Flowgorithm is an awesome graphical programming language that you can use to generate flowcharts , trace tables and actual program code.
If you’re not already using flowgorithm , you should be , or at least be using some equivalent solution.
Flowgorithm ,however, has one main drawback out of the box – It does not use the convention and regular shapes expected by CXC CAPE and CSEC; and NCSE.
See both images below:
Wrong shape/convention used
Correct shape used!
You MUST configure flowgorithm to fit the expected conventions. Here are the steps:
Example of how laptop performance slowly declines due to airborne dust slowly collecting on internal heatsinks, reducing performance and increasing noise from high speed fan operation. Eventually the heatsink covers completely, stopping all cooling airflow no matter how fast the fan spins, and the laptop begins to overheat from even just minor load.
As shown in the top-left image, the external appearance of air intake vents provides no indication whatsoever of the internal clogging, and simply blowing air backwards through the exposed heatsink vents is not enough to remove this buildup. Instead the laptop must be disassembled and the dust and lint removed with a ESD-safe vacuum cleaner.
This photo montage was created from a 2.5 year old Dell XPS M170 laptop.
DMahalko, Dale Mahalko, Gilman, WI, USA -- Email: dmahalko@gmail.com, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Create a table
showing the dos and don’ts of caring for a computer.
Use the following structure:
Risk to consider
Do
Don’t
{put risk here}
{good practice here}
{practice to avoid}
Portfolio Assignment
Update your table to ensure that you have covered the
following criteria/areas:
Adverse temperatures;
blocked vents;
Dust; Liquids; Magnetic fields; Shutting down;
Unplugging when not in use; Cleaning screen, keyboard;
Battery charging cycles; Repetitive use of certain
keys;
Complete the table in your ICT notebook.
Create a hand written copy of your table, that is meant to
be inserted into your ICT portfolio for marking.
Suggested Solution to above assignment
Risk to consider
Do
Don’t
Temperature
Use and store your computer system in a cool area.
Do not store or use your computer in a heated environment. (e.g. leaving a laptop in a hot car; Do not
use your computer system in a heated room, stored in direct sunlight)
Vents
Do use your computer in an environment with sufficient ventilation.
Do clean vents regularly.
Ensure that vents are not blocked during use.
Do not use a laptop resting directly upon a bed or carpeted area.
Dust
Do use your computer in a dust free environment.
Do not allow for dust to build up on your computer system over time.
Liquids
Do use your computer in a dry area.
Do not use liquids near your computer.
Magnetic fields
Do not use computer systems near objects which produce large magnetic
fields. E.g. refrigerator, washer, dryer and large subwoofer speakers.
Shutting Down
Always shut down your using the provided interface, e.g. the windows
shut down menu.
Unplugging
Do not unplug your computer while using it.
Cleaning the screen
Do clean your screen regularly.
Do not use cleaners that are not meant to clean your screen.
Do not use water or a damp cloth to clean your screen.
Keyboard care/damage
Do use compressed air canisters to
clean your keyboard.
Do use low powered vacuum cleaners on your
keyboard
Do not press the keys on your keyboard excessively hard.
Create an Online website using the service
provided by http://wix.com
Your website must contain coherent and
consistent information on a topic of you choosing. Ensure that your chosen
topic which is suitable for a student you age and one that your parents will be
proud of.
Include a suitable layout, and pages for “About”,
“Contact”, and a Homepage.
A modem converts a computer’s digital signal to an analogue signal for transmission over a network; and converts analogue signals from a network back to digital signals.
Converting digital to analogue is called modulation.
Converting analogue to digital is called demodulation.
The word modem is short for modulator demodulator.
Information technology systems produce data that is usually recorded or stored. This information is used to make strategic decisions to capitalize on opportunities, and tactical decisions to improve efficiency.
As time passes on, some of the older recorded data becomes less useful in decision making and is accessed infrequently. In this case, we make an archive of this data.
Definition: An archive is a historical copy of information that is important to an organization.
Archives can be used to look back on past decision making, or to gain a better understanding of an organization’s history.
Computer output on microfilm and magnetic tape can be used for archival purposes.
File access
The data is usually stored onto the tape in the order it was exported from the original system, and may be to some extent in sequential form.
However, after many years the original system’s data structure may change and differs from the sequence on tape.
This means that when searching for a record for research purposes, all the data must be examined because the tape’s data structure may be forgotten or unknown; thus making it a serial access medium.
There are various hazards to consider when using computer systems. Employers take steps to educate employees on safe practices as well as provide proper equipment to promote a safe work environment.
It is also important to be aware of computer hazards and how to use computer systems safely at home.
Eye strain
The eyes can be come hurt or damaged when staring at a screen for long periods of time without a break. Flickering monitors, brightly lit screens, and glare can contribute to eye strain.
https://www.myupchar.com/en, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Symptoms include:
Blurred vision
Eye pain
Burning in Eyes
Headache
Nausea
You should:
Use properly working monitors or screens
Use Anti-glare screens or monitors
Reduce the intensity of brightly lit screens
Use screens that display text that is clear and easily readable
Back Ache
Injurymap, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Poor posture can contribute to pain and stress of the back and neck.
You should:
Use an adjustable ergonomic chair
Use an adjustable monitor
Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
This is muscle or nerve injury caused by repetitive movements over a long period of time.
Any part of the body that performs repetitive actions can be subject to RSI.
Some examples of actions that can lead to RSI
Symptoms of the affected areas include:
Pain and Tenderness
Throbbing pain
Stiffness
Reduced range of motion
Numbness
Weakness
Cramps
You should:
Practice using good posture and technique when doing repetitive tasks
Take frequent breaks
Use ergonomically designed equipment
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome isBruceBlaus. When using this image in external sources it can be cited as:Blausen.com staff (2014). “Medical gallery of Blausen Medical 2014”. WikiJournal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.010. ISSN 2002-4436., CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Force on the wrist and bad posture contributes to carpal tunnel syndrome, which in this case, makes it a form of repetitive strain injury.
BruceBlaus. Blausen.com staff (2014). "Medical gallery of Blausen Medical 2014". WikiJournal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.010. ISSN 2002-4436., CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Symptoms include:
numbness, tingling, or burning sensations in the thumb and fingers, in particular the index and middle fingers and radial half of the ring finger[1]
wrist pain
Pain an strain in the upper forearm or arms
Loss of grip strength in hands
You should:
Use wrist stretching and exercise as a preventative measure
Take frequent breaks
Use ergonomically designed equipment
Hearing loss
Florian Fuchs/Wikipedia/CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Hearing loss and damage can occur by listening to moderately loud sounds and music for long periods of time.
Symptoms include:
Permanent partial loss of hearing
Ringing in ears
You should:
Use headphones at a safe and low volume level
Reduce your exposure to loud sounds when playing videogames or watching videos
Ensure that you start using audio devices at low levels first and then adjusting the volume to safe levels.
Set all volume levels on hardware controls to low when you are finished using devices.
Computer Addiction
Sam Wolff from Phoenix, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
This refers to excessive or compulsive use of computer systems and devices such that an individual personal , social and professional life is affected negatively.
Helpguide.org provides the following tips for helping someone who is addicted to a computer or the Internet[3]:
Introduce the Internet addict to other people who handle their use of the Internet reasonably.
Serve as a good role model for the Internet addict by properly managing your own use of computers and the Internet.
Support a person’s desire for change if it appears that he or she is an Internet addict.
Talk to the person about your concerns that he or she may be an Internet addict.
Get the person involved in interests that aren’t related to the Internet.
Encourage an Internet addict to seek professional counseling.
Radiation from mobile phones
Mobile phones use and produce electromagnetic radiation. Electromagnetic radiation is dangerous in high doses; however, international manufacturing standards prevent the production of mobile devices that are dangerous for use.
Cell phone towers produce large amounts of electromagnetic radiation and can be very harmful in to persons in close proximity. People should not come within 1500 feet ( 460 meters) of a cellphone tower, or be in an area of overlap of 6 cellphone towers.[4]
Closure – Discussion on Content after Reading/Study
See the video below:
Update: Added video discussion (Wed 29th Sept 2021)
View the video below before studying the notes below. The video is not tailored specifically to our notes, however it builds a good context for proper use of information sources.
Information is used to make decisions that can impact the long term welfare of organizations or society as a whole. Information that has been retrieved electronically must be evaluated to be reliable.
On the lowest level of evaluation, we should consider the following criteria:
authenticity,
currency,
relevance,
bias
Authenticity (or Credibility)
This refers to the integrity of information or how correct the information is. Usually, we try to verify gathered information against other sources to establish that the information is accurate.
Credibility refers to the amount of trust we place in an information source being correct.
Established authorities are good sources of verification, e.g Organizations, experts in the field etc.
Accuracy
This refers to the correctness of discrete items in the information source and how complete the information is for it’s application.
Reliability
This refers to how consistent the information source is over time. For example, when monitoring temperatures related to climate change we may want to record the temperatures at consistent time intervals. Even though each individual recording may be accurate and precise, the lack of regular recordings can make the information unreliable when determining trends associated with temperature.
Currency (or Timeliness)
Information should be current, and recent enough to make problem solving and decision making reasonable and reliable.
In problem solving and decision making, all information is considered to have a life span for which it is appropriate.
Relevance
Information gathered should be relevant to the topic being researched and free from extraneous, cosmetic, and irrelevant details.
It should be appropriate for the tasks of problem solving and decision making.
Bias
Gathered information should be free from bias, i.e the information is objective and free from preconceptions.
A reputable institution should support source without bias in the information.[1]
Recall that data can be processed to produce information.
Information Sources
When searching for information, we may acquire our research from various sources.
Sources of information emerge from:
Interview experts in a field; people related to your research.
Books, Newspapers, magazines and journals.
Computer databases, company databases.
Websites on the internet.
Document Types
Most of the time, we can gather data and information from various documents.
Turnaround documents
This is a document produced by a computer that can be used to record information by a human. The document with its new information can then be input into the computer system for further processing.
OMR and OCR are technologies that are widely applied in this process.
Island Class 