Introduction - Read carefully
The
unit has been designed so that you may gain an appreciation of how ICT is being
used in today’s society. It gives
an opportunity for you to present a report either word processed or orally, and
perhaps be supported by use of ICT packages such as presentation
graphics/slideshow software.
It
is expected that you will do some research into where ICT is currently being
used and explain your findings. You
will then try to predict where the future lies for society and ICT. It will give you the opportunity to reflect on your studies
and make suggestions/predictions. Some
newspapers have a weekly supplement that includes articles that may help you to
think about future developments. Lots of useful information is available on the
Internet.
You
could try one or more of the following:
The
BBC Science and Technology News Website – you can search for articles
about topics of interest
The
Technology Review Website – search for articles on new technology or
topics of interest
Video
conferencing
Teleworking
– another useful website about teleworking
Video
phones - try
this recent report or this
one
Current
(Jan 2004) "hot" issues include the new technology behind "Radio
Frequency Identification" - claimed by some to be the successor to barcodes
used on all products. You can read the latest BBC website article by
clicking here
and an article written by campaigners who are concerned about how this may
affect our lives by clicking here.
You
should explore areas with which you are familiar, so that you may see first
hand, the way in which ICT has benefited or disadvantaged society. Just looking around a public place such as a train station,
you will see several areas where ICT is being used.
It will give you the opportunity to assess the impact of ICT on areas
with which you are familiar.
You
should carry out independent research. You
could base your study on, for example, the use of ICT in a library, leisure
centre, supermarket or a hospital where you can see how ICT is being used.
A
small part of your report may be about the development of the Internet – but
this should only be covered to a basic level.
The issues of security of data eg encryption, virus problems and the use
of passwords are relevant here, however.
Where dates are given for legislation or regulations, these indicate
those that are current at the time of writing.
If new legislation or regulations supersede these, the most up-to-date
information should be studied.
What to do now:
This is a possible plan of action:
1. Visit a supermarket, leisure centre, factory, library, video/dvd hire
shop, hospital or medical centre (or use your contacts/knowledge of your work
placement) to look at how ICT is used in a local commercial or industrial
organisation.
2. Ask or research (use Internet or discussions/questionnaires) how the
organisation has changed as a result of the ICT used. Also try to find out
how jobs, skills, hours of work, communications etc have changed as a result of
the use of ICT.
3. Choose and make a note of suitable sources of information that you plan to
use in your report (you will need to include full details - eg. the website
address, name and status of the person interviewed, title author and date of
book or article). These sources are likely to include:
- interviews with people who
work in the organisation you have studied
- newsletters, newspaper articles,
radio/tv programmes, website
articles and/or information about the organisation you have studied
- questionnaires completed by
people connected with the organisation (eg. workers, customers, business
contacts etc
- Internet websites providing
information about new technologies such as teleworking,
videoconferencing, electronic
communications, virtual reality etc -
and the effects these technologies could have on the organisation you have
studied and the people connected with it.
- Websites, articles or text books providing information
about the law and ICT - (Data Protection Acts, Computer Misuse Act etc) -
and also sources relating to the effects of ICT on the environment.
- Information sources about the growth of the Internet, the
development of e-commerce and the commercial uses of ICT - including JIT
ordering and electronic point of sale (EPOS)
3. Plan then create your report. You can
download a Word document to use to plan your report by clicking here.
Your report should include:
- Introduction - this will
include the name and address
of the organisation(s) you have studied, some background
information (history, type of work or service, number of people
employed etc).
- "Past and Present"
- can be divided into - for example - how ICT
is used today; how tasks were done before
ICT was introduced; what changes have been as
a result of the use of ICT; has ICT helped or
hindered the organisation; how have staff skills
or work changed; what does the organisation
see as the benefits and limitations of ICT;
what use does the organisation have of the Internet
or electronic communications (e-mail, fax,
videoconferencing, teleworking etc).
- "Future" - can be
divided into - for example - what possible further
use could the organisation make of ICT; what changes
would this bring about; what are the possible
effects of new developments (such as teleworking and videoconferencing) on
the organisation.
- "ICT and the environment"
- can be divided into - for example - the paperless
office - could it ever really happen?; suggest how communications
could be made without paper; suggest working
methods that would reduce the amount of paper
used or kept; changes in transportation needs for shops, for example just-in-time
(JIT) ordering systems; use of scarce
resources, for example lower wastage through more accurate
prediction of resource needs; increased pollution
- old computers and ICT equipment; better control of
pollution using ICT.
- "Legal issues" -
can be divided into - for example - data protection
issues (Data Protection Act (1998)); health and
safety issues and ICT (Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and
Health and Safety Regulations (1992)); software and
copyright issues (Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1988)).
- "How ICT affects the
individual" - can be divided into - for example - use of the Internet
(can include: use of browser software and search
engines; e-mail; newsgroups;
chat rooms; the lack of control
over who places material, and accesses
information, on the Internet; the availability of offensive,
illegal or unethical material on the Internet); the
development of home shopping and electronic
commerce (e-commerce) systems; the use of the
Internet for marketing through website
design; the security of information,
for example if buying goods on the Internet using credit/debit cards.
- "Future developments"
- can be divided into - for example - financial
transactions, ie if smart cards are used for charging purposes; shopping
habits, ie if shopping via the Internet increases; personal
safety and freedom, for example if GPS (geographical positioning
systems) are used to track individuals, or ID cards are introduced; commercial
security, ie if security systems are developed to improve detection
of theft, for example on networked computer systems; in education - the
increasing use of ICT in schools.
- Conclusions and Predictions
- should be a very brief summary of the main findings reported in b to g
above. In addition this would be a useful place to include some predictions
about how the increasing use of ICT in all areas of life and work may
change our lives and how our society operates - some possible ideas -
videophones; "always on" broadband Internet; video on-demand;
home-based working; e-commerce; virtual reality; global communications.
- Evaluation - this final part
of your report is where you should evaluate the
sources of information you have used. In addition you must
also comment on how you could improve your research
and report if you were to do it again.
The above titles are included in this pro-forma
which you can use to help you create your report (if you word-process it).
