Entertainment in the Information Age

Entertainment has developed a lot through technological advances over the past years as the digitalised industry has greatly evolved. There are still many general sources of entertainment that are used by many people, including game consoles and digital cameras. However it is becoming less common as most things now are downloadable. Entertainment is almost inseparable without the use of internet. The whole idea of entertainment that is not downloaded is becoming unusual whereas it used to be usual to buy entertainment in shops.

Music

Listening to music is a big development where technology has taken over. It is unusual now for people to listen to CDs because most people tend to download music. When CDs first became popular they were a digital medium, which is the storage of digitalised audio. Within the music industry it never used to be the case to produce digitalised tracks, however now with modern records it is very common for singers to use auto tune.  They use auto tune so that they do not sing the wrong notes but this can sometimes have an effect on the sound and on the music track itself because they are usually incredibly over produced. Many things that are digital often get a backlash, changing the sound of the track. It also results in many singers over using auto tune and so when it comes to them singing live, they sound completely different and sometimes they end up lip singing throughout the whole song.

Film

The way in which films are made has changed remarkably. A lot of film is now CGI (Computer Generated Imagery). A very popular film that took a long time to produce and is primarily CGI is Avatar. You can clearly see a lot of time was spent in getting this film to the best quality of what they were trying to represent. On the other hand some directors prefer to use the least amount of CGI. For example, Christopher Nolan, a famous director known for the recent film ‘Interstellar’ had actually build sets for the film instead of using green screen because he believed that it is more natural.

TV
TV has also moved from analogue to digital. The analogue system was predominately used by people to get the latest headlines and news and then it had developed into digital broadcasting which is the most common way that is used in today’s developments. A main reason why analogue was replaced by digital is because an analogue circuit would make much more noise as if the signal was lost then the information being sent would also be lost causing many problems for the provider and households. However some areas in today still do not get digital TV because there are few amounts of people being affected and therefore providers are not spending money to fix the dilemma which has caused problems in households, even resulting in a decrease in their house price.

Sport Developments

A fairly recent development that has been made is in the way sports in now played, from personal achievements to precise technology. A very effective example is the goal line technology in football which after certain point after the line in the goal the football is detected and therefore can be recognised. Another useful example is the hawkeye which is commonly used in tennis as it can be very hard to detect whether the ball is in or out. The hawkeye steps in place and it can measure an accurate reading of where the ball had landed within the opponent’s area.

A very recent development would be the Adidas smart ball which had been released in May of 2014. Professional football players are more likely to use this football in training. With its built in sensors it can monitor various things, including how hard the ball is being hit. The ball is connected to an app and it tells you about the speed the ball was travelling and the flight path of the distance it covered in air and on ground. The data collected is then used to help the players improve their skills and they can also learn a variety of things from taking better penalties to how to avoid injury.

Scopes of Entertainment in the Information Age

The scopes of entertainment in the information age include that there are many benefits that entertainment has within sport to enhance personal technique and achievements. Also the use of digitalised developments can enhance people’s professional work, such as photographers as it improves the quality of the photos.

Limitations of Entertainment in the Information Age

The limitations of entertainment in the information age include that not everyone likes digital entertainment as it is a big change from what it used to be. Also the costs of using these technological advances in sport or professional work can be very expensive and can sometimes not be affordable for everyone to use. Similarly there is a lot of controversy with digital advances as not everyone is able to get hold of them and it can cause many difficulties for households.

My Personal Experience

My own experience I have had with entertainment in the information age is I listen to music very often and sometimes I come across some artists who unfortunately have over produced their vocals and you can easily notice some sort of auto tune. Likewise it is evident when I have been to concerts and heard some artists singing and it has been disappointing as they do not sound anything like their songs I have listened to.

Education in the Information Age

Education has changed greatly since the information age. It is now used for both students and teachers and it changes the way in which we are taught and the way we learn. The use of ICT with education is very new and it has changed the actual curriculum that is learnt at schools. This has all lead to new opportunities because learning is now more interactive than it was as students are visually learning rather than consisting of huge amounts of written work.

Changes in Education in the Information Age

Programmes

There have been significant changes made in education during the information age. The development in ICT has now meant that teachers and students are able to use a variety of programmes such as PowerPoint and Spreadsheets. The access to spreadsheets has made people more computer literate and it makes you more employable as it demonstrates a variety of computing skills which now many jobs require.

Interactive Whiteboards

A very popular development of ICT in the classroom is the use of interactive whiteboards, also known as SMART boards. These whiteboards allow teachers to project their computer screens and visually show their students demonstrations such as a graph from a spreadsheet. This then makes it easier for the students to understand the work they are given by helping them create an image in their head. Also using interactive whiteboards can enhance group discussions instead of just writing a load of information down.

Virtual Learning Environment

Schools are now able to access their own VLE for teaching and learning, for example, Moodle and FROG. Having a VLE allows teachers to create various lesson plans as they can use existing resources and they can also monitor students’ work that they have set for them. Students are able to use the VLE to submit assignments for teachers and they can access their school work when out of school. Usually teachers provide their planned lessons on the VLE for students to look at for revision or to prepare for future lessons; this allows them to get strengthen the teaching and learning of both teachers and students.

SIMS

A new electronic way of registration that is now widely used is SIMS. SIMS is a very easy way to keep records of the students, stating whether they are present or absent in the lesson. SIMS is a more convenient way to use because it allows the school to know whether their students are attending lessons. They have also developed it so that parents can look at their children’s attendance to see whether they have been attending school and their compulsory lessons.

E-Readers and Tablets

Recently it has become common for schools to provide teachers and students with tablets and e-readers, such as iPads, to use in lessons to help with learning. However there have been many drawbacks to using these as there is a high risk concerning security and the danger of students accessing each other’s data and losing data if anything happens to their tablet. Also it can be very hard to monitor students work because a lot of the work is independent when using their tablets.

Scopes of Education in the Information Age

The scopes of education in the information age include that it is easy to be able to work at home and then bring it back into school. Teachers can show a variety of resources to students, making lessons more interactive and it can become easier for students to understand. This can eliminate the need for printing because they can store their lessons in files on the computer for easier access. Also it has become very convenient for teachers to contact students, creating communication with them when out of school.

Limitations of Education in the Information Age

The limitations of education in the information age consist of IT being a distraction for pupils on their education. Handwriting can become a problem as it is sometimes not legible because we practice more typing than we do writing. Also the use of computers makes it much easier to plagiarise, therefore these problems have to be addressed and it can become difficult. Likewise the cost of running all these computers is very expensive unless the computers are regularly upgraded and maintained properly otherwise they will become slow and cannot be used.

Personal Experience

My own experience I have had with education in the information age is using a range of software’s such as PowerPoint and Microsoft Word for my school work at school and at home. I use FROG which is a VLE to be able to access my school work at home and it is a very easy way to transfer my documents from home onto my school account.  

Employment in the Information Age

Employment has been massively influenced by IT. Now there are very few jobs that do not require computer skills, these mainly being office jobs. Offices have changed but that is not all what has changed. The first programme that came out was processing programmes and spreadsheet programmes which Microsoft introduced. A lot of the innovations are driven by office work. Computers are now found in all sorts of jobs when they never used to be before. They have changed rapidly and it is hard to think of a job that does not involve computers.

Businesses using ICT

It is extremely hard to think of a job that does not involve computer technology; computers are found in all sorts of jobs. People behind desks now will have a computer, for example, at the supermarket your items are scanned onto a computer, or when you are buying petrol, the information from the pump to the till is transferred over. In smaller shops it was much slower to develop but they also use computers behind the desk. There are some jobs you would never imagine using IT are now being used such as people selling insurance tend to walk around with a laptop on them with all the information they need for you. However there are some places in the world that still use the old fashioned system and it is normal for them to use it.

Negative Effects of IT on Employment

Nearly every job uses computers and requires IT skills. However from technological change, people can suffer. The result of having IT in a business is beneficial for them because it is faster and cheaper as they need less people working, therefore less wages to be paid, but this hits employment very badly. An example is people losing their jobs in the car industry because they do not need workers due to developments in using car robotics which are much more precise. This is the case for many other factory based jobs as technology has taken over and there is only need for a people to overlook the machinery, this being very few.

One of the places that IT has hit hard on is skilled workers because it has taken over. There has been a huge impact in the craft industry with wood work and metal work. These jobs have all been affected by computer aided design, as they do not need people who are skilled drawers; they just need to be skilled in computer programmes. Likewise, there are now systems where the drawing is done in one office and it simply gets mailed to another office, even if it is in another country, the design can be made up in that country and it can be mailed back.

Positive Effects of IT on Employment

Employment can benefit from IT as sometimes computers can make people’s jobs easier. They can provide people with easier routes to take and it can make things much quicker. It is bad for society when computers take over their jobs. However there have been new jobs created for example computer programmers, for people to make the computers and software. Many things are made in China and there are a lot of hard drives for computers made there.

There is a big market in the computer hardware industry as computers are becoming more in demand and so more need to be made. Also many people are needed to repair these developing computers and devices. Similarly there is a large market on online shopping such as Amazon and furthermore call centres are very reliant on IT because people who call companies, such as British Gas get connected to call centres to answer their questions even if they are no help.

You can now work from great distances and these cut out a whole range of skills. We still value hand crafted products, however they have to be very precise. Computers measure to microns because a computer can do that and people can’t and computers produce it much better as it is of a very precise measurement.

Other Aspects

Computers can take away the dirty work which people do. There are devices which computers are a part of and they can go where people can’t and they are able to monitor things in dangerous places, this is so they remove the need for people to put themselves in dangerous situations. A recent example is the space probe, Rosetta, being released into space to monitor a comet.

Sometimes computers can make people’s jobs easier as they can provide people with easier routes to take and it can make things much quicker. For example delivery services would find it much easier to use a Sat Nav to travel around, especially in areas where they do not know.

Amazon now wants to introduce their ‘Prime Air’ delivery service which transports the customers bought items by drone. The goal of this system is to get packages into customers’ hands within 30 minutes of processing their order using small unmanned aerial vehicles. There could be problems with security and long distances that is why they are taking all points into consideration before they approve this service.

Personal Experience

My own experience I have with employment in the information age is having a job in a retail shop. I have to use a lot of technology being able to perform different transactions with customers and also making transactions quicker. I am able to just scan barcodes from items and then the computer processes the rest.

Life in the Information Age

We live in the information age from all these great advances we have achieved in the 21^st century. All the great advances are to do with communication and getting information through one person to another. It is said that the more you know the more powerful of an individual you become. Information and knowledge intertwine as to gather all this information you need to have good knowledge. This has been developed through the 21^st century as communication has changed.

It all started off with telegraphs, then it developed to radio and now it is wireless. These have advanced over the years so that you can communicate with people even if they are not close to you.

Computers

Computers were invented in 1969 and they were first used for adding and calculating, which is what we now call a calculator, and that is what it was ever used for in that time. Over the years it came apparent that you could use the digital code in far more sophisticated ways, being able to do billions of calculations in a matter of seconds. This was used so that information could be used from one place to another instantaneously and transforming methods and so because of this, we can call ourselves the ‘information age’. Computers are now all around us, even if we do not use the computer itself, some devices such as washing machines have computers in them and other household items we use every day. Now computers are used everywhere and are very accessible and have become an essential in people’s lives.

Calculators

The calculator when it was first invented was a very large object and it was known as a computer at the time. Due to developments in technology, they have minimised the size of the calculator and we now call these pocket calculators. Also the silicone chip was invented and it was a small quantity of silicone which you could connect a circuit through and it was found to be cheap to make and many of them could be made. These silicone chips are what we now call microchips and they are placed in many devices such as calculators and computers so that the size of these devices can be minimised.

Internet

The most recent change is the internet. The internet first started up so that universities could pass information to each other and it has now developed into people using it all over the world. At first it was easy to distinguish communication and internet, but it has changed so much that it is now all together because there are many social networking sites where people are able to communicate to each other using the internet. Similarly they had progressed internet onto phones; the iPhone was the first phone to connect to the internet easily to the extent where now all the phones we buy are smart phones.

Televisions

Televisions have developed massively over the years. When TV’s were first used they had a very limited number of channels of low quality and not many people owned them as they were expensive to buy. Now they are used like computers because you can now download things like you would on your computer but onto your TV. You are now able to watch films that are accessed through your TV and you can watch any programmes that you missed just at a click of a button. Sky has also introduced ‘Sky Go’ which is where you can watch their sky programmes wherever you are as long as you are connected to the internet. This all means that going to the cinema and other things relating to this have become digitised.