1. INFO1 – Practical problem solving in the digital world

2.  These transfer information into a computers CPU.

3. Putting information into a computer Keyboard MouseDigital CameraMicrophone Scanner Joystick / Control Pad Touch ScreenTouchpad

5.  The most common input device is the QWERTY keyboard.  They contain letters, numbers, special keys e.g. ESC, ALT, CTRL, SHIFT and function keys e.g. F1  It allows you to input letters and numbers.  You can also carry out commands like delete, home, end, page up and page down.  Ergonomic keyboards are designed to reduce RSI (repetitive strain injury).

7.  Is still the most common pointing device.  It uses a pointer to select options by clicking.  Can be connected by cable or wirelessly.  What other types of pointing device do you know of?

8.  Mechanical mouse – uses a rolling ball  Optical mouse – use a light sensor  Tracker ball – the ball is rolled with the fingers  Trackpad – uses the finger on a touchpad  Trackpoint – a small button that acts like a joystick.

10.  Keyboards divided into areas labelled to suit the purpose.  They use special software to interpret they keys pressed.  Used in checkout tills or restaurants or people with disabilities.  They have names of items or colours etc on keys.

11.  They sense an area of the screen has been touched using embedded wires or infra-red light beams.  Often used in public areas as they are easy to use and they combine both input and output.  Usually have a selection of items from a menu and a virtual keyboard for text input.

13.  Used mainly for drawing using a stylus on a flat plate.  The stylus is like a pencil, so feels more natural to draw with compared to a mouse.  Good for languages like Chinese that use symbols rather than text.

14.  Touch sensitive computer displays used in schools.  You can draw and operate the computer using either a stylus or finger depending on the type of board.  Again combines input and output.

15.  Involves speaking into a microphone.  The sounds are converted into text words using speech recognition software.  Different voices and accents and background noise can make them unreliable.  Also difficulties occur with similar sounding words like ‘there’ and ‘their’.  Better when words are spoken distinctly, but this can be slow.

16.  Some devices read data from media that is stored on them. Sometimes stored magnetically, or on paper.

17.  Magnetic strip cards are swiped through a card reader or fed into a card slot.  They are easy to read but can’t hold much data.  A smart card, such as chip and pin, has a computer chip built in.  They can hold far more data than a magnetic strip and can have data written to it.  They are secure as they can be encrypted and are operated with a PIN.

18.  Uses radio waves to transmit signals as an ID for objects.  Tags are attached to items and they transmit radio signals, which are picked up by a reader, which send the data to a computer.  Most commonly used for transport and logistics. The goods can be tracked on their journey.

19.  Scanners are used to change paper based information into a digital format that can be used by a computer.  A beam of light scans the page and senses the colour variations.  The quality of the image depends on the resolution (dpi) the scanner is set to.  Higher resolution – higher quality image

20.  Flat bed scanner  Bar code scanner  Hand held scanner  Sheet-feed scanner  Drum scanner

21.  Used mainly for exam paper marking and lottery tickets.  OMR use a light beam to sense pencil or other marks on the page.  Software works out the value of the mark depending on its position.  The forms need to be specially printed and software configured so can be expensive to set up. But fast and reliable.

22.  In OCR paper documents are scanned, each part of the image is compared to a dictionary of known letter shapes.  Letters are converted into computer characters.  Good quality software can pick up layout and formatting in a document.  Organisations use OCR to input forms filled in by clients or employees.  Can be used on things like passport applications, but forms need to be completed accurately.  Its much quicker than manually entering data.

23.  A bar code is a pattern of black and white lines which represents a number.  Often used in electronic point of sale (EPOS) systems.  The number acts as a primary key for the product in a database.  They have built in error checking and reduce mistakes of having to type in the product number.

24.  Used exclusively by banks to process things like cheques.  Important account numbers are printed with an ink containing magnetic particles.  A magnetic reader translates them into numbers that can be stored by the computer system.  Is now used less than previously as many payments are now made electronically.

25.  When a sound is fed into a microphone it creates an analogue signal made up of changing voltages.  If it’s to be used by a computer it needs to be converted to a digital signal.  This is called sampling. The voltage is measured and a digital equivalent of the waveform is made.  Higher sample rate (more measurements per second) creates a better quality sound.

26.  Music can be recorded on a computer using instruments linked via Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI).  Rhythms and sounds can be transferred, edited and mixed on the computer.

27.  A video picture is made up of many still pictures played rapidly in sequence.  Digital video cameras record images to hard disk, DV tape or DVD.

28.  Small video cameras often used for video conferencing.  Not usually very high quality, keeping file size down, the video images are sent to the computer in a continuous stream.  Used frequently through instant messaging and internet phone services.

29.  Records electronic images or videos usually on to a flash or XD memory card.  These can be downloaded onto a computer and printed, stored or edited.  Can be connected through cables or wirelessly through Bluetooth.  Some can connect directly o printers via cables or wireless methods.  Maximum resolution is measured in Megapixels (Mp).  Images can be previewed on screen and kept or deleted as necessary

30.  Many input devices can be adapted to make them easier for people to use.

31.  Adjusted pointer speed to help positioning  Speed of mouse can be slowed  Speed of click can be adjusted  Buttons can be set for left or right handed people  Numeric keypad can be set to use as a pointer instead of a mouse  Large trackerballs make movement easier  Single key strokes can be set up to replace ones like Ctrl Alt Del  Concept keyboards can simplify interface  Foot mouse allow control with feet.

32.  Demand fast response times.  Some games simulate activities like driving or flying, so the input device design can help to make it feel more realistic.  The Wii remote uses motion sensing technology and communicates to the computer using Bluetooth so is wireless too.  It can be adjusted for left and right handed people, and can also be used as a pointing device using infra-red.  Extra devices have been released such as gun, guitar, steering wheel, golf club etc.

33.  http://www.teach- ict.com/gcse/hardware/input/miniweb_manu al/keyboard.htm http://www.teach- ict.com/gcse/hardware/input/miniweb_manu al/keyboard.htm

34. 1. Describe the input media is used by the following input devices: a)Optical mouse b)Graphics tablet c)RFID 2. Explain the benefits of an ergonomic keyboard compared to a standard keyboard. 3. Identify the forms of input that a PDA accepts. 4. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of each type of mouse / pointing device.

35. 1. Name 2 benefits of Nintendo Wii controllers 2. Name a drawback of Nintendo Wii controllers 3. How can input devices be adapted for people with disabilities? 4. What’s OMR? Where is it used? 5. Name 3 devices that use Automated Input.