OCR Nationals
Unit 8 -June 2013 version
Technological Innovation and E-Commerce
Welcome to Unit 8
Unit 8 is a homework unit that you are to
complete at home and then print out in
school
You are to take three months over this
The deadline for this unit is by the end of
December 2012
How to complete this assignment
 In Unit 8 we are going to investigate how
information technology has changed people’s
lives.
 You will need to do your own research to be
able to answer the questions.
 You will find website links for section ao5 on last
few slides
 This assignment must be completed on a word
document in a report format
 You must spellcheck your report.
Introduction
Our age is one defined by technology. Never before in human history have we
had access to so many ways of communicating.
The internet has given people access to information on a scale that would have
been unimaginable only fifteen years ago. But how do you know it’s true?
You can buy almost anything on the internet but that doesn’t just mean CDs.
How about babies? Guns? People’s credit card details?
This new technology exposes us to all sorts of dangers and it has opened up a
minefield of new moral dilemmas.
I hope that by completing this unit you will gain a thorough understanding of
technological innovation and e-commerce.
At the end of this unit you will be
able to…
• Identify the effects of ICT on the individual
• Describe an innovation in ICT
• Investigate how e-commerce has affected
The way people buy goods and services
• Investigate one e-commerce website, and
• Understand legal and moral issues in the
digital age
Task 1-Identify the effects of ICT on the individual
For each technology heading below,choose one
subcategory (in blue) to base your report on :
•Internet -email, WWW, messenger, chat rooms
•Communication- mobile phone, video phone, video
conferencing, information points
•Entertainment - games console, MP3 player, digital TV
•Mobile access: laptop, PDA, wi-fi, WAP
•Data capture: digital camera, voice recorder, scanner
•Financial transactions: atm/epos/smart card
Go to slide 7 and then comment how:
• How this technology is used
• Benefits eg: speed, ease of use
• Disadvantages eg: cost, theft, limitations of the chosen
technology
Then consider the effects of these
items on people.
Discuss:
• How this technology is used
• Benefits eg: speed, ease of use
• Disadvantages eg: cost, theft, limitations
of the chosen technology
Task 2 - Describe an innovation in
ICT
Innovation: The introduction of new ideas,
goods, services, and practices which are
intended to be useful.
Task 2
Identify one innovation in ICT e.g. Bluetooth, TV on
demand, GPS systems, mobile phone technologies.
Describe:
• its purpose
• the extent to which it achieves its purpose
• how it works
• benefits and limitations
The innovation MUST be relatively new. An
investigation into the introduction of IT into offices is
not an acceptable topic of study.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/guides/about-bluetooth
Click here for an example
Task 3 – Investigate how ecommerce has changed the way
people buy goods and services.
(a) Give a definition of e-commerce.
Task 3
•
•
•
•
•
(b) Explain how e-commerce has changed
the way people buy goods and services
eg:
choice
location
convenience
cost
flexibility
Click here for an example-this is not to be copied
Useful Sites
 Follow this link to a list of useful
websites.
Task 4 - Investigate two
ecommerce
websites
Examples of these are:
 Auction sites e.g. EBay
 Online shops e.g. amazon.co.uk, play.com
 Digital download site e.g. itunes.com
Click here for an example
Task 4
You must:
 Identify its audience and purpose. This means
say who it is meant for and what the site is for
e.g. to sell CDs, DVDs and games.
 You need to provide annotated screenshots of
its e-commerce features. This means things like
search facilities, shopping baskets, encryption
and user accounts.
• Describe and illustrate the services provided eg
buying/selling products. You will need to use
annotated screenshots to show you understand
what these are.
Task 5 – The legal and moral
aspects of the digital age
Explain the main requirements of legislation relating to data
protection, copyright and computer misuse.
You must give reasons for the requirements.
• Computer Misuse Act
• Data Protection Act
• Copyright Designs and Patents Act
You must research the above and provide recent examples of
the law in action
This must be done on a word document
http://curriculum.ttsonline.net/natcert2/skills/sww/safe_working
.html
Click here for an example only
Computer Misuse Act
Research the above law.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ict/legal
/1dataandcomputermisuserev2.shtml
Do not copy and paste from web sites
You are to write up in your own words what this
law is about
Gary Mackinnon is a good example to use of
someone who broke this law
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_McKinnon
Data Protection Act
Research the above law.
Do not copy and paste from web sites
You are to write up in your own words what this law is about
Click the link below to find out more
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ict/legal/0dataprotectionactrev1.shtml
Click the below link to provide detail of example to relate to in report:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/6591726/T-Mobile-customers-hitby-data-sale-scandal.html
Copyright Designs and Patents Act
Click the below link to locate info about this
law
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ic
t/legal/2copyrightrev1.shtml
All about peer to peer web sites
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ic
t/legal/2copyrightrev1.shtml
Moral issues associated with
computer usage
You must describe at least two different moral issues related to
the use of digital technology, explaining why they have occurred
and discussing opposing opinions.
You must use a range of examples to illustrate the issues.
You must give accurate descriptions