is so good for students. Furthermore, frog allows users to access videos. Therefore any important videos that are educational for students can be accessed through frog.

Advantages of using VLE

Frog has a various advantages these advantages include,The accessibility of the course is improved for students with special needs, and for distance learning and part time students. It can also make a difference to students in any category who learn best by being able to watch a video, or by interacting in a virtual environment instead of in the classroom, or by repeating their learning process at their own pace. Frog can also be used for revision purposes therefore it is a good source of revision material. Frogs special features allow for it to include disability and special needs some of the features that frog does for the disabled/special needs are its available in variety of formats/customisable. There is also no need to take notes (NB auditory impairment will require script or subtitles for video elements) this evidently shows that frog can be used for everyone. Frog is self directed/paced.  Frog can be described as a personalised study area. It also allows student to feel part of a learning community. The areas in which this is most effective are assessment and bulletin boards.

Disadvantages of using VLE

Although frog does have its disadvantages it can be difficult to change/update (unless you have an accompanying content management system) to use frog you need access to a PC.  It can also be hard to take account of whatever hardware the students have to work with off school premises. Using frog can impact on reducing face to face contact which some students need face to face contact to help if stuck on work. My personal experience using frog I found it hard when work was set via VLE it was hard to understand what work has been set.

Life in the information age education

What is life in the information age- education?

Life in the information age can be defined as Bringing about a fast evolution of technology in daily life, as well as of
educational life style, the Information Age has allowed rapid global usage of ICT in schools.

ICT has become a huge element of ICT in schools, ICT is even used out of ICT specific lessons. On my average day I use ICT in various ways to help develop my learning. ICT has impacted massively on school life. It has also resulted in new resources being made to help improve education. ICT is also developed at an earlier age, it’s been incorporated into primary schools curriculum, and So ICT skills can be developed at an early age. Furthermore, in primary and secondary schools more subjects are using ICT to help interact children’s learning, this could be by using interactive whiteboards. I believe this scheme is a clever idea because I find things easier to remember if they are taught in an interactive manner using the advantages of modern technology.

Smart cards- Smart cards are vital for are learning in school we use smart cards for a wide range of different purposes. Smart cards allow us to gain access to buildings in addition, they allow us to pay via the paypal. Smart cards purpose is security. Using paypal helps to prevent money loss of cons and prevents hackers.  Smart cards has various advantages, it can secure maximum security it’s a useful tool to use and is easy to use. However it can have its disadvantages using a smart card can result in the card getting lost or even falling into the wrong hands where a person can use your card to gain access to places they are not suppose to be or even use your card to purchase items.

Registration- Registration in schools is now done using computer software, this process is a lot easier for teachers, and means the data can be stored on a computer hard drive, therefore if you need to find out if a student was in on a specific day this process can be easy to do. I think this creation is down to the multi purpose of computers they can now be used for a variety of different things, which is the reason computers can now be used for registration. I believe registration done online has helped improve attendance and can easily outline to the teachers students who have no been participating in lessons. This creation has many advantages, its relatively easier to use doesn’t require a lot of effort, Can be stored on a PC therefore access is easy. However, it can have its downfalls, if the PC is not working than this can result in the register not getting done.

Surveillance- Surveillance is essential to enhance our learning, without surveillance in ICT class rooms. Teachers wouldn’t be able to monitor what is going on in lessons. Surveillance is crucial for teachers when an instance happens in a computer room, surveillance allows us to monitor what has happened. I believe that surveillance is a great creation and is vital to be in all computer rooms in the school and without surveillance it would make teachers lives a lot harder. Surveillance has a wide range of advantages including it helps teachers monitor students. It can prevent bad behaviour in the class rooms. Disadvantages are its expensive to run, it can also be hard to see every part of the computer room therefore for some areas of the computer room bad behaviour still happens.

Bitesize-  BBC Bitesize is the name given to the BBC’s free online study support resource for school-age students in the United Kingdom. It is designed to aid students in both school work and, for older students, exams. Bitesize use many different ways to engage students to help them revise. Some of these ways include games, quizzes, audio listening and message boards. All of these ways entertain the users and help them to learn. Bitesize was launched in 1998 and was created by the BBC to try and help develop students learning by using new ways of teaching.  Advantages of using bitesize are that bitesize is an interactive learning resource designed to help students learn in different ways, it’s effective and is very useful.  I use Bitesize a lot there is a wide range of ideas that help me to learn, There interactive diagrams with audio explaining about the diagram is a great way of understanding information its breaks it down and explains point by point, however some people may view this as a disadvantage its very tedious and take a long period of time to explain one topic.  Furthermore bitesize is only designed up to GCSE’s it doesn’t cater for higher education so for someone that enjoys using bitesize after they have done their GCSE’s bitesize can no longer be used.

Interactive white boards- 10 years ago a key aspect of learning was using white boards, however know with the development of technology, all schools use interactive white boards, in school there is a interactive white board in every class room.  An interactive white board is a large interactive display that connects to a computer and projector. A projector projects the computer's desktop onto the board's surface where users control the computer using a pen, finger or other device. The board is typically mounted to a wall or floor stand. I believe that the interactive white boards is a key aspect of learning, its different with interactive learning some students believe is a better source of learning.  Advantages of using interactive white boards are its different and easy to use, in addition, its interactive therefore a wide range of students can participate in educational games. Disadvantages are their expensive can be complex to set up also requires a huge wall surface.

Computer use in schools- Computers in schools help develop learning and are essential for all students nowadays all jobs require a basic understanding of ICT therefore ICT is essential in schools.  I believe that computers in schools has helped develop my understanding of ICT, and without computers I would struggle in the job I am currently doing. Advantages of computer use in schools are it helps develop a understanding in ICT, for some students computers are easier to use to present information the writing, in addition,  computers can also be used to hand in and collect work. However computer use in schools has disadvantages some students don’t work in lessons and simply play on games therefore computers can be distracting.

SIMS- School Information Management System is a management information system used by more than 21,000 schools in 150 local authorities across the United Kingdomboasting around 80% of the market share. SIMS started in 1984 and is now used in a wide range of schools spread all over the UK. Sims helps schools manage student registration and truancy, student performance, personalised learning, exam organisation, timetable construction, cover management and a range of other school activities.  I believe SIMS is a fantastic programme which has a wide range of functions that help teachers.  Advantages of using SIMS are it has a variety of different features furthermore it also has a database filled with information that data is stored on students for 10 years. Although, SIMS has its disadvantages data can be entered wrong therefore data saved is incorrect.