Access IT all areas

In this lesson students are learning about:

• the digital devices that support ‘access anywhere’ such as netbooks / smartbooks, digital cameras / camcorders, personal audio / video players, e-book readers

At the end of this lesson students will be able to:

• distinguish the features of digital devices that facilitate ‘access anywhere’

• define digital devices that utilise convergence of technologies

• classify the purpose and target audience of a selection of digital devices

Connecting to the ‘online’ life

Image by: VEER/Yuriy PanyukovImage by: VEER/Spectral-DesignImages by: VEER/mt kang + Alexey Kirillov + Alexander Yurkinskiy

Tablet e-book reader Digital TV

Over the last couple of lessons we have considered what it is like living ‘online’ in this 21st century digital world. But what are the devices we use to connect to this ‘online’ life?

It was only a few years ago that the only devices capable of connecting to the Internet were computers. There are now over one billion PCs and laptops doing just that job.

Then the mobile phone industry evolved. Smartphones able to connect to the Internet and provide owners with a way of using the Web as they move around have become so popular they can now be seen everywhere and are considered common place. In fact this way of accessing the Internet has become so popular that the number of Internet-enabled phones has surpassed the number of Internet-enabled computers, and is growing at a much faster rate.

Add to that tablets such as the iPad, eBook readers such as the Kindle, TVs, and digital photo frames, etc. which can all be hooked up to the Internet…

FIVE BILLION DIGITAL DEVICES

Image by: VEER/Norebbo

… and you reach the milestone of 5 billion digital devices able to connect to the Internet, any time, anywhere.

IMS Research suggests the next decade is going to see an explosion in the range and number of devices connecting to the Internet. Almost all television sets will do so by then, as will many cars. And the mobile computing and telecommunications industry is set to continue to grow.

IMS also predict the greatest potential for growth of the ‘Internet of things’ is in machine-to-machine systems such as smart grids, networked security cameras, sensors that detect global warming and household appliances that track their electricity usage… all devices using the Internet.

We have connection…

Identify and name some digital devices that connect to the Internet.

Some examples

• Netbooks/smartbooks• Digital cameras• Digital camcorders• Personal audio players• Personal video players• E-book readers• Digital TV

MP3 player

Target Audience

Images by: Shutterstock

Let’s think about an MP3 player. Who is the target audience? Is it just one type of person?highlight the design features of the MP3 player that meet the needs, characteristics and preferences of each one.

A ‘persona’ template for target audience: What is his/her age, sex, job,

salary?Where does he/she live? What

type of home does he/she have and what is his/her

family life like?What education has he/she

had?How much free time does

he/she have?

What does he/she want from our digital product?

What will interest him/her?How will it help him/her achieve his/her

goals/needs?

What are his/her leisure interests?

What does he/she read?What are his/her general attitudes and behaviours?

What is his/her big life goal?

?

Does he/she use any other digital products?

Does he/she use a PC/laptop? If so where?

Does he/she use the Internet?How much time does he/she

spend on the Internet?What sites does he/she use

most frequently?

When designers think about who is going to use the digital device they develop what is called a ‘persona’. This describes users in personal ways, so a product team can visualise the users as they create a digital product for them. Think back to the various users of the MP3 player: Josh, Jean, Jayne and John.

Working in your original groups:•Complete a persona template (TB5 L3 R1.doc) for a user of your assigned digital device.•Complete the table with the details of how the digital device aligns to the persona you have created. Remember primary and secondary features.

And finallyToday we have considered:The vast array of digital devices that can be used to access the ‘online’ world, anywhere and at any time.Why there is such a variety of digital devices that can be used to stay connected in the ‘always on’ world we live in.

We've moved from accessing the Internet on a desktop to accessing it on mobile phones using mobile Internet. The ‘Internet of things’ is the next step. Buildings and objects communicating with people or directly with each other, bypassing people entirely, all via the Internet.

If we looked into a crystal ball would might see:A smart wine rack: every bottle has a RFID tag to enable to wine rack to let the owner know via an Internet connection when a bottle has been removed and needs replacing.

A smart tumble dryer: the owner can choose to put the tumble dryer on remotely for another cycle after receiving a text that the clothes inside the tumble dryer are still damp.

A smart plant: your plant tweeting you that it needs to be watered.

There will come a day in the not too distant future when every product you buy will connect to the Internet. Is that a good thing?

How long until we, as human beings, will also be directly connected to the Internet, to each other, and to the world? Because that is surely the next step in this evolution. Does that thought scare you?

Does the fact that 22 billion devices will soon all be interconnected cause you concern?

Homework For your homework I want you to look into the crystal ball, you have to use your imagination, and decide what is the next Internet enabled device that is going to be launched and who is the target audience

Complete this on the homework template (TB5 Crystal Ball HW.doc)