Online Communication
Instant Messaging (IM)
Sending and receiving of text based messages in real time between two or more people
Advantages:
Quick and easy communication in real time
Disadvantages:
Overuse of IM could result in less face to face contact with people
If you use text language regularly it could affect your writing skills
VoIP (Skype)
A technology that allows you to make telephone calls over a broadband internet connection
Advantages:
“Free” phone calls anywhere in the world
Make video calls
Disadvantages
Slow internet connection can cause latency
Social Networking
A website that allows you to communicate and interact with friends and family
Advantages
Users can stay in contact with friends
Users can join groups of people with similar interests
Disadvantages
Can be addictive
Can be used by predators to get access to children
Judging the reliability of a website
When judging the reliability of information on a website you should think about:
Online software
In the old days, if you wanted to edit a picture or a video, you had to do this using software installed on your computer. There are now lots of websites that let you, for example, create and edit a video to upload to Youtube.
Advantages of using online software include:
You do not have to use local storage:
Many users can collaborate (work together) on the same project
You can access / edit your project from any device with an internet connection
The disadvantages of using local storage are:
You need an internet connection!
The online application may not be as "feature rich" as the installed software
Instant Messaging (IM)
Sending and receiving of text based messages in real time between two or more people
Advantages:
Quick and easy communication in real time
Disadvantages:
Overuse of IM could result in less face to face contact with people
If you use text language regularly it could affect your writing skills
VoIP (Skype)
A technology that allows you to make telephone calls over a broadband internet connection
Advantages:
“Free” phone calls anywhere in the world
Make video calls
Disadvantages
Slow internet connection can cause latency
Social Networking
A website that allows you to communicate and interact with friends and family
Advantages
Users can stay in contact with friends
Users can join groups of people with similar interests
Disadvantages
Can be addictive
Can be used by predators to get access to children
Judging the reliability of a website
When judging the reliability of information on a website you should think about:
- The author of the website
- The date of the last update
- Whether the website links to other reliable websites
- The top level domain (end of the website address) .ac .gov and .org are generally pretty reliable
Online software
In the old days, if you wanted to edit a picture or a video, you had to do this using software installed on your computer. There are now lots of websites that let you, for example, create and edit a video to upload to Youtube.
Advantages of using online software include:
You do not have to use local storage:
Many users can collaborate (work together) on the same project
You can access / edit your project from any device with an internet connection
The disadvantages of using local storage are:
You need an internet connection!
The online application may not be as "feature rich" as the installed software