Audience and communication
Designing for an audience, copyright, using email properly, the internet and the World Wide Web, and judging whether online information is reliable.
📌 Key points
- A solution must suit its audience: consider their age, experience, needs, language and reading level; e.g. young children need large text, simple words, bright images and sound.
- Software and other digital content are protected by copyright: it is illegal to copy, share or sell them without permission; methods to protect software include product keys, licence agreements and dongles.
- Email netiquette: do not type in capital letters (it means shouting), avoid offensive language, check spelling, do not forward chain letters, and do not send very large attachments; organisations have rules (acceptable use policies) and laws apply.
- Email features: cc sends a copy that all recipients can see; bcc sends a copy without other recipients seeing that address; forward sends a received email on to someone else; attachments add files; groups send one email to many contacts.
- Spam is unsolicited bulk email; it can contain phishing links or malware, so use spam filters and do not reply.
- The internet is the worldwide network of networks; the World Wide Web is the collection of web pages on it. An ISP (internet service provider) gives users access to the internet.
- A URL is a web address; HTTP transfers web pages and HTTPS is the secure, encrypted version; a web browser displays web pages; FTP is used to transfer files, e.g. uploading a website to a web server.
- Blogs are websites with entries by one author in reverse date order; forums are discussion sites (moderated or unmoderated); wikis can be edited by many users; social networking sites let users share content and connect.
- Information on the internet may be unreliable or biased: check the author, how recent it is, the type of site (e.g. .gov, .ac, .edu), whether it is trying to sell something, and compare it with other sources.
📖 Key terms
- Audience
- The people a document, presentation or website is designed for.
- Copyright
- The legal right of the creator to control who copies, shares or sells their work.
- Netiquette
- The rules of good behaviour when communicating online.
- Bcc
- Blind carbon copy: sends a copy of an email without the other recipients seeing that address.
- ISP
- Internet service provider: a company that provides access to the internet.
- Wiki
- A website whose content can be edited by many users.
- Blog
- A website where one person posts entries, shown with the most recent first.
✏️ Worked example
A teacher wants to email a newsletter to 80 parents without parents seeing each other's email addresses. Explain how.
- Create a contact group containing all 80 parents' email addresses.
- Put the teacher's own address (or the school's) in the To box.
- Put the group in the Bcc box, so the addresses are hidden from other recipients.
- Attach the newsletter, preferably as a PDF so it opens on any device, and check its size before sending.
When asked how to check that a website is reliable, give specific checks (author's qualifications, date updated, .gov/.ac domain, compare with other sites), not just "check if it is reliable".
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