Unit 2 - Global Information 1.6 – Information Formats

Objectives Know about different information formats use on the WWW Understand the purpose of these formats Justify the accessibility of each format to meet the needs of different holders of information.

Information Formats These are the different formats of information used on the WWW. These formats could be: Web Pages Static Dynamic Blogs Personal News and Views Company blogs Microblogs Podcasts Streamed Audio and Video Internet Radio Catch-Up TV Netflix/ Amazon video etc. Social Media Channels Document Stores (Google Docs, DropBox, OneDrive etc.) RSS Feeds

Task Get into groups of 2 or 3: You will be given one or two of the different information formats. In your group you will present your information formats to the rest of the class Your presentation can be done however you like but must include information on: What the information format is How they work What the advantages and disadvantages of their use. Other important information people need to know about the fomat When the presentation will be delivered you will need to gather your own notes on the topic and think of questions to help extend on the knowledge.

Web pages They are the fundamental information format on the internet. Can come in a variety of shapes, sizes and content. Includes different information types (text, animation, video, sound etc.) A website could be static or dynamic Static Consist of a series of HTML files, each one representing a physical page of a website. Each page is a separate HTML file. (When you visit the homepage, you are viewing the actual homepage file.) Even if 2 pages contain chunks of identical content, they both contain two versions. If you want to update these chunks then you must do it twice.

Web Pages Dynamic Uses server technologies (such as PHP) to dynamically build a webpage right when a user visits the page. What happens is the user goes to certain web address and the server finds a bunch of different pieces of information that it writes into a single cohesive web page. Good examples of dynamic information source would be websites that are updated on a regular basis. Example – BBC news changes throughout the day as news stories happen around the world. Growth of video phones and satellite technology means that news can be reported on whilst it is still happening.

Blogs Abbreviated from “Weblog” which is a term used to describe websites that maintain an ongoing chronicle of information. Features diary-type commentary and links to articles on other websites. Usually presented as a list of entries in reverse chronological order. Blogs range from the personal to the political and can focus on one narrow subject or a range of subjects. Many blogs focus on a particular topic (eg. Web design, home staging, sports or technology) Some are more eclectic, presenting links to all types of other sites. Others are more like personal journals, presenting the author’s daily life and thoughts. Blogs give visitors the ability to add comments to the stories.

Blogs

Blogs

Podcasts The “Pod” part refers to the iPod that became popular during the early 2000’s. The “cast” part refers to distributing content either factual or entertainment. Podcasts are where people produce an audio mp3 for other people to download and listen to on their mp3 player. There are now thousands of podcasters making short “programs” about every subject under the sun. Mainstream broadcasters also provide podcasts of their shows and factual programs that you can download and listen to in your own time. It is very simple to produce podcasts Record speech using a microphone. Data file then formatted to mp3 file. Upload to a server so it is available to visitors and subscribers. Video podcasts are also available that include short video clips intended for downloading and viewing offline.

Streamed Audio and Video Relatively new feature on the internet and due to high bandwidth required to stream has meant networking and processing technologies have improved. Formats can include stream real-time radio and television, as wells as a catch up feature. Contact can then be accessed after it has appeared live.

Streamed Audio and Video

Social Media Channels Social media channels allow users to interact, share comments and views. As a store of information they offer huge potential. They can holds comments and views of many users, meaning that they represent a huge source of data and this can be used for marketing purposes. Almost everyone in the UK is connection to one or more social network or another. They allow people to communicate easily. Can organise group activities, sharing information, or just having a chat are all good reasons to keep logging on.

Social Media Channels

Document Stores Relatively new feature on the internet. These sites are known as “cloud storage” and include sites such as Google Docs, Dropbox and OneDrive. Files can be uploaded to and downloaded from the site or updated locally on a PC and automatically synced to the cloud. There a advantages of these sites over paper based methods. They allow immediate retrieval of documents. You can also see any documents linked to one document easily without having to search through lots of different cabinets or paper folders. Another benefit is secure document storage. Users can be granted access to specific documents, therefore you can secure most sensitive document to only certain individuals who require access.

Document Stores

RSS Feeds Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary. RSS revolutionised the way that users interact with content online. Instead of checking back every day to any particular site to see if it’s been updated, RSS feeds give users the ability to subscribe to the RSS feed (similar to a newspaper subscription.). Users then read updates from the site, delivered via RSS feeds using a “feed reader”. RSS feeds benefit those who actually own or publish a website as well since site owners can get their updated content to subscribers more quickly.

RSS Feeds – How it works? RSS feeds are simple text files that, once submitted to feed directories will allow subscribers to see content within a very short time after it’s updated. This content can be combined to be viewed more easily using a feed reader. A feed reader, or feed aggregator, is just a really simple way to view all your fees at one time using one interface. Once you’re up to speed on RSS, you’ll realise that there are many different ways that you can use RSS feeds to help you in your Web searching and daily life: Google News can create specialised new based on your preferences with alerts that delivered to you via an RSS feed. YouTube users can follow their favourite channels or key phrases via RSS feeds. For example - say you're especially interested in Family Guy clips. This is what your feed would look like: www.youtube.com/rss/tag/family+guy.rss. RSS feeds are basically simple text files that, once submitted to feed directories, will allow subscribers to see content within a very short time after it's updated (sometimes as short as 30 minutes or less; it's getting faster all the time). Using RSS in your online browsing habits can greatly streamline and simplify how you get your content. 

RSS Feeds Purpose The purpose of each format should be obvious. RSS feeds, for example, can be used to inform recipients of bigger events which may then be supported by information such as websites or blogs. Blogs could hold similar information to that held on a website, but are presented in a more personal manner, while the information held on either could also be held in a document store.

Accessibility Each type of information format offers different degrees of accessibility. A file on a document site may be a synopsis of a streamed TV episode and so presents information in a shortened form that is quicker to read that the whole episode. Alternatively, the visual nature of the original TV source could make the information more accessible. Many people like blogs as they are informal and this builds up an almost personal relationship with the reader, while the short and sharp nature of an RSS feed allows a message to be sent to be short and to be point

Accessibility on using the Formats This video shows how information formats have been made accessible for blind and partially sighted people. This webpage also has information on web accessibility and how the design of webpages can be altered to be accessible to a variety of people. https://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/accessibility.html TASK: From the list of information formats given earlier, explain how each of these formats can be made accessible for people with a wide range of disabilities. Complete research and create a document to explain this.