Lesson Element

Unit 1: Fundamentals of IT

LO4: Understand employability and communication skills used within an IT environment

Communication technology

Instructions and answers for tutors

These instructions cover the learner activity section which can be found on page 4. This Lesson Element supports Cambridge Technicals Level 3 in IT.

When distributing the activity section to the learners either as a printed copy or as a Word file you will need to remove the tutor instructions section.

The activity

In this lesson element learners will identify different types of communication technology used to communicate. After the initial identification, learners will justify which type of technology to use in different situations.

Learners will also need access to the PowerPoint presentation: LE3_U01_tutor_resource.pptx

Suggested timings

Activities 1 and 2: 30 minutes maximum (Activity 2 is repeated over a number of scenarios dependent on class size; tutors can reduce number of scenarios if necessary)

Activity 3: 30 minutes

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Activity 1

Tutors could display slide 5 from the PowerPoint resources LE3_UO1 tutor_resource.pptx to allow learners to unscramble key information technologies. Slide 6 shows the correct answers. When all six results have been displayed, tutors could ask learners to establish the link between the information technologies.

Tutor question: ”What do all these technologies have in common?”

Learner answer: “All the technologies are used to communicate”

Activity 2

Print out slides 9 to 18 from the PowerPoint resource LE3_U01tutor_resource.pptx. Split learners into pairs. Distribute one scenario to each pair. Give each pair five minutes to read the scenario and ask them to justify their choice of communication technology solution. Rotate the scenarios until they have been completed by everyone (tutors could reduce the number of scenarios depending on the size of the group/length of lesson). Use the table on slide 7 as an example of how learners could record their results.

Example solutions for tutors:

Scenario / Communication technology / Justification
A / Email / Professional layout will not disturb working day of the IT companies. Read receipt function allows Clare to know that her email has been read.
B / Blog / Mohammed can update his blog anywhere from mobile, laptop, PC or tablet. He can control who has access to the blog that he has created.
C / Email, instant messenger and SMS / Sending the message through all technologies the staff have access to will ensure the message about the meeting is read. A backup could be to send out a text message.
D / Email and social networking / The communication method must be instant as the offer is only available for two weeks.
E / Presentation software and video conferencing / It is cheap and time-efficient to run a video conference and have attendees view the presentation at the same time. It will be interactive to allow for questions.
F / Intranet bulletin board / Accessible to all employees on the company website; employees can download their own copies of the policies and digitally sign online.
G / Personal assistant / The director can have all his appointments scheduled into his diary and alerts set to remind him where he needs to be and when.
H / Instant messaging / The software alerts you when you have a message. It is instantly sent and received.
I / Social networking / The new driver can invite friends and family to read about all their new adventures instantly.
J / VoIP or video conferencing / Software allows you to have a real-time conversation linked via computer over the internet.

There can be many outcomes as long as the learner has justified their choice.

Activity 3

Tutors should use the table on slide 19 to record learners’ results. Tutors could use this as an opportunity for discussion.

Version 11© OCR 2016

Lesson Element

Unit 1: Fundamentals of IT

LO4: Understand employability and communication skills used within an IT environment

Learner Activity

Communication technology

In this lesson element you will identify different types of communication technology used in business. You will be then given a number of different situations for which you will have to justify which type of technology would be best to use.

Activity 1

You will be given a number of scrambled words that you need to identify. You will then be asked to establish the link between them.

Activity 2

Your tutor will give you a number of scenarios to read. Working in pairs, you will have five minutes to justify the communication technology you advise an individual or a business to use for each scenario. Record your results as demonstrated by your tutor.

Activity 3

This is an opportunity to check your decisions and enter into a discussion about your justifications.

Version 11© OCR 2016