E-communicationsModule 2.3

E-communicationsModule 2.3

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Content Use of e-communications Examples and uses of digital communications

› E-mail› Social networking sites › Blogs/vlogs › RSS feeds › Podcasts› Wikis› The use of GPS technology in digital communicatio

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Using the Web efficiently New trends and technologies Test and improve your knowledge

4Use of e-communications

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E-communication or digital communication

The use of technologies to transfer digital data using computers, smartphones, tablets and networks like the Internet.

e-mail

instant messaging

VoIP

social networkin

g sites

blogs

micro

blogs

video conferencin

gRSS feeds

podcasts

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Strengths and advantages of digital communications

Easy to use. You can connect and communicate

with many people easily and efficiently. Can be used wherever you are and on

multiple devices. Faster than conventional methods. Can save you money on travel and

communication costs (e.g. video conferencing).

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Strengths and advantages of digital communications

Allow you to distribute content to vast audiences.

Allow multiple media types in a communication session (e.g. you can talk, share video or pictures).

Text‑based communications (e.g. e-mail and instant messaging) can be sent and responded to when the other person becomes available.

They give you a ‘record’ of your communications, as opposed to a telephone conversation which does not.

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Weaknesses, disadvantages and limitations of digital communications

Depend on Internet coverage. Efficiency depends on Internet

speed. Require other people to be

connected digitally. Require expensive equipment.

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Weaknesses, disadvantages and limitations of digital communications

Many different standards and both the sender and the receiver need to be using the same applications.

Hardware and software compatibility problems may occur as some software will only work on certain hardware.

Effective use depends on the skill and confidence of the user.

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Good practices when using digital communications

Respect the online privacy of others

You can’t ‘undo’ something you have said or typed

Communication can easily be misinterpreted.

Keep differences in bandwidth (cost, speed and cap) in mind.

Keep time differences in mind.

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Examples and uses of digital communications

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E-mail

The composing, sending and receiving of messages electronically over a network including the Internet.› Sending and receiving of e‑mail messages

› Gmail and Outlook have a calendar, contacts list, tasks lists and archive features to help you to be organised.

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E-mail Calendar reminders about events, birthdays or

appointments sync these with your mobile phone The calendars can be shared amongst

groups and reminders can be sent to all people attending an event or a meeting.

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E-mail Tasks add tasks to a ‘to-do’ list to remind of

things one has to do. order according to importance and can be

emailed or printed. assign a due date.

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E-mail Contact list address book or contacts list. choose an address from your contacts list

or address book or you can type it in manually when preparing an e-mail message.

Contacts can be organised into groups

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E-mail Archive Tidy up your inbox by moving messages

from your inbox to an archive folder

Written module activityWritten module activity

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ExploreEmail

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Written module activity

Read pages 103 – 105 Page 113:

› Complete questions 1 – 10

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Social networking sites

People, institutions and companies use social networks to› stay in touch and communicate

› advertise and market products or services

› network with people with similar interests

› communicate news about an organisation or club

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Creating a profile on Facebook

Go to the Facebook website (www.facebook.com) and follow the easy instructions to sign up.

Supply an e-mail address. Once you have signed in, you can start

adding your profile information. Now you are ready to add ‘friends’.

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Managing your Facebook account

Account Settings – change your username and password and the way you receive notifications, etc.

Privacy Settings – limit who can view your information, including photos and posts and set who can post to your wall.

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Blogs/vlogs

Weblogs or blogs are websites that are updated often with news and events in chronological or sequential order.

A video blog (vlog) is a form of blog which uses video as the medium.

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Blogs are used for:

Sharing personal experiences

Citizen Journalism

New media news blog sites

Corporate information blog sites

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Publishing a blog through Word

There are different blog providers or hosts available.

These are websites that allow you to create an account, set up your blog and host your blog.

Options include SharePoint Blog, WordPress, Blogger and TypePad.

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Create an account / sign up for a blog on the website of a blog provider .

Select a URL (your blog’s domain or ‘address on the host’s website).

If you have created an account with a blog provider that supports Word, you can create your blog post by sending a Word document to the blogging site. Remember your user name and password.

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In Word: File, Save and Send, Publish as Blog Post.

The first time you post to your blog, you will be required to register the blog account linking Word to the blog provider. Insert URL of the blog, your user name, and password.

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When you are linked, the ribbon displays new icons & the document is displayed differently. Insert the title of the blog posting on the Word document in the Title control box.

Select Publish. The document will be posted on the blog.

Manage Accounts in the Blog Post tab in the Blog group - add / remove accounts with different blog providers. C

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RSS feeds RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a web or news

feed that automatically provides users with updated content or notifications of new content.

RSS feeds can alert you to› new blog entries on blogs you subscribe to› whenever a new blog or article is written that

matches the search criteria you have set › new video clips on YouTube channels› new music on iTunes› whenever your name or your company’s name

pops up in web searches› items that you are interested in on online

auction sites such as eBay.C

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Podcasts Audio file (often in an MP3 format)

- available to download for free /purchased – Internet.

Can be downloaded individually / subscription – each new episode is automatically downloaded to your computer.

Can be produced by professionals or amateurs.

Video podcast (vodcast) includes video clips or photos.

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Podcasts (and in some cases vodcasts) can be used

to download radio shows for educational purposes for tourists and visitors in places of

interest such as museums to listen to the reading of a book – for

users who are visually impaired

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Wikis

allows for the collaborative editing and creating of the content of web pages

take the form of a web page and access to them is usually free.

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Wikis can be used for the following

creating company intranets creating community websites making checklists and lists of things to do in

large projects with a number of people working on them

creating reference sites (like an encyclopaedia, e.g. the well-known Wikipedia)

creating educational resources such as glossaries for subjects, study notes and FAQs

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The use of GPS technology in digital communications

Smartphones, cameras and other devices have GPS facilities.

Foursquare is a social networking website and application where users ‘check-in’ at places such as their favourite coffee shop.

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Users can choose to have their check-ins posted on Twitter and Facebook.

Mobile marketing based on your GPS location has enormous possibilities for businesses.

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Written module activity

Read pages 106 – 109 (GPS) Page 114:

› Complete questions 11 – 18

36Using the Web efficiently

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Web browser

An application that allows you to view and explore web pages on the Internet.

Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome, Safari, Opera Browser.

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Home page settings

In all web browsers, you can set a default web page, known as the home page that opens when you load the web browser.

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Home page settings - IE

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Home page settings- Google Chrome

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Home page settings – Mozilla Firefox

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Bookmarks or favourites

The Favorites or Bookmarks option allows a user to store shortcuts to the web pages they frequently visit.

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Bookmarks or favourites

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Bookmarks or favourites

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Bookmarks or favourites

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History

The History option allows you to find the web pages you have previously visited. When you click the History option, it shows a list of sites you have visited. You can configure the length of time that you would like to keep the history for.

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History

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History

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History

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Pop-up blocker

A pop-up is a small web browser window that appears on top of the website you are viewing. They are usually created by advertisers and often open as soon as you visit a website.

Pop-up blockers are features of most web browsers. They allow you to limit or block most pop-ups.

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Blocking of websites

Reasons for blocking websites› Avoid phishing websites › Preventing further targeting by spammers › Parents might want to prevent their

children from having access to content such as gambling and pornography.

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Caching

Web browsers temporarily store web documents such as HTML pages and images on disk. This process is known as caching.

The reasons for caching are to reduce bandwidth usage and to allow previously visited web pages to load quicker.

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Browser plug-ins

Small applications that acts as an add-on to a web browser so it can display additional specialised content.

Usually free. Needed when you want to open pages

with content such as videos, sound or even documents directly in the browser .

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Adobe Reader plug-

in

Adobe Flash, QuickTime, Microsoft Silverlight,

Windows Media Player plug-in and Adobe Shockwave Player

Google Earth plug-

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Browser plug-ins

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Written module activity

Read ‘Using the Web efficiently’ on pages 109 – 111

Page 115: › Complete questions 19 – 26

56New trends and technologies

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Trends and technologies

Mobile connectivity• Devices that are small, that have a long battery life and are ‘instantly on’• Carry these devices with them wherever they go• Smartphones have many applications

‘Always on’ connectivity

• The Internet is expected to be ‘always on’ and always available• Make it a part of our daily lives

Increased bandwidth at a lower cost

• Connect at faster speeds and lower costs• Connectivity more affordable and increases the number of people who make use of the

Internet

Digitisation of media• Books, magazines, newspapers, music, movies and

software are sold in digital, downloadable formats

Distributed processing and storage

• Storage and processing power accessed through the Internet may be spread across multiple servers in different data centres around the world

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Written module activity

Read page 111 Page 116

› Complete question 27

59Test and improve your knowledge

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Study the Summary on page 112 – 113

Make sure that you have completed the Written module activity and have marked all your answers