26-11-09 :: long time no post

Well i havent posted here in ages..... and ages.
The past couple of lessons we've been school enrollment databases on access. The instructions provided have been a great help with the first 2 sections with creating the data and making a report etc... however once i reached section 3 i hit a couple of issues with te information growing from simplicity to something more difficult as if expecting me to know what it was on about. Gah. I know i wasnt the only problem who hit a dead end a couple of people had made a mistake somewhere a rather stuffing up the rest -.-" I've some-what given up i'll ask jess to help explain to me later. :)
I guess the major issue was creating the relationships. Gosh it seems so simple and yet its a PAIIIINNNN to make.
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Im getting sick of databases.. i dont want to do this :/ shame i dont have enough units to drop ._." as much as im trying to understand, its just coming out as a big fat blah to me. Uffft and to think i like computers and i wanted to do something with them for my future. oh hay thats my plan flushed down the toilet because of my lack of skill. Now what? -.-"

Definition of some stuffies;;

Well considering my IPT exam was a flunk ._. i dont know about the rest of the class though we gotta look up some stuff. ga

Bar code reader:
any device that can convert a bar code image into data
http://www.blogger.com/www.lomag-man.org/glossaire%20dico/glossairelinventaire/glossary-of-inventoryaccuracy.php

Magnetic stripe:
A magnetic stripe card is a type of card capable of storing data by modifying
the magnetism of tiny iron-based magnetic particles on a band of magnetic material
on the card. The magnetic stripe, sometimes called a magstripe, is read by physical contact and swiping past a reading head.
- thankyou wiki :P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_stripe

Software Processing:

Large amounts of data processing such as spreadsheets and data bases i.e access.

Take good images on your camera you don't always use them as they are, you can edit and manipulate etc... This is processing

Movie maker is also a manipulating thing, video editing software. i.e adobe premiere - process high quality movie editing.

Sound files are also something you can process and manipulate.
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another software process thing involving sound ;;

Software that can take an appropriate voice and turn it into a command.. talk to the computer and it should be intelligent enough to process it into a command. :) recognise voice.

example - Dragon Naturallyspeaking

Group Assignment 1) (Oh the fun)

Well i havent posted in here for a while, since the last assignment... cause quite frankly im lazy but anywho.... We have a new assignment. My intial thought was "Oh Joy how fun." thennn.... well more like now im thinking... Oh joy how super fun another assignment to do overseas -.-" so you know... my thought hasnt really changed that much. please dont be offended ^^
** NOTE; all the quotes in this blog have intended sarcasm.**

What we are doing for this assignment is a group task making a data system. At first we had wanted to do a virtual school tour however 2 other groups had also chosen this and we wanted to be more original. Thinking further into it wanted to do something which could replace an old mthod of "something" yet also be entertaining and amusing for us so we wouldnt get bored of it too easily hence we thought profiles and the future. The finally Yearbooks!
What we plan to do is make an online yearbook intended to replace the more traditonal paper form, this is for easier access, saves paper obviously and to be kept for a longer time.

my Group consists of:
Me = Louisa
taco = Claudia
Maxi-Mo-Jo = Maxinne

and together we are LCM's!

DONE!!!!

sooo i finished most of my markbook database on the thursday i just had the instruction page left to do, Which i was going to do on friday but then went out and then on the Saturday i had work. So i finally finished it tonight instructions and all. After i uploaded it however i changed my mind and decided that perhaps i should add in a grade system with the letters "A,B,C,D,E" as overall marks, soo then added that in and hurrah my markbook is done ;)

Context Diagram and Data Flow Diagram

Context diagram ;D

Requirements report

The Purpose:
To enable a faster more accessible database for teachers to record marks, student names and averages based on formulas for quick results.
It should help with finding out which students passed and the ranks of which each student got, rather than manually writing out what each student has received the markbook stores and compares for a more flexible way to grade.

Data inputs would be The names of the students a column each for first and Surnames. The class number of which they're in e.g "english1 or english2" the mark they received out of a mark (e.g 67/100). The percentage as well as class average and finally the grade out of E,D,C,B,A.

Information processes involved are:
Collecting ~ Information such as Students names, Teachers, Class, Marks, Averages, Percentages and final Letter Grade.
Organising~ By using Autofillers you can organise the names into alphabetical order, or grades of students from highest to lowest or vice versa. Also organising different classes by creating new ones from maths to science and English :)
Analysing~The information is analysed to be sorted in order and different columns
Storing and retrieving~ Information can be saved and accessed later for editting.
Transferring and Recieving~ Can be sent to other teachers portable through USB's or over the internet.
Displaying~ What it is viewed on and how. On the excel markbook, through the computer moniter.
Processing~Using the formulas to process the marks into averages and percentages.
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Overall i plan to make my Markbook not so complicated, it will need the basic things teachers require such as the student names, the marks, percentages and overall grade marking which of course they can change to suit their own needs. Basically i'm leaving my database open for changes because each teacher prefers different settings/layouts and options. I'll also include and option to make new classes which of course if they need to separate the yr 10's from the yr 11's its much easier to record.

Im Really slack and delayed when it comes to Blogging

So I've come to realise that i tend to slack off when it comes to posting on my blog. (research)
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So when we first received this assignment we got told to do background research on Markbooks.


Firstly what they are:

markbooks are databases which allow you to "Assign grades, Scale results, Print results and graphs and Prepare for your reports", in an easy more accessible fashion. Allowing teachers the advantage of a place to keep records more easily formulas to sort out averages faster and easily sent out to others its flexible and replaces the old manual way of keeping records.


Example i found:

the website: http://www.trybuysoftware.co.uk/33379/details-teachers-personal-markbook.html

And here is a screen shot of what it looks like:


it can do: Average, Combine, Compare tasks, Convert z scores, Copy, Deciles, Elective Weight, Grade Average, Grade Cutoff, Grade Number, Grade Percent, Grade Weight, Linear Mapping, Linear Scale, Moderate, Quartiles, Range, Rank, Round, Standardise, Weight.


The main problem i find with this though is... it is NOT FREE. 30 day free trial ;_;"

Gantt Chart and my progress thus far

My Gantt Chart ^^"

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Well truth be told i did get confused a bit especially whilst playing around with Macro's.

In Class i started off Making an example markbook adding in the names, class and averages which was simple enough. That took a little less than a lesson but the next lesson after that Sir taught us how to do Macro's and i just sat there with this type of facial expression 0.0"

Luckily enough my friends Maxinne and Jess ran it by me again and i got to using it.

By the third lesson working on our assignment i had added in 3 buttons. 1 to go to my instructions page (which was still blank by then) the second to go to the example page (for my assignment the example was english) and the third button to make a new class template. heres what they look like ^^

well its hard to see but the first button from the left says "example english" which basically takes you to my example markbook, the second is "make new" which like the name says makes a new sheet/template for a new class. The third button is the instructions on how to use the markbook.

In the POV of simply Me & A New Assignment.

Well back at school and its been ages since I've posted here so i shall post to comment on the results of my half yearlies and to write about the assignment we now.

Firstly: IPT results.... well i'm amused and confused by my results i must admit. I had felt that what i had done during the examination was not enough to get a good mark let alone the one in which i got. Apparently i achieved 39/50 which to me is mediocre, however to find the highest Mark was 40 makes me hmmm surprised. I am not pleased with my mark however considering the grades and results of my other classes i guess i should be happy.
Year 11 Catherine McAuley makes people depressed :\ no offense

And Finally: Assignment... my joy in life -.-"
We are making a Markbook! oh wait, didn't we make one of those before? oh thats right we did! so I'm hoping this shouldn't be that hard of an assignment though i shouldn't underestimate stuff like this and still attempt to do the best :)
So far in class we've been learning about researching and gathering information as well as forms in which to display the information we have gathered in a system database. Diagrams, tables and mind maps ;o
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Edit: Got a task description today, ^-^"
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1. Maintain a journal in your blog of the design process you are going through

2. Produce a Gantt Chart of the project containing appropriate stages during the design and production. Include the chart in your blog

3. Produce a Requirements Report for your project. This can be added to your blog

4. Produce a context and data flow diagram. Add this also to your blog

5. If necessary for your project produce a schema and data dictionary and add to your blog (not needed if your are using excel)

6. Produce a spreadsheet that will function as your Mark Book and include help instructions. This will be uploaded to a folder that will be created on our class site nearer to the due date.

Mini Assignment OMG pt 3

Hmmm well reading through the list of jobs in the Kopete website i must say it wasnt quite helpful. gave no definition and what is in involved exactly...I found another website which is a website based IM site supporting all your IM accounts. The good thing about this website was searching through i found a page on Job openings which gave a good account of what they are looking for roles and specific responsibilities for that job.

stupid blogger stuffed up on me x.x"
i shall edit laters =)

Mini Assignment OMG pt 2

(This post is gonna be a mix between my thoughts and what I've been doing so far.)

Sooo we have this miniature assignment or group task to complete with the purpose of educating our fellow class mates providing further information about the topic.
Of course like i mentioned in my earlier post I'm stuck with the section of the roles in the development team.
Although today i must admit i had gotten somewhat sidetracked by the topic of active volcanoes and riskiest countries i had still managed to find a quite helpful website. Kopete supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, IRC, Gadu-Gadu, Novell GroupWise Messenger, and more. Designed to be a
Flexible multi-protocol system suitable for personal and/or organisation use.

LINK:
Kopete Instant Messanger

The great thing about this website is it has a list of the staff development team. SO now i have a list of the roles of people involved all that's left to do is define each job =] which i shall do next lesson or tomorrow night perhaps.

LINK TO TEAM:
Kopete development team

Microsoft office Live

Microsoft Office Live Is An online workplace which is free of charge, and can save up to over 1000 microsoft documents.

Impact Of microsoft office live worldwide:

It enables people to save their documents online, access it anywhere where Internet is available therefore USB's wouldn't be needed and to also share it via inviting the persons email to join your workspace. You can decide whether or not they can edit your work or simply to just review it.
It comes in many various languages and Proven protection from virus's is assured as Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint is used. It can only be accessed with a Windows Live ID and
password so you control who can view, comment on, and edit your documents for collaboration.

Today =o

On Monday in class we had watched through several youtube videos about technology in the near future. (i would have posted this on Monday except we had hardly any time left in class after watching all the videos)

The first video was about Retail in the future portraying the simplicity of finding various items, pricing them and buying. By using RFID tags to not only work as a gps system to find the whereabouts of various items but also using miniature LCD screens to display the prices on the shelves so it is easier to change the prices on items.
Sir had explained to the class that the technology we had now could in fact do all this already however the pricing would be costly and therefore only major companies would be able to use it. In a couple more years however this should change.

In the video which was called "Did you know" it states how in the near future technology would soon be smarter than humans... in my personal opinion the only thing that runs through my mind hearing this is "Terminator" therefore i highly dislike the idea x.x"
Although, I found the facts really interesting and highly amusing with statistics i would consider impossible that clearly aren't. Hmm atm (at the moment) i cant rewatch the video on this computer seeing as youtube is blocked however when i get home i'll rewatch it and post some facts =)

**Edit** Ok so i thought i should post the link to the Video, Did You Know

PoV;; facts which i must admit catch the attention of people, gets the point across in both a factual and entertaining manner =]

-The top 10 In-Demand Jobs in 2010 .... did not exist in 2004 OMG!!!

Acronym =]

Well upon Reading Maxinne's post about the acronym for the information processes I have come to the conclusion to also post it in order to remember it better however i have slightly altered it;

Collecting
Organising
Analyzing
Storing and retrieving
Transmitting and receiving
Display
Processing


COAST DP (DP stands for Display picture... sooooo strangely enough i think of a beach display picture o.o)

anyway thankyou for the idea max =D
free cookies for you!

Mini Assignment OMG

So a couple of lessons back we got a mini assignment to do on information systems/ the ethical and social issues as well as the people involved and tools ^-^"

I probably should have posted this back when we got the assignment but i didn't simply because; i forgot totally about this blog x.x and I'm lazy... :P sorry its a slow post ^^

First thing to do was find a group, My group consists of Me (L) Claudia (C) and Maxinne (M) and together we make the LCM's a force to be reckoned with or a great snack. Next was to choose from a list of six information data systems to research on. These were; facebook, youtube, Instant Messaging (IM), Ebay, Online, Banking, Google.
Our chosen Topic was Instant messaging (hehehe) and each member got a role to research.

Maxinne- exploring social and ethical issues.
Claudia- Information on tools related to the system.
Me- Roles of people in the system development team.

What We Have Done in Class so far.

Well i haven't been posting what we've been doing in class. So this post is to simply sum up and explain the work i have been doing involving Information data systems.

Well we started of using Excel making our own information data systems which were;
-Class Marks (with this we used 3 different classes, 4 different subjects and 10 students. From there we found out the class averages and Student averages for each subject as well as the highest and lowest marks.)
-Data Systems involving work (Times in and out, over-time and salary.)
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We had also been making ISC diagrams for;
-Skype
-Facebook
-Salary
-And the Mark books
In the ISC diagrams the information which was recorded were;
users, environment, purpose, information processes, participants, data/information, information technology
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The last lot of work which i had finally completed was my powerpoint on Different Data types.
These included;

-Image~ Such as Jpeg, Gif and Bmp
-text~ doc, txt, log
-Number~byte, short interger, long interger
-Audio~ mp3, midi, wma
-Video ~ mp4, avi, mpg

I need to work more on IPT incomplete work at home though its been hard recently as a result of constant never ending assignments and exams x.x" (ironic seeing as we now have a small IPT assignment to complete... expected)

P.S: Spell check isnt working for me? >.<"

I used it and it said spelling correct and I read

through and find mistakes... how frustrating

Examples of Information Systems;;

- ATM
- Air Traffic Control
- Sap

Edit;; much too plain.... well i didnt think much of this blog never thought we had to write much stuff in here ^-^" but i was wrong =P so i guess i should post more.

Well thus far we have been learning about information data systems above i have listed 3 types of everyday things that involve information data systems.
Now what are information data systems?
They are a system of data records in the network of all communication channels that are used within an organisation/group.