Online Government link

Posting a link:

Website of the UK government : Directgov

Emailing My Blog Address.

This is the e-mail i sent to my fellow students, so they will know my blog address.

These are a few of the emails i recieved back with fellow students in my class's blgo adresses.

Conclusions of how email works

Conclusions of how email works.

Purposes of email

• easy to communicate with a large number of people al the same time because you can do them all together rather than if you were having to send all of them an email one-by-one.
• can be done anywhere that has access to the internet without extra charge like a mobile would.
• can be delivered at any time of the day.
• handy when you are rushed you can easily ask someone to do it for you without having to risk security procedures.
• can be printed,saved,forwarded and deleted at any time or immediately if it is confidential.
• is always there until deleted and will not be lost off your computer so you can always go back to it if you need to re-look at the information given inside.
• you do not have to save it to a memory stick or anything like you would usually have to do with a ordinary document as it is saved on your user all you need is a computer and the internet.
• most people find it relatively easy to use, where as other forms of communication they find more difficult.

Advantages

• email is effective in providing quick answers to yes and no, type questions. eg. Do you do international delivery?
• Email is effective in finding the right person in an organisation or company to answer your question.
• Email is good to make appointments for busy people.
• Email can distribute information quickly to many people for the time it takes to email one person.
  

Disadvantages

• Email can become timeconsuming for answering complicated questions and misunderstandings can arise because cultural differences in the interpretation of certain words.
• The telephone, is much better for providing detailed answers or if you feel that the question is not absolutely clear.
• Email can compromise the security of an organisation because sensitive information can be easily distributed accidently or deliberately.
• Email should be entrusted to well trained and trusted staff members.
• Email can become impersonal or misunderstood.

How Email Works

How e-mail works.

It can take days to send a letter across the country and weeks to go around the world. To save time and money, more and more people are relying on electronic mail. It's fast, easy and much cheaper than the using the postal service.

What is e-mail?
To put it in the easiest form possible, e-mail is a document sent from one device to another via an email address. While most messages go from computer to computer, email can also be sent and received by mobile phones & handhelds etc. With e-mail, you can use it for business work e.g. sending flowcharts or accounts over by attaching documents. Or you can use email for personal matters just to talk to a relative or a friend and attach pictures of your latest holiday or what ever you chose to send you can also send music, video clips and software programs.

An e-mail message has always been nothing more than a simple text message a piece of text sent to a recipient. In the beginning and even today, e-mail messages tend to be short pieces of text, although the ability to add attachments now makes many messages quite long.

How email works
E-mail is one of the Internet's oldest applications, and it's the most widely used. Internet users send hundreds of millions of e-mail messages to one another every day. 89% are business related.
Considering how important e-mail has become in our business communications, it's surprising that many people don't really understand how e-mail works. While the process is complex on many levels, understanding how e-mail travels from point A to point B is actually quite simple.

Sending Mail

When you send an e-mail message, your e-mail program connects to your Internet service provider's mail server. Like all Internet traffic, your message might be broken into smaller pieces — or packets — before it begins its journey. These smaller packets can travel more quickly from server to server, and are reassembled when they reach their destination.

VLE

VLE

What is a VLE?
VLE stands for virtual learning environment.
A virtual learning environment (VLE) is a software system designed to support teaching and learning in an educational setting. A VLE will normally work over the Internet and provide 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 organising student grades, questionnaires, tracking tools, and similar. New features in these systems include wikis, blogs and RSS

Advantages
· You can easily publish existing documents and presentations
· Can produce links to online sources of data, services, records and publications etc
· Can produce links to online resources such as simulations and tutorials if any students don’t understand the task at hand.
· They are easy to use for both students and teachers.
· Students can access it anywhere they want that has access to the internet so there is no need to always be at school, you can access all resources from home.
· They offer the potential of supporting large groups of students.
· They produce one set of online materials that can be used and updated each year.
· They offer flexible support for teachers who do not need to be in a fixed time or place to support and communicate with students.

Disadvantages
· VLEs can become a ‘dumping ground’ for materials not designed to be delivered online.
· If materials are not integrated or linked in any way to face-to-face teaching, they may not be used properly, or at all.
· Issues of copyright need to be considered.
· VLEs may be relatively easy to use, but generally the software is still rather difficult for first time learners. You could be frustrated by limitations of presenting.
· You also have to bear in mind that standards which will allow you to take content from one VLE to another are still emerging which means work could be copied off other students.
· Onsite and offsite school students can get access to hardware, networks and printing facilities but can be problematic for both students and teachers, and may raise issues of equality.
· Teachers need to plan online support carefully to avoid overload.
· Such independent learning still needs to be guided and supported.

I would like to see coursework being put on VLE’s in school because although some teachers may disagree, a majority of students learn better when they are in the comfort of their own home and when tasks are given in class some students struggle to just come out with it there and then. I also believe on a VLE they should put a page for revision purposes. Then the students looking for SAT’s, GCSE, AS Level & A Level preparation for their exams, ahve a safe, easy site to access at home and at school. Also another reason why this should be on the site is because students can also get help from the teachers straight away if they are stuck on anything. I really think it could help increase the grades for future exams.

Download services.

Download services

Millions of people all over the world use download services. All for different purposes, some use it for music, pictures, videos and other things. Here are the disadvantages and advantages of using download services for your personal needs.

Advantages

• it is cheaper or even free on some sites.
• it is alot quicker than having to go to the shop and buying the disk and then uploading it onto your computer to load it onto another document that you wish it to appear on.
• you can chose the excact things you want without having to pay for ones you dont want for example, on an album you may only like 4 songs and the rest you are paying for but do not want, and yes you can buy each individual single but that will match the cost or even cost more than the album itself.
• its easy to find your way around the sites and can access it anywhere that has it installed

Disadvantages

• the files you download are not always safe.
• viruses can be picked up easily as there are no firewalls available on each file.
• it is illegal and you could be fined or punished if you are found using it

Online Education

Online Education

For this task I am going to research all the methods used on different education sites, to compare them to each other and see which one is best for students studying; a-level, as level , GCSE and SAT’s.

The 5 sites I am going to compare are the science museum, revision link, Sam learning, virtual classroom + BBC bite size.

Science Museum
The science museum is a good site to revise from, but it’s very specific and as it is based on science unless you’re looking for science it is pretty useless with the exception of art. The site is complicated to find what you are looking for. Each subject has a variety of different topics to chose from so if you are looking for anything in particular, you can quickly find the link you want and get to it easily.

Revision Link
Is excellent on its choices of subjects as it varies all the way from accountancy to politics. When you click on the subject you want for example I chose Spanish to click on to view the next batch of options.
Revision Aid Directory – lists the different key stages for you to chose what one you are revising for.
GCSE Spanish Revision Notes – useful notes that usually appear in the exam. Easy for students that don’t like to read long paragraphs.
Coursework Help – helps you with the things you can’t do and as your teacher is not there to help, this is the next best thing. I think it’s very reliable as I tested it out to see if it would correctly work or not and I believe it worked fine.

There is a downfall to this site though and that is that they have posted previous coursework’s online which could be used as plagiarism as the students could take an easy option and copy and paste it as their own work and get the marks they do not deserve.

Sam Learning
This site is very safe as it is the only one I have come across that is password protected to stop others getting into your account. The A-level link lacks a lot of important subjects such as, English, media, psychology, sociology, art + history etc. which I think they are key components a student would need and would make the site a huge improvement if they were to alter this fact. Another downfall is that when you click on the subject you want it goes straight onto test papers, without giving you a chance to look at any notes on the subject. So it is testing you well on your knowledge but it does not help you revise. As some students prefer the notes rather than the papers as they find them difficult.

Virtual Classroom
I find the site very confusing and I am quite a regular computer user, so for students that are first timers in this category, I believe they will be very confused as the site is not clear at all, and after 10 minutes on this site I gave up as I could not find what I was looking for. I cannot comment on the links and the choices of revision as I could not locate it, but it my opinion if I cannot find my way around the site and it does not have a clear layout I wouldn’t waste my time on it. Therefore I wouldn’t rate this site very high.

BBC Bite size
The site is very useful for GCSE students as it has all the subjects needed to revise for, and once you click on the subject it includes revision for all the different departments that will be included in the exam and then gives you the option of various amounts of exercises to complete so you can work on your stronger points and mainly your weaker ones. As if the site isn’t helpful enough it then even gives you a chance to complete a mock exam to help prepare yourself for the big exam that is coming up. I used this site a lot when I was doing my GCSE’s and it really helped me. I find the site very easy to find my way around it has a good lay out and I am able to locate everything I need to help me achieve the best grade possible. However if you are an A-Level or AS level student there is nothing to help you with your studies. I did search the web, I know there is a site, but for someone who didn’t I put myself in their position and just search in Google BBC bite size A-Level.

This is what I found the top site is where I have already visited which helped me with the GCSE side of things. I could not find anything to help me with my higher courses, which I find also another unclear site and I believe it should be included on the main site as that is where most people will look for it.

Conclusion
I think that in conclusion taking all the five different sites I have visited into account, the vast majority of them are difficult to find your way around which I don’t think is fair. This could cause a major downfall in the child’s grade. However I also think the sites I could find my way around had a great selection of subjects to choose from and even the subjects I would never think of were included. All in all I believe the sites are helpful and they are useful to children when they do not have any notes or they need an extra bit of help.

ADVANTAGES
· Accessibility: you can go on it anywhere that is able to connect to the internet.
· Choices: there is a variety of subjects to choose from.
· Cost: An online education is not as expensive as a traditional education.
· Time: you can revise when it suits you, and make your own schedule you do not have a time limit which helps some students perform better as they know they are not being rushed.
· Students don't have to take notes. Some students find it hard to write notes and they dislike writing it because it doesn’t actually sink in to their brains. With the online learning the page is there for you to just read, and even print of if you need it. And even if you lose concentration for a few moments all you have to do is click the back button and your page is back up to where it should be.
· No dress code. Come to class in your pajamas, or whatever you feel comfortable in to help you learn better.
· Shy students may feel more comfortable. Some students hate to participate in live class discussions. For many students, the online environment can be less intimidating.
· Reduces travel time and travel costs for off-campus students
· Self-paced learning modules allow students to work at their own pace
· Flexibility to join discussions in the bulletin board threaded discussion areas at any hour
· Develops knowledge of the Internet and computers skills that will help learners throughout their lives and careers
· Successfully completing online or computer-based courses builds self-knowledge and self-confidence and encourages students to take responsibility for their learning
DISADVANTAGES
· Courses: Not all courses are available online.
· Discipline and time management skills are mandatory. Online students are using their own schedule and could miss deadline, If you are someone who and has trouble managing your time, an online course may be a disaster for you. Without the routine structures of a traditional class, students may get lost or confused about course activities and deadlines
· Lack of direct interaction with the instructor. Some students prefer this, or don't find it to be a problem. But many students thrive from face-to-face interaction and attention from teachers and may not do well without that interaction.
· Isolation from fellow students. Some students don't miss the classroom setting at all. Others find this environment to be very lonely. Ideally, classroom settings can become welcoming communities, and it's harder (although not impossible) to replicate that online. If this sounds unpleasant, though, you might be better off in a traditional classroom.
· Learners with low motivation or bad study habits may fall behind
· Instructor may not always be available when students are studying or need help
· Slow Internet connections or older computers may make accessing course materials frustrating
· Managing computer files and online learning software can sometimes seem complex for students with beginner-level computer skills
· Hands-on or lab work is difficult to simulate in a virtual classroom .

Online Services

For the online services part of my blog. I am going to complete an evaluation and a description of five different types of online services.
The five types I have chosen to evaluate and write up about are.
1.Communication
2.Commerce
3.Business
4.Entertainment
5.Download services

Communication is all about; instant messaging, emails, blogs, news groups and conferencing
Commerce on the other hand involves; shopping online, banking online and also includes auctions
Business is video conferencing, collaborative working and business networks.
Entertainment is multi-user games & radio players
Download services includes music, films, upgrades + software.

A-Level ICT

For the online services part of my blog. I am going to complete an evaluation and a description of five different types of online services.

& after i have completed this task i am going to write a description of how ICT is affecting five different aspects of peoples lives, considering the drawbacks and teh benefits.

I am then going to describe three factors contributing to the ditital divide, and some of the attempts to bride the gap between it, including an evaluation of the impact of the divide itself.