Intermediate 1 Computing

1. Intermediate 1 Computing What you need to know

2. Computer Applications (mandatory Unit) • All applications • ♦ Description and demonstration of the following practical skills in an appropriate application package: • - save as (new name, new location) • - use of online help/tutorial/online assistance as appropriate (wizard) • - print efficiently and responsibly • - use correct page orientation (landscape/portrait) • - formatting • - editing • • Selection of correct application as solution to a problem • • Distinguishing between applications packages and other types of software (between word processing, spreadsheets, databases and graphics) • • Identification of the following hardware/software requirements of an individual package from manufacturers documentation, magazine adverts and websites: • - input devices (mouse, keyboard, graphics tablet, touchpad, scanner, digital camera) • - output devices (printer, monitor) • - types of storage required (floppy disk, hard disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, USB Flash drive, DVD devices) • - amount of storage required (bit, byte, Kb, Mb, Gb, Tb) • - RAM • - processor speed • - operating system

3. Word processing • ♦ Description and demonstration of the following practical skills in an appropriate application package: • - edit text (insert, amend, delete) • - format text (font, size, style, colour), justify text (left, right, full, centre) • - use bullet points • - format page (set margin width, tabs, header/footer) • - add graphics (clip art, photo, other graphics) • - wrap text to added object • - cut, copy and paste • - search and replace (find and change) • - spell check • ♦ Identification of advantages/disadvantages of word processing over manual methods • ♦ Description of advantages and limitations of a spell checker • ♦ Identification of personal and work-related uses of word processing • ♦ Description of alternative methods of text entry including: handwriting recognition, optical character recognition (OCR), voice recognition using microphone, touch (sensitive) screen

4. Spreadsheet • • Description and demonstration of the following practical skills in an appropriate application package: • - use cell address/reference correctly • - edit data (insert, amend, delete), (numbers, text, formulae) • - copy formulae (fill down, fill right) • - insert/delete row/column • - create basic arithmetic formulas [+, -, *, /] • - use SUM, AVERAGE functions • - sort data on 1 column • - format cells (currency, decimal places, change row height, column width) • - create simple chart/graph • ♦ Identification of advantages/disadvantages of spreadsheets over manual methods • ♦ Identification of personal and work-related uses of spreadsheets • ♦ Identification of changes made to a spreadsheet resulting from electronic recalculation

5. Database • • Description and use of the following skills in an appropriate application package: • - design database, choose suitable field names • - field types including text, number, date, time, graphics and calculated • - create new database • - edit database (insert, amend, delete record and field) • - sort on single or multiple fields • - search on single or multiple fields • ♦ Identification of advantages/disadvantages of an electronic/manual database • ♦ Correct use of the following terms: field, record, file • ♦ Identification of personal and work-related use of a database

6. Graphics • ♦ Description and use of the following skills in an appropriate drawing (vector) package and in a painting (bit mapped) package: • - use of a range of tools (including the following) to create/manipulate a graphic: rectangle, ellipse, line, freehand, text, library of standard shapes • - use of a range of painting operations (including the following) to create/manipulate a graphic: select rectangle and irregular block of pixels, change colour of selection, set own colours, change colour of individual pixels, zoom/magnify, change colours on imported image • - use of a range of operations (including the following) to create/manipulate an image: select multiple objects, flip, rotate, duplicate, group, order objects, zoom/magnify • ♦ Identification of personal and work-related use of graphics applications • ♦ Comparison of features and uses of painting and drawing packages

7. Multimedia Applications (mandatory Unit) • Hardware factors • ♦ Description and uses of hardware devices for inputting/capturing text: keyboard, mouse, scanner (including OCR), voice recognition (including microphone) • ♦ Description and uses of hardware devices for inputting/capturing graphics: scanner, graphics tablet, digital camera/digital video camera • ♦ Description and uses of hardware devices for inputting/capturing audio: microphone • ♦ Description and uses of hardware devices for output: high resolution monitor, speakers, data projector • ♦ Description of hardware required and method of obtaining text/graphics/audio from the World Wide Web (Internet) • ♦ Description and uses of hardware devices for backing storage: cost, speed of access, portability, capacity (bits, byte, Kb, Mb, Gb, Tb) of the following backing storage media: hard disc, floppy disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, USB Flash drive, DVD devices • ♦ Identification of common file types: text (txt, rtf), graphics (jpeg, bmp, gif), video (mpeg, avi), sound (wav, mp3) • ♦ Simple description of the need for compression • ♦ Description of need for sound card for capturing and outputting sound ♦Description of need for graphics card for displaying graphics on monitor

8. Features of multimedia software • Description and use of the following types of multimedia applications: presentation, desktop publishing, multimedia authoring Description and use of the following skills in each of the above applications. - • creating a new document - using a template • inserting text/graphic/photograph - page formatting (landscape/portrait/margins/paper size) - saving and printing • Description of text editing facilities software: font, size, style (italics, underline, bold), colour, tabs, justify text (left, right, full, centre), use bullet points, text effects (flashing, dissolving, fade in/out) Description of graphic editing facilities of software: scale (resize), crop, rotate, colour • ♦ Description and use of the following features in presentation and multimedia authoring • software: - page linking, including transitions and hyperlinks • - inserting sound/video

9. Int 1 Computing Most people are familiar with word processing packages such as Microsoft Word, Open Office and Word Perfect. Here are some of the most commonly used word processing tools: Word Processing

10. Standard features • All word processing programs allow you to: • enter and edit text • save • print • cut/copy/paste - you can copy from one part of a document to another • check your spelling

11. Text formatting • Text formatting is important to make the text appear as you would like it to look. The normal features are: • different fonts • different text sizes • different alignments (left, centre, right or justified) • bold print • underline • italics • bullet points

12. Files types • .DOC – The file type used by Microsoft Word can only be edited in Microsoft Word • .RTF – Rich Text File, can be edited with other text editors can save formatting information. • .TXT – Plain text, can not use certain characters, just text, low file size but none of the bells and whistles of word documents.

13. Mail-merge • Mailmerge is a word processing feature which allows users to 'personalise' letters with names and addresses from a database. The four main steps in setting up a mail-merged letter are: • Create the database with fields for the names and addresses of the people to send the letter to. • Write the letter using a word processing package and link the letter to the database. • Use a query to find a subset of relevant people and send a targeted letter to them.

14. Mail Merge Continued 4. Using the mail merge wizard, enter codes in the letter where the name and address of the customers should appear. 5. Merge-print, taking the data from the database and inserting it in the letters, producing one letter for each person in the subset of relevant people from the database.

15. Other features • Other features that may be expected include find and replace, which replaces one word with another, and the ability to import graphics e.g. from a clip art library. Headers and footers and page numbering are very useful.

16. Features of a word processor • Spell checker • Often in an exam you will be asked to explain how a spell checker works. • It's not enough simply to say that it checks a document for spelling mistakes. • Here's a fuller explanation:- • A spell checker compares each word in a document with words stored in its dictionary. If it does not recognise a word it will indicate an error and usually suggest alternatives.

17. Do spell checkers always get it right? • Not always. No dictionary contains every English word, especially technical ones. • Some words can be spelt in different ways. • For example:- • Can you spot the error in the next sentence? The spell checker can't. • "The children opened there books." • And some spell checkers use "American" English. • For example:- • 'colour' might appear as color

18. More Features of a word processor • Grammar checker • The computer checks the document to ensure that sentences comply with the rules of English grammar. • Search and replace • This does pretty much what you would expect. You can type in one word or phrase and get the word processor to replace it by another all the way through a document. • How does it work? • Global search and replace. Searches one term through the entire document and replaces it with another.

19. Oh no, not more Features of a word processor • Standard paragraphs and standard letters • People often confuse these two terms. • A standard paragraph is a piece of text stored on file which can be copied and pasted into a new document. • Who uses standard paragraphs? • Lawyers making up contracts will often use the same phrases in many different contracts. • A lazy teacher writing school reports may use the same comments over and over:- "Could do better"!

20. My goodness, even more Features of a word processor • A standard letter is a letter which is stored on a file which is sent to lots of different people, with only slight changes made to the personal details. Advertising mail offering you entry into a prize draw is a good example of a standard letter. • Personal details are often merged into the letter from a database. (Mail Merge) • Who uses standard letters? • Companies sending out advertisements. • Libraries sending out reminders of videos or books overdue for return.

21. Advanced Data Entry • Text is normally typed in to the word processor but it can be entered in more advanced ways • Voice recognition Software – The user speaks into a microphone and the computer will recognise the words and input them into a document. • Scanning text with a scanner and applying a OCR (Optical Character Recognition) program to recognise the characters as letters and saving to a document that can be edited.

22. Exam Questions • General Question 2 2004 A, B and C • Credit Question 6 2006 C and D

23. Int 1 Computing Spreadsheets

24. What is a spreadsheet? • A spreadsheet is a program used for performing calculations on tables of numbers. It can also often produce graphs and charts of this data. A spreadsheet is a grid of cells each with its own cell reference. • Each cell can hold an item of data which is either text or a value or a formula. Cell data can come in text form or a value or as a formula.

25. Key Words • Cell • Column • Row • Types of cell data:- • Text • Value • formula

26. Formulae • Formulae instruct the spreadsheet how to carry out a calculation. Here are some simple formulae:- • = A3 * B3(multiply the contents of cell A3 by the contents of cell B3 )= C4 / C5(divide the contents of cell C4 by the contents of cell C5 )= C6 * 0.175(multiply the contents of cell C6 * 0.175. This could calculate VAT on a price.)

27. Formulae using functions • A function is an operation which can be applied to a range of cells. • For example:- • to add up the contents of all the cells from B4 to G4= SUM(B4:G4) • to calculate the average of a column of cells • =AVERAGE(D3:D15) • A function can be replicated (copied) down columns and along rows. • What other functions could you use?

28. Complex formulae • Often calculations require more complex formulae. • For example:- • Here is part of a spreadsheet containing the wages for a group of employees. • Overtime hours are paid at 1.5 times normal hours. • What formula do you think is in cell E2? • (You will need to multiply normal hours times rate of pay and overtime hours times 1.5 times rate of pay and then add the two answers together.)

29. Cell attributes • This is a complicated sounding term but is really fairly straightforward. Cell attributes can be changed. • For example:- • numbers can be displayed to any number of decimal places you like • column widths and row heights can be changed • The attributes of a cell dictate how the data is to be displayed.

30. Replication • Don't worry it's not as complicated as the name suggests. A similar formula is sometimes needed all the way down a column of a spreadsheet. To do this we replicate or copy the formula down the required cells. • For example:

31. Referencing (Credit) • In the earlier example the cell references updated as the formula was replicated. This is called a relative reference. • Sometimes we don't want this to happen. In these cases we would use an absolute reference. • For example:

32. Int 1 Computing Databases

33. Starting off • Databases are used for storing, organising and retrieving information (data). • For more about data processing, go to the Commercial Data Processing Revision bite. • Almost everyone who uses a computer will use a database system for something:- • banks use a database package for storing customers' accounts information • your school will use a database package to store information on all the pupils in the school • police use databases to keep information on people with criminal records.

34. How is a database organised? • There are three key terms you must know:- • the whole set of data in a database is called the file • the set of information on one single subject (for example, one pupil in your school) is called a record • each separate heading of information inside a record (for example, your date of birth) is called a field • Fields can be of many types. These include text, numeric, date, time, graphic, audio and video.

35. Computed or calculated field • You should know what we mean by a computed field. Sometimes it's called a calculated field. They mean the same and it's ok to use either. • Computed fields are ones in a database that are calculated from other fields, using a formula. For example:-A wages database where each employee's hourly rate and hours worked are stored in two numeric fields. The total wage for the week can be held in a computed field.It would be calculated by multiplying the hourly rate by hours worked for each employee.

36. Databases can be searched on one or more fields to find selected records. • Databases can be sorted on one or more fields to put data into order. • A database search on two or more fields is known as a complex search.

37. Key words • File • Record • Field • Search • Sort

38. The Data Protection Act • This very important act is designed to protect people from having false information about them stored on a computer database. • Everybody has the right to:- • see what data is being held about them (they may have to pay for the privilege!) • correct the data if it is wrong. • These are called Subject Access Rights.

39. Organisations holding the data have to:- • register with the Data Protection Registrar • let you see data about yourself but nobody else • make sure the data is secure so that others don't see it • keep the information up to date • tell you why it is being held and not use it for any other purpose. • These are called the Data Protection Principles.

40. There are some exceptions to the Data Protection Act:- • certain organisations such as the police and Inland Revenue (tax authority) can hold data about you, without obeying these rules.

41. How to answer • This is the tricky bit. Database questions in the exam are often problem solving questions. But you can learn to recognise common types of questions and prepare yourself to answer them well. • Here's an example:- • Question 1 • Ken has a database of all the members of the local sports club. It contains information on their names, membership category and the sports in which they take part. • He wants to print out a list of the junior volleyball players. How can he use the database package to help him do this? (4 marks GPS)

42. The Answer • The marking varies slightly but an answer like this will always get you full marks • Ken should search (1 mark) the database for junior in the membership category field (1 mark) and volleyball (1 mark) in the sports field (1 mark).

43. Question 2 • A company in Newtown keeps a database of all their regular customers' names, addresses and amount spent. The company wants to distribute a special offer leaflet to all their customers in Newtown who have spent more than £400 with the company. To make distribution easier they want the list of customers in order of post code. How can the company use the database package to help them do this?

44. The company should search (1 mark) the database for Newtown in the town field (1 mark) and greater than 400 in the amount spent field. (1 mark). (If you wrote > £400 that's OK as well). • The selected records should be sorted on the post code field (1 mark) in ascending order.