EDUC 9G00-9G10

Communications Technology

Additional Qualification

Some Definitions

Communication

The sending and receiving of messages.

In order for communication to take place, the message must be sent, received, and understood.

Types of Communication

Human-to-Human communication

Having a conversation, sign language, semaphore

Human-to-Machine communication

Talking on the phone, renewing driver’s license on the computer

Machine-to-Human communication

Alarm clock waking you up

Machine-to-Machine communication

Computer Network

Supplementary Communication

ESP, etc.

• Communications technology programs must include the study of electronic, live, and graphic communications; a course must focus on two or more of these topics.

• "Electronic communications" could include the study of television production, editing, and transmission (air wave and cable); audio recording and amplification; and communication devices such as telephones, fax machines, and computers. The transmission and receiving of communications signals using radio waves, line-of-sight signals, microwaves, satellites, fibre optics, cable, or any other means are relevant parts of the study of electronic communications systems.

• "Live communications" could include the study of photography (moving and still) and stage productions. Lighting, art work, carpentry, and other design aspects of the process of creating illusions and functional environments for live communications systems may be included.

• "Graphic communications" could include the study of print materials, desktop publishing, computer graphics, drafting methods, and printing systems.

Broad-based Technological Education

Curriculum Guidelines, Grades 10,11 and 12

MediaPlural of “Medium”. Refers to the “carrier” (vehicle or container) of the message in a communication.

Eg. Books are “paper” media. Disks and tapes are “magnetic” media. CD-ROM is “optical” media. Electronic storage devices like USB pen drives and cards for digital cameras are “Flash” media.

In computer networking, the cables that connect the machines together are referred to as “network media”.

Media (more specifically, News Media, but often shortformed) also refers to providers of news information (newspapers, radio, television).

Mass Media

Those media that reach large numbers of people. Their development is one of our modern society’s defining features. Usually categorized as follows:

Print – books, magazines, newspapers

Broadcast – radio, television

Outdoor – billboards, bus shelters

New media – based on emerging technologies. Though now 10+ years in common usage, the www is still “New media”.

Analog vs. DigitalAn analog or analogue signal is any variable signal continuous in both time and amplitude.

A digital signal is a representation of a reality that has been converted into numeric information that can be stored and/or acted upon by a computer.

Analog signals differ from digital ones in that small fluctuations in the signal are meaningful, so it’s capable of communicating more information. However, it is susceptible to “noise” and degradation when copied – “generational loss”

The “Digital Revolution”

The Digital Revolution describes the effects of rapid drop in cost and ongoing improvement of digital devices such as computers replacing or emulating analog devices, enabling formerly unthinkable innovations like the World Wide Web (WWW). It includes changes in technology and society, and is often specifically used to refer to the controversies that occur as these technologies are widely adopted.

This transformation began in the early 1980s and will probably continue to change the world until the 2010s.

Wikipedia.

Visual Communications“A picture is worth a thousand words” – people are visual creatures. One of the most important things that the Digital Revolution has brought is the ability to manipulate and distribute pictures.

The premiere photo editing software in the world is Adobe Systems’ Photoshop. Created by two brothers, one a University student and one an employee of the now famous Industrial Light and Magic. It was first released in February 1990, and revolutionized the publishing and print production industry. It is now the standard photo editing tool in the world. Almost every single photo that makes it’s way into print has been touched by Photoshop.

There are other photo editing packages, some more powerful, and most more economical.

Photoshop Elements (a stripped-down, but still really functional version of the software, is available to Ontario Schools via OSAPAC. Teacher take-home rights are included.

Some Photoshop Samples

• Greg Apodaca Sample Advertising Images

Created in Photoshop

• From Emmet Lollis Tutorial

For a tutorial on how to make this , visit http://www.emmettlollis.com/tutorials/photoshop/making-the-mothership.asp

The Best use of Photoshop

• One bastion of Photoshop photo compositing (putting together more than one image to create a new picture) rises head and shoulders above the rest.

• You need not look at any other images.• Completely supports curriculum

expectations.• May one day replace teachers are the

providers of education in our society.

Vector vs. RasterVector Images are made up of lines.

Images are small and can be blown up many, many times without showing loss of detail.

Ideal for technical drawings, cartoons, etc. Incapable of showing “photorealism” without superhuman effort.

Raster Images (also called bitmaps, not to be confused with the .bmp file format in windows, which is a specific type of raster graphic) are made up of dots. Each dot, or pixel, contains colour information. Raster images are excellent for capturing photo-realistic information. They are the type of image created by digital cameras, video cameras, and computer scanners.

Vector vs. Raster

A painstakingly created vector image.

A detail from the above, as a vector.

The same detail, showing pixellation common to raster graphics at too much zoom.

Thanks again, Wikipedia

ResolutionPixellation is why, time and time again, students will steal a graphic off of the WWW, print it out, and it will look terrible.

Resolution is the relationship between the number of dots in an image and the amount of space it takes up. The resolution needed to display something on your computer monitor is 72 pixels per inch, abbreviated ppi. To print it on a laser printer, it needs to be at 150 ppi. For photographic reproduction, a resolution of 300 ppi is required. Any less, and the image starts to break up (Pixellate).

Remember (and remind your students constantly) that resolution is a ratio. Double the number of inches, half the number of pixels.

File formats• PSD – Photoshop Document. Proprietary

format, useful only in Adobe software. Contains most information – including layers, etc. Large file size.

• JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group. Generic file format, gives good compromise between amount of information and smaller file size.

File Formats Cont’d

• PDF – Adobe Portable Document Format. Designed by Adobe to allow users to distribute documents in uneditable form. Most Adobe applications will write them. Adobe Acrobat will generate them from any application that utilizes Windows printing. Your Photoshop Elements tutorials are in this format.