Ian Ramsey C of E School GCSE ICT On the move Final steps

Starter: Open Google and search for “Passport Application”. Follow the link to one of the results. Is it an official website? How do you know? Answer: Yes as you have to look at the URL to prove it’s a government website. You can look at the date updated.

Lesson Objectives: By the end of this lesson you will be able to: explain how users can check the reliability and validity of websites and how search engine lists are organised describe biometric methods of identification and explain the security and privacy issues involved present arguments for and against different devices as the best solution for particular requirements.

Advantages of using a paid Disadvantages of using a paid service Official and unofficial websites The 4th site in the list is the official passport office site. The first 3 entries are companies that offer a service to help people apply for their passport. Of course they charge a fee for their services. Why would some people use such a service when they can apply for a passport without a service charge using the official site? Complete the table below to show advantages and disadvantages of using an unofficial service. Advantages of using a paid service Disadvantages of using a paid service They check the application for you to make sure there is no mistakes. Costs more.

How do search engines work? Search engines use programs to generate search results and then rank them in order of importance. Google uses 3 ways to rank it’s results: The frequency and location of keywords within the Web page: If the keyword only appears once within the body of a page, it will receive a low score for that keyword. How long the Web page has existed: People create new Web pages every day, and not all of them stick around for long. Google places more value on pages with an established history. The number of other Web pages that link to the page in question: Google looks at how many Web pages link to a particular site to determine its relevance. It is also possible to pay for advertising on search engines such as Google. As we saw with the passport application services, the results will appear at the top of the list when certain keywords are typed in.

Search engine – Type of website that bring up results based on keywords you type in. A data base of information/programme that runs over the internet to help you find something. E.g. – google, yahoo and bing. Web/internet browser – E.g. - Internet explorer,safari or google chrome. A web browser is a program that gives you access to the internet/ the world wide web. You can then go to a search engine if you have a web browser.

Using passports for identification UK passports now contain a microchip. This is a miniature electronic circuit. The microchip stores the passport holder’s photograph and all of the personal information that is also printed in the passport. It also holds biometric information about the holder. At larger airports, there are e-passport gates that passengers can use at border control. The holder places their passport on a scanner, and the equipment checks the measurements of their face against the measurements held on the chip. This includes the distance between the eyes, nose, mouth and ears. If the measurements match up then the gate automatically opens to let the holder through. Microchip symbol

Biometrics Biometrics are an automated method or recognising a person based on physical characteristics. Among the features measured are face, fingerprints, hand geometry, iris and voice. Examples of how biometrics are used at present: Facial recognition at border control (passports) Fingerprint recognition to log on to computers Iris recognitions at ATMs (cash machines) Iris recognition to identify prisoners Voice recognition to gain entry to secure rooms Fingerprint recognition in a library Fingerprint recognition to pay for school dinners Click here to learn more

Biometrics Read the information on the website about how biometric technology works. Watch the animations on each page. Open a blank PowerPoint and add information as follows: What is biometric technology? Facial scanning Iris scanning Fingerprint scanning Include relevant images and examples of how each technology is used. Click here to learn more

Final decisions Sarah and Simon are still arguing about what devices they should take with them. Simon wants to buy a new smart phone, whereas Sarah would rather take a netbook and a digital camera. Open the following worksheet and fill in the table to indicate which features the different devices possess and what functions they can carry out. All pupils – ICT – GCSE (Edexcel) – Theory – Unit 2 – Features and functions OR

Knowledge check What does .gov.uk at the end of a web address indicate? Answer: List 3 things that can be recognised with biometrics. Answer: Give 2 current uses of biometrics Answer: What do the letters USB stand for (look this up if you don’t know). Answer: