Contemporary issues in the development of IT

This week I am aiming to talk about several news stories I have researched into and providing an overview on what impact these developments can have for the technology industry.
Some of the stories that I will be covering are:

• Digital textbooks in South Korea by 2015.
• ARM chip designers cheaper costs in smart phones.

Finding out about the digital textbooks in South Korea by 2015 was an interesting story for me because it really does highlight how rapid technology is growing. Considering that is around 4 years before it will be launched to the market the question is how fast will this be used by other worldwide countries and the real advantages and disadvantages that brings can only be told within time itself.

What are the advantages of this piece of technology?

Paper being saved

Considering how sustainable we are trying to be with this planet the saving of paper through this piece of technology could be vital for environmentalists who feel passionately about keeping the number of trees on the planet cut down by a minimum so this is guaranteed to be backed by this group of people for sure. For me this is probably one of the biggest advantages that comes with this piece of technology because most people tend not for example to print screen work for mistakes or overall proof-reading their work so this can only be described as a major development in the technological industry.

No heavy backpacks anymore
Not having heavy backpacks anymore means students will not have the need to focus on getting lockers anymore and thus they will be surplus to requirements. Because of this the student will most likely not require a backpack at all so having this piece of software available means that costs are saved. In my opinion having the piece of software available means a revolution for education, the added bonus of not having heavy backpacks will create a positive attitude towards learning and reduce the stress of actually carrying around that weight on your back. I personally think that we should look into the possibly when this software is available to purchase it because I ultimately believe this is a way of saving money for school budgets.

More subject choices?
Having this piece of technology means a wider range of subject choices for students particularly in rural areas because these places lacked the specialist teachers in order for students to study at home so having this technology available means that more study for students can be made available in an environment that suits the learner which I personally believe is key to developing the education of the learner by making the environment they learn in as relaxing as possible. Having the wider range of subjects also means that the learner can gain as many qualifications as possible to make the next step-in in life depending on what they wish to do. In addition to that the extra subject choices will broaden the learner's education.

Better IT skills being put into practice
One of the major advantages that come with this piece of technology means that IT skills are being put into practice by the learner. In the world as every so 1000 IT jobs come on to the market around about 500,000 people will look to apply for them. Because of the technological advances we need to have the basic and complex IT skills in order to use these futuristic technologies and by having this technology available those skills can be put into practice to assist the education of the learner. For me the skills that we can develop by having this technology available to us will be highly useful considering the use of IT in the majority of workplaces.
Disadvantages of this piece of technology




Reliance upon this technology
I feel the one major disadvantage to having this piece of technology is having to rely on this technology to succeed at our education. If the system crashes for example we cannot possibly use the technology meaning we will progress less and achieve possibly worst than if normal textbooks were used. In my experience having to rely solely on just one source means we aren't progressing enough, I strongly feel that if we were to take up this technology there must be a back up source in case a fault is found during the use of this technology.



The complexity of the technology
No details when reading this article were made about the complexity of the technology. For me not having this knowledge is difficult to determine whether or not students will have the skills in order to use the technology. The complexity of the technology may well be simple but not being told firstly how a user can access or even use the software portrays to me that there is no direction to the software and is bound to fail.

The cost of this technology

No details were given in the article were given to the cost of this technology which for me is bad because how can schools budget towards this piece of technology without knowing the actual cost to run the software and make it available to the students. To be able to develop this technology is going to cost all so in the current recession can technology like this be afforded to be purchased by schools at all? I don't think so due to the fact that governments give schools a low budget for that year so possibly buying this technology could mean all if not most of that budget is spent on that technology.

ARM Chip designer promises lower costs in smart phone

A leading chip designer has unveiled his plans for a new processor that will allow cheaper costs in smart phones. The cortex A7 processor which it has been named is hoped will be a computering revolution for consumers particularly in developed countries where technology is often unaffordable.

The advantages of this technology

Lower power costs- The making of this new chip realised by ARM promises to have lower power costs which is helping in my opinion to reach that sustainable future for the world. The less batteries we have to use and the less electricity we have to use as well for that matter will mean fewer factories to make the electricity are needed and ultimately save on the cost of electricity for the consumer. The way this is power is saved is the chip can be used in conjunction with more powerful processors to create a 'hybrid' model to save this power. In my opinion this is highly efficient considering the economic climate where affording electricity on monthly scales becomes more difficult as the recession continues so having this technology is a measure to counter this 

there are lower production costs in the making of this chip which saves power to make this technology and fewer working hours for the people that need to oversee the production of these chips increasing leisure time for these workers. You usually make chips on a silicon wafer and it costs roughly the same amount of money for each wafer. If you can get 2,000 devices on a wafer or 1,000 devices on a wafer it makes a huge difference to the cost per chip. The smart phone can be produced for under £60 per model making it more affordable for everyone around the world including developing countries.

Ubiquitous – New technology makes people talk about it on regular scales, because of this people will be more likely to buy the chip for their smart phone as it is being expressed through the media and recommended by family and friends alike. Mr. East the chip designer said that the “trend will happen no matter what because of how cheap it will be”. I personally believe that when this is available it will be regularly boasted about by the media in particular urging people to upgrade to it because of the power costs and the larger processor which seems to be on everybody’s agenda when technology is discussed.


 Disadvantages of this technology

it has to be said that a product like this doesn’t come with many disadvantages but I have managed to think of a few to express my personal concerns with this product.

Competition
As ARM is probably going to be the first to develop this chip other companies will soon see how this has been made and will look to make it better than ARM has made it resulting in new technologies every year or so which the consumer will most likely have to pay for. I personally believe that ARM should look at developing their chips faster and looking for solutions to make it better because of the completion even though they are one of the leading chip designers in the UK.

Aiming it towards world countries - When reading the article I found that this was quite alarming because they said this product could become available to the majority of African countries. It is alarming because as we know the African continent isn’t rich at all with the majority of the population in those countries being poor so how is this going to be made available to African countries and other 3^rd world countries? I personally believe that when reading that I felt has ARM got its target market correct in offering this worldwide? Because of this I have come to conclude that Arm should first notice the success in the UK alone before making such a, leap in making the product worldwide despite the cheap costs it brings.

Unfortunaly some issues occured when uploading the text occured so you will notice a white box, I have made a temporary solution so you can see the text.

Online banking

Online banking

When banking we know have the means we can access our accounts not only by a high-street branch but also by the banks online banking system. There are some companies that are solely internet based e.g. Amazon. Most major banking companies now operate online as well as having a branch on the local high street meaning we now have more control over our accounts than we did have ever had before.

Advantages of online banking

Rapid-online banking means that we can access our accounts and withdraw money, put in money and transfer money between accounts very quickly with just a few clicks. Being a rapid system online banking means that we can transfer money between accounts to pay upcoming bills and other expenditure quickly and effectively. Because online banking is now used widely amongst customers because we don’t have to go to the nearest banking branch to pay bills, cash in cheques, put in money or even withdraw money which ultimately saves us time and increases our leisure opportunities.

No queuing- because there is no queuing with online banking we have the ability to access our accounts without having to queue up in a branch. Because of this we don’t have to spend time to queue up at a branch which saves us time to carry on doing our day to day activities. Sometimes you may find that if you are shopping you have to pay to park. Because of this, when you queue you are wasting that time and will most likely find that you will have to pay for another ticket to avoid a parking fine.  WaMu an online banking system.

This screenshot shows that accessing your account requires no queues and it constantly updates according to the funds you currently have in your bank. Because there are no queues the customer can bank as quickly and efficiently as possible without the wasted time of having to queue especially on busy days.

Storing of details- Sometimes you may find that your online banking system requires additional security measures to protect your account. For example Santander has introduced a new way of protecting your account by you having to type in a new phrase and a picture. This is stored on the bank’s database and every time you enter your details you are shown your phrase and your picture to ensure your account hasn’t been hacked in anyway. For some this method is annoying because you have to type in additional information; however it is an advantage to you as this ensures that your account has the best possible protection. My experiences of this when talking to people who have used online banking is positive, they all seem to agree that continuously having to type in their security details is annoying however the added security gives them reassurance that their account is safe.

 This is a picture of Santander’s online security software which means when downloaded your account is more secure than ever ensuring your personal details are safe along with any money you have currently in your bank. This is also a beneficial offer for an online banker because the software is free to download and because of this they have added protection combined with their anti-virus to make their banking online experience as safe as possible.

Flexibility – With online banking we can access our personal accounts at any time including bank holidays /public holidays like Christmas for instant. Because we can access our accounts at anytime we can withdraw money even though that bank’s branch may be closed and set up direct debits and standing orders with just a few clicks without the time consumption of going to a branch or phoning up that company to set this up. I believe that this is a good advantage because online banking gives that 24/7 experience that no matter what the time we can access our accounts at anytime. For example you get paid around midnight one day and wish to transfer your income into an account where that money cannot be withdrawed by anyone but you. Having this feature allows us to us the service at time that is convenient to us instead of having to enter your nearest branch on a specific day.

Disadvantages of online banking

Typing in of information- If you have used online banking you have probably found that when asked for your details whether its card details/name of holder for example that you have to repeat the process of retyping in information to make sure your account is safe. For me that am a very annoying process because its time consuming when all I wish to do is access my account to pay a few bills for example. And yes you may argue that it is for added security measures for your benefit but if you are in a hurry to get to work or are shopping for example it’s annoying and frustrating when you’ve already typed in the relevant information. I personally think that having to type in information again is unnecessary and in my view I have to raise the question ‘how is this going to benefit the security of the bank user?

This screenshot is an example of the time consumption that is associated with online banking systems whereby we have to retype information we have previously typed in or even having to other tasks like saving our card details for example.

Mistakes- It’s very easy to make a mistake on the online banking system if you have no knowledge of what you are doing or just make the often silky mistake of typing in the wrong fund transferring information for example. Also often if you haven’t wrote down what your password is you are most likely going to forget it and with that are going to have to spend quite a long time resetting your security measures just to access your account. Overall what we can conclude from this is if a mistake is made it usually requires a lengthy process to re-amend the mistake.

 This screenshot is an example of a classic mistake when doing online banking. The screenshot shows the typo error of an account number which emphasises my point about me feeling that having to re-type information is very irritating.

Customer service- With online banking now there is no relationship between the customer and the bank. When online banking wasn’t around you could ask the accountant what exactly could required and they could do it relatively quickly. You could feel as the customer that you have received good customer service unlike online banking where the assistance is very minute. However to counter-argument that there is a frequently asked questions section online for users to voice their opinions and issues with the service they are receiving. However the overall disadvantage is that this is encouraging an unsociable society by not having a good relationship with the bank. I think this is bad because how can we successfully work in a team for example in situations if we are receiving services where we aren’t using those social skills in society?

My experiences of online banking

I don’t actually use online banking but I know a wide population of the people do. Many people have stated the issues and pros of online banking most of what I have discussed above but overall giving off the impression that it was a very good system that encouraged more leisure time as the time you spend banking is decreased quite significantly despite if you make a mistake which is rare as a lot of users are fairly careful about what they type in and therefore proof read the information which the bank system allows you to do before you proceed.

I think online banking is great as you can access your account at any time on any day 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Because of this online banking can be seen as better than going to an actual branch where accessing your account on certain days isn’t yet available so that flexibility is great in my view. Many people argue about the security of their accounbts however mnay banks may offer an additional account where only you can access it by card so funds can't be taken from teh account unless you are that card holder. Inb addition tio that as many banks offer comprehensive added security it is probably more safer than accesing your account by card.

E-government

E-government

E-government is anything that is to do with the government through online capabilities. Also adding on from that if the URL has ‘.gov’ this means that it is controlled by the government and is then classed as a form of e-government.

Some of the aspects of e-government will be discussed during this section that includes:

1)   Taxes.

2)   Voting.

3)   government policies/party policies.

 The first of these aspects that I am going to discuss is taxes.

Taxes

The particular branchy of online taxes that I am going to discuss is car tax however a specific points I will highlight other examples for your reference. Normally you would have to apply for a car tax disc through the use of the phone being asked a series of questions about you, your car and other questions that are needed for you to be given a tax disc. However now we can access the DVLA (driving vehicle licensing agency) through their website and applying for a car tax disc through this. Through the online means you will need to confirm a few statements before you precede to the next stage also it should be reminded that if you haven’t received your log book from DVLA then you shouldn’t use this service as the greens slip is not enough. Here is the menu that you will be presented with if you choose to apply for a tax disc online.

 This is a screenshot of the menu that you are first presented with when applying for a tax disc online. From this screenshot you can that there are a series of questions that need to be confirmed before you proceed to the next stage.

Advantages of online taxes

Low amount of stages involved- By applying for a tax disc online there are a low amount of stages online which is an advantage as many people when applying for something prefer to have a minimum amount of time spent applying for that. In addition to that not having a lot of stages in the process will entice people to use that service again which is a key aspect in assuring that the service is a success. I personally think that by applying online you are in a more comfortable environment that having to phone up to apply, and these minimum amount of stages ensure that you are more engaged to the service that you are receive reducing any tedium that may be induced during this process.

 This screenshot shows that by applying online for a tax disc you are ensuring that there are less stages to this process compared to phoning up to apply for that tax disc.

Saving money and time- Firstly you are saving time because the internet forms take less time to fill out because it is usually down to either typing in information or clicking a few buttons for example. The advantage of this is that you are creating for yourself more leisure time to do whatever you choose to do and filling out forms and the filling out of forms on the internet can be done in an environment that best suits you compared to phoning up when you are put under pressure to answer questions very quickly. So the overall advantage is that by filling out the forms online you can self pace yourself. I think that because you can self pace yourself it reduces the stress associated with the filling out of forms which has been experienced with many family members when filling out forms the normal way. The saving of money comes from you having access to a cost free service unlike when you actually ring up the tax service e.g. HMRC which builds up a phone bill.

 This screenshot shows that filling out forms online requires just a few boxes to be filled in compared to writing out an application form sent by the DVLA.

Reducing errors- With most online taxing services you can reduce the amount of errors that you make through a ‘check system’. What this check system enables you to do is when you make a mistake for instance not confirming one of the questions asked at the start of applying for a tax disc for example an error message/image will appear next to the mistake you have made. This is as major advantage as when you write out a form normally it is a easy to make a mistake, by using this method you can drastically reduce the amount of errors you make reducing the amount if frustration that comes with making a mistake. I personally believe in my experience that this is a very good feature because when I make mistakes on forms |I get highly frustrated and begin to feel like not wishing to complete the form this method ensures that that stress is relieved significantly enough to make me feel better about making a mistake.

 This screenshot shows an example of an error message/image that appears when you make a mistake.  From this screenshot you can the see the image presented as an exclamation mark with a red triangle surrounding it to symbolise a mistake has been made.

 

Disadvantages

Security of personal details- some taxpayers will question the security of their personal details and rightfully so because in 2001 General Accounting Office reported that there was a lax in the security of personal details in the system. No hacking evidence was found, however officers were able to gain unauthorised access to tax payers details. In addition to that although steps have been taken to improve security we can never 100% guarantee that it be effective and stop hackers when new ways are being developed for example with the AVG anti-virus system hackers have cloned tax login pages making it exactly identical and seem genuine as the actual site.

This screenshot shows the continents and countries that are most at risk of having personal details exposed.

Rejections- Many tax payers have had their signatures rejected for some reason. For example IRS came up with a statistic that about 10% of all online tax payers couldn’t tax online. Overall what we can concluded from this is that if you are a tax payer looking to e-file online you should be wary of the fact that your signature may be rejected and thus should look for Alternative ways of paying your taxes.

Tax software – to e-file online the taxpayer must be wary of the fact that some tax software requires an additional fee to use that service. This is not uncommon to be required to pay an additional fee so the taxpayer should check the box of the tax software to find out whether an additional fee is required to access that software. This is a major disadvantage because if you are required to pay an additional fee this could end up costing you more than sending off the paperwork the normal way just for the convenience of filling out the forms online.

This screenshot is an example of tax software. From this screenshot you can see that tax software requires an additional cost to run the software, this shows this as a disadvantage because the cost of having this product could be far more than sending the documents of by post for example. Although this is in American dollars the general idea is that tax software can cost so you as the tax payer should be wary of this fact.

My thoughts on taxing online- even though I can say I haven’t used online taxes I can feel when researching into this topic that I think I have a mixed view on it, it is good if you are applying for tax discs online because it saves time and money compared to filling out a form on paper and sending it off. However if you look at the security risks of trying to buy free tax software for those certain countries like the U.S.A then it’s bad; viruses can easily be obtained this way along with spyware that will invade your personal security so in the end as it is I feel there is no strong market in online taxes so to be critical it fully would be unfair as not many people especially in the UK will use it. In 5-10 years time it could be an option in the UK providing there is direction towards it and people are willing to pay extra for the convenience but for now I find that it is an undeveloped system at this precise time.

Online voting

About it

E-voting refers to any type of voting online through use of computer equipment. One of the main online voting systems used in online voting is called DRE (direct-recording electronic voting machine) which is where the voter has to physically use a keyboard and mouse to transmit their vote. Using this system means the voter’s choice is who they are voting for is automatically tallied to the total number of votes associated to that person/group. However there are many different forms of online voting which are:

‘Poll site’ which is where the voter goes to a polling place and transmits their vote to a central system that tallies all the votes from each terminal voted from.

‘Regional poll site’ which is where the voter can go to  any poll site in a particular city/town to cast their vote, the main computer system keeps a record of all the people who have cast their vote and sends the correct ballot paper to that region.

‘Kiosk’ this is where the computer terminals have been set up by the voting authorities in a convenient place for instance the post office. These terminals are monitored by the polling workers and can allow voting up to 7 days.

Picture shows a typical kiosk form of voting in a supermarket shop,shows convenience of this type of voting as you can vote in teh most obscure places.

‘Remote systems’ this is where the person can cast their vote from any system that is connected to the internet including gaming machines.

Advantages of online voting

Increases voters?-voting authorities have argued that online voting would increase the amount of people that turn up to vote because at the moment it is very lax and there is a view to this appealing to the younger generation of voters. However to balance this argument only 30% of computer users have access to the internet so is this really going to have a massive impact on the amount of voters? In addition to that I can counter-argument that by saying that having voting predominately internet based will reduce the queues which appeals to more people as sometimes people won’t have the time to vote until very late after work at a time where its not very convenient considering you’ve just finished a hard day’s work. The main point I’m saying here is that online voting can be fit around a time that is best suitable to an individual’s needs.

Costs of printing- In a bad economic climate keeping costs down is must isn’t it so printing less paper and use of ink to print on those cards keeps cots down, saves paper and ink and contributes to a more sustainable country. It’s quite funny when you consider the government tells us that we should be encouraged to be more sustainable and when it comes to voting they don’t seem to think that applies to them, so does our government really have the best interests for us? Reducing these costs means the government can invest more money into the things that matter.

Saved ballet templates- Having a pure online voting system means that templates that are made from scratch can be saved instead of having one without any real organisation involved. This is a more efficient way because over subsequent years only people’s names will need to be updated on the system as more vote reach the required age to vote. Also in turn this also means that fewer resources are used when a mistake is made so this is also a way of saving money.

Validation- The voting authorities can check the validity of the voters by checking their email address to see if they are who they claim to be. The main criticism of this could be that even though they have internet access they may not have an email address but to counter argument this voters should be required to have their email address clearly printed for checking.

E-mail- For those that actually have had their email address registered on their voting card may find that if they haven’t yet voted they will receive an email telling them to do so. I think that this is a good idea because when you consider that a lot of people check their email on a regular basis they will notice this email faster than a piece of paper in the post as it will generally have a title in bold, underlined and at the end an exclamation mark may be used to represent high importance.

Disadvantages of online voting

Validation

It is difficult to actually determine whether a voter is actually who they say they are. Passwords and ID numbers can be shared among people, so the only real way of identifying if a person is who they actually are is finger printing Id which may raise privacy issues and will cost quite a lot of money to do this in large quantities. I think when I look at this a way to counter effect this claim is the voter is using a remote compute can only vote from a registered computer assigned to that user.

Technical issues- We all know that if too many people access the system at any one time we won’t be able to access it, when looking at the problems of why this is happening with online voting the same reason can be applied. The only way to counter this issue I think is holding the voting on several days however that same problem will occur so the normal way to me seems better despite the problems face with it. I think that until someone has made applications accessible in mass quantities at any one time online voting will still have the same problems for years to come.

Security issues- I’ve considered this issue and have come to conclude that if employees are using employer’s computers or one infected by viruses is the balloting safe to access knowing that someone is watching the voter vote? I don’t think it is if the person has spyware on their computer someone is watching that vote being preceded and can use that to influence the voting in some way, shape or form.

Multiple voting- If the system is to be successful it needs to be designed in a way so the voter can only vote once. I think this is an obvious priority but it needs to be considered and designed in that way so the voting can’t be tampered/altered to assist another person. I think that if this is achieved then online voting may have a chance providing people are willing to use the system , if not then obviously it’s going to fail.

What I think- Online voting has some really good positives and I personally feel that in about 5 years or so online voting will be very big in the technological industry. However there are some major cons that I have researched into and I can conclude from these cons is that they are easily manageable and yes they are a major disadvantage to online voting being a success but in 5 years or so these issues will have be mostly likely looked at and focuses on and from this online voting will most likely replace the normal way.

Party Policies online- This is where we as a computer user providing we have internet access can access government policies. In most cases you will find that as the party are trying to be professional that each of their policies will be split down into sub sections for you to access.

 This screenshot shows that you can access your arties policies online. The example I am showing you the conservative party’s policies. And from this screenshot you can see that each of the policies are split into different sections, each in alphabetical order to make it easier for the reader to see them. I think this entices people into voting for them because it shows that they care if they are offering people a professional designed webpage  to look at.

Advantages of online policies

Alphabetical order- With looking at a party’s policies online you will find that their policies are in alphabetical order. This is an advantage as people will be able to look at a specific sub heading according to what they are looking for. Also this shows that the party have a professional view on the design of their webpage and thus will entice people into voting for them as they seem organised. I personally feel that this is good if it is in alphabetical order because as a young person nearly being allowed to vote being able to see a party’s policies in order will make me feel that that party is organised and will benefit the country.

 This screenshot shows the conservative party policy homepage. From this screenshot you can see that the policies are in alphabetical order.

Saves paper- Many people like to be aware of the party they are voting for and quite right naturally, however many people sometime fail to understand how much paper is being used to give people access to that party’s policies. By looking online there is no paper being used and with that saves money and saves resources. We know how bad the economy actually is at the moment so saving money is the upmost priority so by looking online at policies this is being achieved.

 From this screenshot you can see that there is no paper involved with looking at party’s policies online saving money and resources from this.

More accessibility- Providing you have internet access to a piece of hardware you can access the party’s policies. Because you can access it through the internet as well as a booklet you might be given you can immediately notice that viewing the party’s policies is more accessible. By having a larger accessibility more people can find these policies for example a disabled person might not be able to get out very often and as a result has a piece of hardware connected to the internet. By increasing the accessibility also you might also being increasing the amounts of vote’s for your party because the website can give a more detailed perspective on what your party is trying to achieve. I think this is good not only because of the example I have given but because the internet has the key to the future I believe and because of that in a few years time the internet will dominate society at a rate larger than it currently is, so having this larger accessibility will possibly mean that the professionalism in the design of party policies could be better.

  This screenshot shows that looking at your party’s policies can be done through internet means making it more accessible to the public.

Disadvantages to looking at party policies online

Trust? - I think the main disadvantage with looking at party policies online in general is can we really trust a party just because they say they are going to do this? I think that people have to consider this before looking at the policies and look at previous experiences to make a judgment on that party. I also believe us as the public should look at the realistic potential of offering promise that a party makes because if we look at the economy the liberal democrats want to invest 7bn into education but is this feasible?

 This is a screenshot of the liberal democrat’s party policies online. What my point is when showing you this screenshot is can we really trust a party just because it states a topic as a main priority.

Internet/broadband access- The main disadvantage with viewing online party policies is that you have to make sure you have internet/broadband access to be able to view the policies. This leads me to believe that we should not make party policies predominantly online because only 30% of all computer users in the UK have broadband/internet access. I also believe that the less dominant party’s are failing because they are predominantly promoting their party online which isn’t reaching many people. This is also a counter-argument statement to one of my advantages about online being more accessible with that statistic I have given you can see that yes it does make it more accessible but not as sufficient rate to increase support for that party because of the requirements of having to have internet access. Many of you may say I don’t just have to have a computer to access this data which is true but you still need internet access which costs so is it just better to have the booklet of the parties policies?

 This screenshot I have used to emphasise my point that you need to have broadband access/internet access to look at party policies. Having a better broadband means you can look at the party policies quicker as you navigate through the pages.

My experiences- I personally feel that after researching online party policies that it is a good idea. The advantages clearly out way the disadvantages which we know is the case as this is cost benefit to the party. One of the disadvantages I have mentioned is an obvious one which we are all pretty much aware of however the one the first disadvantage I have stated was an interesting one in that not many people are aware of it, most people will read the information and feel that it is a definite which is achieved through the use of imperative verbs like “we will” for example. This is a persuasive technique that I am making people aware of when reading texts like these and because of this I personally feel that if it is used I recommend questioning it further. My overall experience of using this system were positive as it saved money and resources which I feel is good in this economic climate.

Online Education

Online Education

A brief overview of online education

Education has changed rapidly through the use of the internet we now have the ability as students/pupils to access a whole variety of resources to assist in our learning whether this will be used for revision, to assist in the classroom, for coursework assignments or for general homework.

I am going to discuss a range of the different aspects in which we can use the internet for educational purposes. These aspects are:

1)Learning modules

2)Macromedia technology

3)BBC bite size, research purposes are also examples of how we can use the internet for educational purposes.

What is a learning module?

A learning module is a component of Blackboard Vista which is the software that learning modules run on. The blackboard software can be run on most apple and windows services, however In order to run this software properly you need to have a ‘supported browser’ one that allows you to run this software i.e. one that is compatible with the running of the software. The supported browsers are internet explorer, fire fox, safari and Google chrome. However if you wish to know if your browser is compatible then please refer to the following link: http://www.webct.com/tuneup/viewpage?name=tuneup_browsers_vista80_ce80

This screenshot shows the following browser pages that are compatible with the running of the blackboard vista software to run the online modules. This screenshot is the link from the above website that I suggested to refer to see if your browser is compatible.

Advantages of learning modules

 Clear structure -Each of the online modules will have a clear objective/s for the user with a clear navigation system for the user to refer to when observing the online module. This is an advantage to the user of this service as it allows the development of the course to ‘flow’ in a logical systematic fashion. Following on from that the user can decide what information is relevant for them and gain a very clear understanding of what the module is going to be about.

This screenshot is an example of a learning module. From this screenshot you can see that the 2^nd page gives relevant details about the course providing clear objective for the user to refer to when using this learning module. Also covering from what I have previously said about the learning module needing to be in a systematic order, this learning module shows the systematic flow at the bottom of the second page by asking questions the user may be thinking when viewing this learning module.

Relevance of information- Information gathered by using a learning module is going to be relevant for that particular type of topic. For example if you are using a learning module on how to use IRAS (Integrated Research Application System)  you may already have some basic knowledge of the system, or even how it works so you may not necessary  have to refer to these pages as that information is not relevant to you. This makes the system quite versatile to the user as they can pick and choose information depending on what they wish to know so keeping that relevance is important to maintain the amount of users to that module.

This screenshot shows an example of my point that the information will be relevant. From this screenshot you can see that this page shows what the system is about and the different links that the user can navigate to. The relevance of this is that if the user is a first time user of the system they can view this information to be valuable and as such relevance to what they are trying to achieve through studying this module.

Good interface/navigation – Having a good interface in a learning module is good as it creates an effective learning environment for the user, the user can understand the content within that learning module e.g. key concepts like how to do a ‘V lookup’ on excel for example. As most designers recognise the importance of a good interface to create this effective environment for the learner most learning modules will happen to of been carefully designed to reflect this. I happen to agree that this is one of the most important factors within a learning module as if the user can’t navigate and clearly see what the designer is trying to create within the content the interest that user will have lowered significantly leading to then not wishing to continue with the course.

 This screenshot shows an example of a good navigated learning module. The links have been clearly organised at the top to make it easier for the user to navigate through the module meaning that the user will most likely find that the module has been well thought out and will wish to continue the course. I think this shows that the designer of IRAS has done a significant amount of planning before designing the interface to make the design seem more attractive for the user to use.

High Interactivity – Having a significant amount of interactivity on the learning module will ensure a better chance of success for the course that you are studying. I think that having a high interactivity will mean the user is more engaged and more likely to take in the relevant information as this is a more active part of learning. I think that the best forms of interactivity are for the user to be presented with a scenario and doing a task developed around that. Overall I can conclude that a high interactivity is an advantage because it encourages a more developed style of thinking and resulting from that will mean the user is more likely to understand the course content.

 This screenshot is an example of high interactivity. The user can click on the tips image at the bottom of the page and will presented with a scenario to help their development through the studying of this course.

Disadvantages

Basic computer skills- The main disadvantage that I find with learning modules is if you don’t have a computer or access to one for a start you are immediately at a disadvantage as you cannot simply access the module. Secondly if you don’t have some form of internet connection you won’t be able to use the learning module as you won’t be able to access it. Thirdly if you can’t manage a series of internet browsers you will find doing learning modules will be a very frustrating process. Having a very slow internet connection will most likely result in the learner being frustrated and consequently they will give up. I think that not knowing basic computer skills will mean that for future references when you can only access large amounts of information online will mean that you will struggle in finding that information as you possibly won’t know where to look for the information.

Managing files and software- Some of the information I will provide here dos link back to the previous topic but it is a relevant disadvantage. If you are a novice at using a computer organising your files will seem complex at the start. With learning modules this is a key aspect for success so I believe that if you can’t keep your files organised you will most likely struggle with the learning module. For example you are told to download a piece of software or even a file the user does this but latter cannot find the file because they find organising on the computer very difficult to do, this means that they cannot proceed to the next task consequently they will fall behind and will most likely fail. So I believe tat if you are a novice to the computer I recommend that you practice these skills to fully appreciate the need for organisation. For your reference I will show you a good example of file organisation.

 This screenshot is an example of good file organisation. From this screenshot you can that separate file have been created to allow different topics to be placed within this file. This organisation ensures that when doing a module you will be able to find a file easily ensuring that any frustration you find with organising your files is reduced significantly creating a more positive learning environment.

High motivation and tedium- Learning modules are best for those learners that are high in motivation and can work independently with a low amount of support from others. If you use learning modules will most likely find that you will be bored quite quickly. This could be a result of having lack of motivation if this occurs you shouldn’t do the course. Learners have to be motivated to complete the work and work independently as instruction may not be so straight forward. Learning modules sally will have a lot of pages for you to navigate so this can encourage tedium for the user as they are bored with there being no variety to the learning style. Following on from that users of online learning modules will tend to find that they follow the same format in that there is no variation on the learning style. This is the fundamental point that makes these online learning modules boring, I think if they were adapted to make a friendlier approach to learning then maybe more people would be inclined into using them.

 This screenshot illustrates my point about the online learning modules being boring to learn from. The evidence of this screenshot shows that as there are 61 pages to view this creates a more tedious style of learning for a user.

My experiences of learning modules- I haven’t ever used a learning module however after browsing through a selection of them I found that It seemed good at first however as I researched into them further I found that they were frustrating to use and only lead to bad motivation and overall a negative approach to learning. Because of the information I found despite the positives the negatives have concluded me to say I would not recommend using them until sufficient improve have been made to making them better to acquire knowledge from them in a more positive environment.

Macromedia technology (online tutorials)

What is macromedia technology?

Macromedia technology is a piece of software that allows you as the user to access many different online tutorial s and other educational applications. Most macromedia technology for instance shockwave can be accessed through apple technology meaning the software can be downloaded to IPods and IPads for example making the software wider and accessible.

There are many different aspects of macromedia technology/online tutorials that include:

1) Slides e.g. [PowerPoint presentations.

2) Audio files e.g. podcasts

3) Video Files e.g. You tube

Advantages of macromedia technology/online tutorials

1) 24/7 Provides 24/7 learning support meaning that the user can access the content whenever and wherever providing they have an internet connection. Because of this the support they can receive is highly efficient and In my view makes this a more efficient way of learning compared to the learning modules as they usually stick to the key points and allow you to visualise.

  This screenshot shows that YouTube is 24/7 meaning I can access a wide variety of different videos depending on my search criteria.

2)  Time restrictions online tutorials allow the user to remove any time restrictions associated with their learning. Because of this there are no CO₂ emissions with online tutorials you are contributing to a greener planet and in my view that is quite important as keeping a greener environment means a healthier environment in which we can live in. Adding on from there are no petrol costs associated with online tutorials meaning you are already saving quite a significant amount of money compared to having to buy books, or spending for public transport for example to go a to a college/.school to learn that information saving time and reducing any real frustration with having to go to that school.

 This screenshot shows that podcasts don’t require any petrol consumption costs or restrict any more time than necessary for travelling costs to all you have to do is download the podcast update and listen to it.

3) Accommodate learning styles- This type of learning is good for those who like to visualise in their learning particularly good learning tutorials are through YouTube where the learner can see from another person what is required to solve a problem e.g. a maths problem for example. Following on from that some people prefer to listen as their preference of learning which is where podcasts are so useful because they allow the user to listen in how they should approach a task or a problem. In addition to that podcasts can be easily downloaded on your IPads or IPods providing you have the correct software to download the software and most importantly an internet connection if you need to download piece of software to run that podcast. Because we have the ability to do this it is in my opinion that macromedia technology is becoming more widely accessible to us and providing us as learner’s new opportunities to learn easily and in an environment that we feel comfortable in. And lastly we now have a particular type of software from Microsoft that allows us to type in key concepts of a topic in a note form to assist in revision, in my opinion that is highly useful if you have large notes and you wish to store that information as easily as possible making it more colourful with just a few clicks to suit your learning preference.

 Screenshot shows how different types of hardware are making our learning more adaptable, here I’m showing a video on YouTube which emphasises how we can use different internet systems to assist in our learning through YouTube and through IPads and IPod’s.

4) Focusing on a specific task- Following on from my previous discussion because we each have different learning styles we will each have different means to learn depending on our learning style. For example I may like to learn visually and verbally so I may use YouTube for example to learn a specific topic. I can type in what I am looking for and find a video instantly, within each of those videos the person who has made it will focus on a specific task e.g. how to structure an English essay in an exam. This in my opinion is good if you are unsure on a few of the topics discussed in your classes as it allows you to pick and choose what you would like to know about. My experience of using this was very positive as I am a person who learns visually and verbally I could understand a topic and clearly discuss about it in class for example what the key features of a good essay are. Also because they focus on a specific task, the type of online tutorial will be clearly explained usually through a PowerPoint presentation with pictures to illustrate the point they are making it easier for the user to understand key concept.

 This screenshot emphasises my point that each topic discussed in a piece of macromedia technology will be about 1 key concept. For example I am showing you the top video of one of my searches; we can assume from the search that the top video will show how to do that specific task.

Disadvantages

Resources needed- To make sure you have a good online tutorial firstly from the designers perspective you need to consider the hardware involved, any technical support which may result in a fee/training needed to make a good online tutorial. The overall point is how much are these resources going to cost training may be expensive so that disadvantage means you may have to save up money just to make one which can take a lot of time. You will also need to considered the storage and retrieval of that information, how much space I need, you may have to upgrade your hardware which will cost quite a bit of money so that disadvantage could mean you will have less money to spend on other essentials like the software costs for example.

Time consumption- Also from the designer’s perspective considering the economic climate can we really afford to design this knowing we will need more money for other basic living essentials? I think that the making of tutorials should now be through systems like YouTube which are free saving you money. However the main disadvantage obviously is the time and as a result not many people today will have a lot of time to spend considering school work and general work.

Reliable information? -  The main concern as learners is to ensure that we can fully trust the knowledge that we have been given. It is vital to know the information we are been given is genuine as we will most likely be using that information in school projects, exams and general school work so understanding that it is right is important. Adding on from that as we use these systems top understand a concept knowing if our sources are reliable is difficult as we general don’t understand the topic anyhow. In my experience I have been known to use information from systems like YouTube and it turned out it was wrong so the general message is just because its YouTube it doesn’t mean the information is genuine.

My experiences of online tutorials

My experience of using online tutorials was fairly positive as I have mentioned before there were some issues with the systems in terms of reliability but before hand I make sure I have general understanding of the topic so I can point out any irrelevant information that is being discussed. I have used podcasts but they were supplied by teachers so I could be sure that that information was reliable to use in exams and school work. I would recommend this in comparison to learning modules providing you have a general understanding of the topic that you are studying.