1. AQA INFO 1 SECTION 4 Selection & Use of Input devices and media tcowling 2009 from Mott, Leaming & Williams

2. Input Devices When devising an IT solution to a problem, you need to consider how the users will input data to the computer. Key board Mouse tcowling 2009 from Mott, Leaming & Williams

3. Scanners Scanners can be used to input an image Pictures stored in different formats.bmp &.jpeg etc Useful for printed hard copies Depends on clarity of original handwriting or paper tcowling 2009 from Mott, Leaming & Williams

4. Digital Cameras Connects via a USB port or memory card Images can be downloaded and stored Useful for modifying images [red eye] Need accompanying software as well tcowling 2009 from Mott, Leaming & Williams

5. Touchpads Rectangular pad on laptop Touch sensitive by use of the finger Acts as a mouse Dont need to carry an additional mouse Not often as easy to use as a mouse tcowling 2009 from Mott, Leaming & Williams

6. Optical Character Recognition [OCR] Device recognises characters by light sensing methods EG Post Office address reader system or car number plate readers on speed cameras Easy to store information quickly Close match is not always the correct match tcowling 2009 from Mott, Leaming & Williams

7. Optical Mark Recognition [OMR] Mark sensing on pre-printed documents Contain boxes which indicate choices marked using carbon Avoids human keyboard entry Forms need to be un-creased to work properly tcowling 2009 from Mott, Leaming & Williams

8. Magnetic Ink Character Recognition[MICR] Pre-printed with character data in special ink that is magnetised. Almost used exclusively to read cheques Minimises fraud Needs expensive equipment tcowling 2009 from Mott, Leaming & Williams

9. Bar Code Readers Means of identifying items with a unique product code Read using light and encoded into a readable format Read quickly with few mistakes Expensive equipment needed tcowling 2009 from Mott, Leaming & Williams

10. Speech Recognition Enable large quantities of data to be input as words verbally Useful when using hands is not an option [factory/user etc] User must speak clearly with little variation in dialect tcowling 2009 from Mott, Leaming & Williams

11. Which input device to use & when Volume of data SpeedNature of System Ease of use Technological development Cost Large – automatic equipment is best Barcode scanner useful if high speeds necessary MICR – needed for specialist input methods such as banking cheques Conditions may influence choice Methods constantly updated as new methods introduced Major factor – could relate to staffing or hardware tcowling 2009 from Mott, Leaming & Williams

12. Summary Automatic input methods remove need to key in data Large quantities of data to be read/input quickly Range of different methods Keyboard OCR OMR MICR Bar code scanning Speech Recognition Number of factors considered when choosing an input method Volume of data Cost Speed Ease of Use tcowling 2009 from Mott, Leaming & Williams