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Demonstrate Understanding of Basic Concepts of Information
Management
Introduction
Over the course of this year, I have completed three different internals all
around the “computer game” theme. All of the different internals used different
application software, operating systems, appropriate file management
methods and different file types while keeping in mind basic computing ethics.
A particular focus on all three projects was efficient file management and
efficient data entry but this was particularly essential for Achievement
Standard 1.41.
 The first internal completed was Achievement Standard 1.41.
In this internal a survey was created implementing appropriate
document design principles. A database of potential
stakeholders and their responses to the survey was also
created. Finally, a mail merge document was created and
presented to our final stakeholders, which combined word
processing and database skills.
 The second internal completed was a combination of Achievement
Standards 1.4 and 1.46.
In this internal a prototype of a game was created along with a
game program itself, which was trialled and tested by our
stakeholders from the previous internal.
 The third internal completed was a combination of Achievement
Standards 1.42 and 1.43.
In this internal a logo and marketing materials were created for
our computer game, implementing my understanding of
document design and layout.
Application Software
There are two main types of computer software: operating system software
and application software. Both are vital to the functioning of a computer.
Application software is software that is written for a specific purpose such as a
word processer. Application software is said to be “specialised”. This is
because it is designed for a certain task. It is not possible for a user to have
one piece of application software that performs every task needed and knows
about every piece of computer hardware because this would take up too
much memory and it would be inefficient.
In a Mac OS X operating system, a list of
the application software installed is
available on your “finder” but also, you have
a bar on your desktop which has a
graphical representation of some of your
application software. The user can choose
which they wish to display on their desktop
but it is normally the application software
used most frequently. Also allows you to
see which application software you have
open at the present time.
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Often, it is possible to perform these specific tasks on other types of
application software but it is more efficient for the user to do these tasks on
the type of application software that has been created specifically for these
tasks. An example is Microsoft Word and Adobe Photoshop. In Adobe
Photoshop, it is possible to create text but Photoshop does not have the
advanced formatting features which Microsoft Word has for the displaying of
large amounts of text and this is also vice versa. In Microsoft Word, it is
possible to edit images but what you can do with images is limited compared
with the wide variety of tools and image editing features available in Adobe
Photoshop.
In my first project (Achievement Standard 1.41) I used Microsoft Word to
create my game survey and the mail merge document.
Microsoft Word is word processing specialised application software. This
means that it performs basic functions such as allowing the user to input text
through computer hardware devices such as a keyboard and also use for
advanced formatting features for the presentation of their text.
The key features of Microsoft Word include:
 Inputting text, numbers and symbols.
 Advanced formatting features such as styles, borders and shading, text
alignment and numbered and bulleted points.
 Spelling and grammar checking.
 Creating tables and charts.
 Creating a mail merge document.
 Importing pictures. Word also allows you limited picture editing ability.
 Creating header and footers.
Creating a style is a feature
Microsoft Word has
available for the user to use.
It is efficient because instead
of having to change the font
size, font colour and font
every time I want to create a
heading for example, I can
simply use a style. This is
also allows the user to
demonstrate repetition which
is one of the key principles of
design.
I used Microsoft Word for the task of creating my survey document because
Word allowed me to demonstrate the key principles of design (contrast,
alignment, repetition and proximity) and use advanced formatting features in a
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way that suits the assigned task. These advanced formatting features were
helpful because they gave both my survey and mail merge document a
“professional” look. They also made it easier for the survey-taker to answer
the questions of the survey because everything was in a clear and logical
order.
I also used Microsoft Access in my first project to create my database.
Microsoft Access is a data-inputting program, which allows you to create a
database to store all of your data efficiently. Access allows you to create fields
to group your data, and allows you to change the data type of your data. This
is important because of the way that the computer stores the data. Access
also allows you to add a description to each field where you can add more
specific details if necessary. In Access you can view your “table” of data in
either design or datasheet view. There is also a form tool available and this
can help you to input data more efficiently because the form has a visually
easier layout to view.
I used this program as opposed to Excel or Word for my database because
Access has all of the different features to allow me to store, find and organise
my information efficiently. One of the most important of these features is the
use of fields, which is a category of information for an item. Fields are useful
in helping you to sort out your information later. Another feature that Access
has is the availability of different datatypes. This is useful because of the way
the computer stores the data. It stores each datatype differently. I will also be
using a form, which Access provides that other programs do not but I will go
into further detail about that below.
Here are two screenshots
showing tools in Microsoft
Access.
The screenshot on the left
shows my table in design
view. Design view is useful
because it allows me to
edit your fields and change
the data types.
The screenshot on the right
shows the form, which is
helpful in inputting your
data more efficiently.
I used Word to create my mail merge document because the majority of
people have access to Word, so they could open the document and because
of the advanced formatting features available to improve both the look and the
quality of the document. Word also has an easy-to-use mail merge feature,
which allows you to extract information from other applications. I also used
Microsoft Access to extract key information from the database I had
previously created. This was because it is also a Microsoft program meaning
that it will integrate nicely into the mail merge document. It is simple to use
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and information is easily inputted, so I can easily get the information needed
through a query.
Here is a screenshot
showing how to create
a mail merge. With a
mail merge, you can
input data from other
applications such as
Microsoft Access.
In my second project (Achievement Standards 1.4 and 1.46) I used Game
Maker to create my computer program.
Game Maker is a computer programming specific application software. This
means that it allows the user to create their own game. However, instead of
writing a program, the version of Game Maker I used was a “drag and drop”
version meaning that the commands were represented by graphics, quite
similar to a GUI operating system, but I will go into more depth about that
later.
The key features of Game Maker include:
 Creating rooms (levels).
 Creating sprites and objects and representing them with an image.
 Allowing the user to communicate with the program through mouseclicks and keyboard commands.
 Creating title, load, quit and save buttons your user can “control”- or
think they can control when it is really the program controlling what is
happening but the user simply decides when the program should start
and go through the programmed set of actions.
 Creating “step” events and complex logical operations.
Screenshots showing
the creation of
backgrounds and
objects in Game
Maker. Game Maker
allows you to easily
create backgrounds,
objects, sprites and
sounds to add to your
program.
I used this application software as opposed to other computer game making
software such as Scratch because it is reasonably straightforward software for
the creation of a game and it allowed me to demonstrate all of the skills and
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specifications required for the internal such as creating multiple levels and title
screen. Scratch was also a good program and I have had previous experience
with it, but I found it be fairly limiting and was more difficult to use than Game
Maker. I will be using the Mac version, as I will be able to work on my game
more frequently and have easier access to it, if I do it on my Mac.
For my third project (Achievement Standards 1.42 and 1.43) I will use Adobe
Illustrator to create my logo and marketing materials.
Adobe Illustrator is vector drawing specific application software and it helps
the user to create drawings eg logos and these drawings can easily be
scaled. This is because instead of enlarging the size of the pixels when
stretched as it would in a raster image, the computer instead redraws the lines
around the new size of the image.
The key features of Adobe Illustrator include:
 Drawing and editing (stretching, rotating etc) shapes.
 Grouping objects and arranging them in a different order. For example,
you might want your square to be at the front and your circle to be
behind your square so that you can only see the edges of the circle.
 Adding colour or gradients.
 Draw and edit paths.
 Using grids to help draw more accurately.
Screenshots from
Adobe Illustrator.
The screenshot on the
left shows the creation
of a gradient and the
screenshot on the right
shows the use of a grid
to draw more precisely.
Adobe Illustrator is the most suitable application software for the task of
creating a logo because it is a reliable program, which allows you to create
and edit vector-based images. There are other image editing programs such
as Adobe Photoshop, but that is a raster-based image editing program
meaning that it does not have some of the tools for creating and editing
vector-based images such as the pen tool, which allows you to draw shapes
from point-to-point. Adobe Illustrator is especially good for the creation of
logos because logos must be unique and many companies have copyrighted
their logos and Adobe Illustrator has a number of tools such as the pen and
pencil tool where no two drawings can be the same meaning that your image
will be unique to the person’s logo next to you.
Operating Systems
The operating system is the managing piece of software. Its job is to manage
the overall functioning of a computer. It communicates with the hardware
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devices connected to your computer and your application software. Your
application software does not communicate with your computer hardware. No,
this is the operating system’s responsibility. For example, when you press
“save” on a word document your operating system is sending a message to
your computer hardware. It knows about every device plugged into your
computer. Your operating system also allows you to copy and paste between
different applications, which is a tool used by users almost every day. Often,
we take advantage of the operating system’s features without even realising
that we are doing it.
On the school network desktop computers, we use a Windows operating
system but on our laptops, we use a Mac OS X operating system. Both
systems have their advantages and disadvantages but are quite similar in the
tasks they perform. They are both “GUI” operating systems, which stands for
graphical user interface. This means that things such as the applications and
commands are represented by graphics and it is easier to the average
computer user because people relate well with images. There are also “CLI”
operating systems, which most people do not use anymore because they are
a lot more complex than a “GUI” operating system and they take a lot more
skill and knowledge with a computer.

Mac is often considered a more secure operating system than
Windows because you are less likely to get viruses on a Mac computer
because more people use a Windows operating system, so there are
more viruses created.

Mac computers are also known to be better for the use of graphics and
editing images but Windows is known to be better for business use
through programs such as Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel.
These programs are available on a Mac operating system, however
they are better on a Windows as Windows is the operating system they
were originally developed for.

Mac also has more cosmetic features meaning that all software looks
the same to the user and has common operating mechanisms making
it easier for the user but that could prove to be a disadvantage
particularly to computing programmers because there are more
restrictions.

An advantage of Windows is that many people, who can each write
independent pieces of software that other people can share this
software, use it. There is more available for a Windows and it is more
amenable. Windows operating systems are also more customisable
than Mac operating systems.

The user interfaces between the two different operating systems are
also different and many features, such as the shortcut keys and the
keyboard layout are different. However, even though there are
differences in the way things are displayed, both generally allow you to
do similar things and it is down to personal preference as to which you
prefer the look of. For example, on a Mac operating system, if you want
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to take a screenshot of the full screen, the shortcut is: command, shift
and 3. But, on a Windows there is a “print screen” key available.
Though those are the main two operating systems, there are also other
ones available such as Linux. The main advantage of Linux is that it is
open source, meaning that it is free and the source code is displayed to
all users.
Here are two screenshots of desktops on different
operating systems. The screenshot on the left is of a
Windows operating system and the screenshot on the
right is of a Mac operating system.
The key features of operating systems include:
 Allowing the user to communicate with the computer through input
devices and commands.
 Loading and running application software.
 Sharing out the memory. This basically means switching between
different tasks when you have multiple applications open such as a
word processor, an Internet browser and an image editor. This works
by the operating system swapping back and forth between the
programs. The program that the user is currently using gets allocated
the most memory space. For example, at this moment, I have Microsoft
Word open and Preview and Google Chrome. But, I am using Microsoft
Word so my operating system is allocating most of the memory space
to Word. Google Chrome and Preview are being stored currently so
they are using less memory, but if I need them again, my operating
system’s job is to swap the applications around.
 Managing password security so that you can prevent other computer
users from using your computer. It verifies the password the user has
entered is in fact the correct password against their account and
documents.
 Allowing the hardware to communicate with the software and can
communicate back and forth between the two.
 Moving data to and from the hard disk and other storage devices such
as personal USBs.
 Allowing for file management procedures such as creating, copying
and deleting folders.
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As I worked to create my projects, the operating system and the application
software are interacting all the time. You, as the user, are interacting with your
application software, which talks to your operating system, which talks to your
computer hardware. Your operating system can communicate between the
application software and the computer hardware. For example, in my second
project, I needed to print out the game code as evidence. Here my application
software (Game Maker) was interacting with the operating system (Windows),
which was sending a message to the hardware device (the printer), which
sends a message back to your operating system as to whether or not the
transfer of data was successful.
When I saved my documents or game or images, the application software
was interacting with the operating system, which is interacting with the
computer hardware. For example, when I saved my notes for the project on
my Mac, the application software was sending a message to the operating
system, which in turn saves the data to the appropriate computer hardware
device, which is normally the computer hard drive, however can also apply to
other devices such as a USB. This also applies to when I am opening
documents because the application software is sending a message to the
operating system to look for the data saved to the computer hardware.
An image demonstrating
the interaction between
the user, application
software, the operating
system and the
computer hardware.
(Reference: 1)
File Management
Throughout my three different projects, it was important to use appropriate file
management procedures. These procedures are simple, yet computer users
commonly disregard them but they are important in keeping all of your folders
organised in a way that you can understand.
Structuring, Naming and Storing Files and Folders
 It is important to have appropriate naming so that your files can
easily be found. Many people will simply name their documents
“doc1” or a combination of random letters on your keyboard, but this
is inefficient. Particularly in my first and second project, I had a lot of
different documents and if I had named them all “doc 1, doc 2, doc
3 etc” I would never have been able to distinguish between them
and it would have used up a lot of time every lesson, trying to find
the document I needed.
 For example, as opposed to “doc 1” call your document “An Essay
on Romeo and Juliet 2011”. This is a good file name because it is
specific and by looking at it, I immediately know what the file
contains. If all documents are named with this sort of specification,
all I need to do to find each document is glance down the list of
them and open it.
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This is an example of naming
files appropriately on a
Windows operating system
because by looking at this, I
immediately know what each of
these files are so I can open my
document quickly.
This is an example of good
file management on a Mac
operating system because
the files are all named
specifically and there are
folders and subfolders
sorting all the documents
into each subject.

Using folders and subfolders is a very efficient way of organising your
files. For each project I completed this year, I created an “Achievement
Standard 1…” folder so that each day when I needed to work on an
internal, I knew immediately where to look. I also created subfolders
within those folders, which was particularly helpful for the first project
because I had different parts of the internal such as the mail merge
document, the database, the documents related to analysing the
database and the survey.
These are screenshots of
folders on my Windows
operating system. Here, I
have different folders for
music, pictures, subjects etc
meaning if I need to find a
picture or a song, I will
know where to look.
Example of organised folders on
a Mac operating system. Very
useful for storing all of your
school related documents. Also,
on Mac computers you can
colour code the folders. Here, I
have done it so that I can read
the names of the folders easier.
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For my second project, I had to be careful when naming my files and sprites,
objects etc on Game Maker. This was because it is common for Game Maker
files to be shared online and when you are naming web-based pages you
cannot include any spaces or special symbols. To indicate spaces, you
instead use a hyphen or an underscore.
Managing Threats to Data
Some common threats my data throughout the creation process were:
 Losing my documents.
 An unexpected program or error with the computer. In the computer
lab, there were some computers that froze unexpectedly, and there
were also times when the plug to the computer was accidentally
unplugged. There were also times when the school network was down,
and we had limited time to complete an internal on the computer.
 A natural disaster- though this was unlikely but there is still a possibility
of it happening and it is always best to be prepared.
 Viruses.
How can you manage those threats?
 By saving to more than one location. For example, a USB is a very
small device and easily lost and by only saving to a USB, the
documents on it will be lost with it. However, if you have saved to
hardware also then you will still have your documents. It is a good idea
to some onto a portable device and a hardware device. There can be
situations where your computer has a virus and the documents on your
computer are destroyed, however if you have saved to a portable
device such as an external hard drive or a USB, then you will still have
your documents.
 You should also have a virus protector on your computer as a
preventative measure. Getting rid of a virus once it is on your computer
can be a difficult and expensive process so it is best to prevent getting
them onto your computer. You should also conduct regular checks of
your computer with your virus protector as virus protectors allow you to
scan all your documents, checking for any viruses.
 You should also have some form of a security system installed onto
your computer to prevent hackers from getting into your computer.
File Compression Techniques for the Exchange of Information
 One way of compressing large files is by making them from an editable
file to a flattened file. For example in Adobe Photoshop, a .psd file is an
editable file and it is very big, but to make it smaller you can convert it
to a flattened file such as a .jpg, which is a lot smaller.
 You can also “zip” files, which is especially helpful if you have multiple
folders you need to transfer. Zipping a file creates a compressed
version of the original file, which is a lot smaller and easier to share.
Some zip programs also allow you to encrypt files so that you can
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protect your more confidential data and this is especially helpful if you
are sending your files through email.
File Types
Throughout the creating of my projects, I used many different file types.
 It is important to know what file type you are working with and to
know what version of the program will be needed to open the file.
This is because often you will share files with other users and you
need to know what program to use when opening the file.
 During the creation process, I used both edited files and flattened
files. You can often tell if your file is editable or flattened by the file
type. An editable file is one you change and edit as opposed to a
flattened file, which is a file you can read only. For example, in
Microsoft Word, you can have a .doc or .docx (.doc being from the
older versions of Microsoft word and .docx being the native file type
of the later versions of Microsoft Word) file which are editable files
and you can convert it to a .pdf file which is not editable. Another
example is a .psd, and you can flatten it and make it a .jpeg etc.
This will mean that it is no longer editable and the file is a lot
smaller because you are taking away all of the layers and
condensing it. People flatten their files so that the content on it
cannot be changed and it looks exactly like it did when you were
editing it. This is especially important when transferring data
between a Windows operating system and a Mac operating system
as often the formatting will change slightly and this can change the
look of the document or image.
 For all of my projects, I handed documents in a PDF format so that
they could not be changed and it would preserve the colours and
the special fonts I had downloaded for the documents. It would also
ompress the files and make them smaller so that they would not
take up a large amount of space on the computer.
 For the second project, I was introduced to a new set of file types
through Game Maker. These included a .gmk file, which was the
actual game program, containing all of the code to the creator of the
program. Also, as you are making your game, Game Maker creates
.gb1, .gb2 etc files which are the backup files in case anything
happens to your original program. The completed game can be
saved in executable format, .exe. An .exe file is not editable but
they can be shared amongst anyone who has the appropriate
operating system. It will not work on a Mac operating system
because .exe is the executable format for a Windows operating
system. While I was creating my game, I saved my game as a .gmk
so that I could edit and add to it, however later once I had finished
my game and gone over it with my stakeholders, I saved it as an
.exe. This would be the file type I would use when sharing the game
with other users because they could use my game, but it would
mean they would not have access to the code.
 For the third project, I will use .Al and this is the native file format of
Adobe Illustrator. This is a vector file type. Vector graphics do not
render images on a pixel-by-pixel basis. This means that a simple
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square would only be made of four different points and they allow
the computer to play connect-the-dots. Raster graphics, on the
other hand, are a lot larger because they must keep track of the all
the different pixels and when you edit them, they must change each
one of these pixels. They are also not scalable because unlike
Vector images, when you resize a raster image, the pixels are just
stretched. When you resize a vector image, the computer will
redraw the image to fit the new size the user has inputted. So, I
would use a .Al as opposed to a .PSD because a .PSD is a raster
image file and for this project, I want to be able to easily change the
size of my image and I do not need to work with complicated
colours because that would be inefficient as it would slow the
computer down and simple colours or gradients will be effective for
the needs of the project.
Ethical Issues
Throughout the different projects, I had to make sure to bear in the mind the
ethical issues involved. This is very important for computers because it is so
easy to plagiarise data, even without realising that is what you are doing. On a
computer, you can do this simply by using a quick keyboard shortcut. It is
important and lawful to give people credit for using their work because people
work hard and deserve the appropriate credit.
 It was important to make sure to reference everything correctly.
This was particularly important for the first and second projects as
we used images and fonts from the Internet to enhance our work.
Even people who drew their own images for Game Maker used
something from the Internet, so it was important to reference what
we used. In my second project, I used sprites from the Internet and
it was important for me to reference these because if I did not do
this, it would be plagiarising which is illegal. In my first project, I
added images from the internet to make the survey look more
interesting and I had to add a reference page at the end of my
document, stating that I used these pictures and referencing the
website I got them from. This was important, because I was using
another person’s images and this person deserves credit for their
creation as I would expect credit for an image I create.
 A good way of referencing a website throughout the creation of your
project, is to create a word document and record the URL of the
website and the data that you went onto website. This will limit the
work you need to do on your bibliography later because you have
all of the information necessary already. The date is important
because content changes all the time on the Internet and there may
have been different content the day you went onto the website.
 It is important to have passwords in place to protect your data and
to identify that it is you accessing your documents and not someone
else. On the school, multi-user computers this is especially
important as many people use the computers and this adds to the
risk that your data will be interfered with. Though the password can
seem like an inconvenience to type in a password, it adds to the
security of your computer.
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Privacy has become an important issue as a result of the
development of the worldwide web. Internet users expose personal
information about themselves without even realising it.
The material used in the projects also had to be appropriate for the
context of the project. This means that the material had to be
suitable for the age group and purpose of the project. This was
particularly important for the second project because we had to
make games that were suitable for year 11 female school students.
So what that means is that we could not create games with a lot of
graphic violence because it would not be suitable. It was important
for me to remember this when brainstorming for ideas for my game,
as I wanted my stakeholders (members of my class) to enjoy the
game and I also did not want to risk offending anyone with an
inappropriate game idea.
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References
1. Image showing interaction between application software, operating
system etc:
http://seqcc.icarnegie.com/content/SSD/SSD2/4.4.0.0/normal/pgcomputer-sys/pg-overview-of-computer-systems/pg-components-of-acomputer-sys/pg-components-of-a-computer-sys.html
Visited: 2/10/11
2. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/difference-between-windows-andmacintosh.html
Visited: 2/10/11
3. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/zip-or-unzip-a-fileHA001127690.aspx
Visited: 3/10/11
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