2.1

• Tactile Images


  A form of physical information that can be interpreted by touch. Specialist software is used to create raised lines on paper that people can experience by touching.
• Braille


  An example of a tactile image that can be physically touched. Braille characters represent letters or numbers that can be 'read' by touch - used primarily by those with visual impairments.
• Boolean


  A data type that can only have one of two specified values, most commonly 'True' and 'False' or 'yes' and 'no'.
• Text


  • Provides detailed summaries and explanations
  • The format of text can be changed to suit its purpose
  • Text can be written in different languages so that all literate people can understand
  • Large amounts of text can be difficult and time-consuming to read. It is generally less engaging than most other methods
  • Text may include spelling errors or be factually incorrect
• Graphics


  • Graphics are multilingual - they can be understood by anybody regardless of their spoken language
  • Graphics can present an idea or message immediately and can use associations
  • Graphics are a more engaging method of presenting information than text
  • Images may take longer to load over a data-restricted network, for example, images in an email may not be automatically downloaded
• Video


  • More engaging and easier to follow than reading large amounts of text
  • Videos can be used to convey a message in a short space of time
  • Audio can be added to videos such as music for engagement or narration to explain a process
  • Videos usually take up a relatively large amount of storage space, longer videos may take time to upload / download / transfer along a network
  • Videos take a long time to create including filming, editing and narration
• Animated Graphics


  • Can be used to show a process and is easier to understand than reading text
  • Can be understood by all ages and language speakers
  • Creating an animated graphic takes time to create, especially educational resources with multiple frames and annotation
• Numerical


  • Statistical data is easier to understand and manage in a numerical format than standard text
  • Numerical data can be exported into spreadsheets and presented as graphs to visualise the data
  • Long numbers can be entered by humans incorrectly and lead to incorrect results
  • Formatted data like telephone numbers cannot be stored as numerical because numerical does not allow spaces and does not allow the number to start with 0
• Audio


  • Users can listen to information when they are otherwise busy and could not read, such as when walking or driving
  • Visually impaired users who are unable to read can still hear audio and interact with voice recognition software
  • Some users prefer listening to instructions rather than reading text
  • Audio may not be suitable in some environments e.g. noisy areas
  • Words may be misheard and misunderstandings made, possibly due to pronunciations or accents
• Tactile Images


  • Users can better understand a physical environment or prospective design if it is physically built
  • Visually-impaired users can feel the object instead of being able to see it
  • The tactile image can be used as a prototype for a target audience to feel and comment on
  • It is difficult to share a tactile image without physically moving it, unlike digital or paper information styles
  • Creating a tactile image requires specialist equipment like a 3D printer
• Subtitles


  • Hearing-impaired users can access audio information formats such as video by reading the subtitles
  • Subtitles can be used in noisy environments or when sound cannot be played
  • Subtitles can be used for translated speech, such as in promotional videos or television programmes
  • Auto-generated subtitles are often incorrect
  • Subtitles written by a human take a long time to type up and sync in time with the audio
• Braille


  • Allows visually impaired users to interact with a computer system using a braille terminal
  • A braille printer can print documents written using braille to be given to blind people to 'read'
  • Braille terminals can only display a limited amount of information at a time
  • Braille is not used by many people except visually impaired people so few resources are written using braille
• Charts & Graphs


  • Charts present numerical data in a format that is easier to visualise and understand
  • Charts and graphs can summarise information into one image data that would take paragraphs to explain in text
  • Displaying information in a graph allows users to easily identify trends and make comparisons between data
  • Charts can be misleading or can display incorrect information if the numerical data is wrong
• Record Locking


  1. Records can be locked so that only one person can make edits at any one time

  2. Edits will be saved before unlocking the file

  3. This will stop data being incorrectly overwritten and will ensure that the data is up-to-date, accurate and fit for purpose
• Spreadsheets


  • Can be linked to other documents to directly import data
  • Data can be ordered into different groups and conditional formatting can be used to automatically organise and style the data
  • Graphs and charts can be created using values stored in a spreadsheet to easily visualise the data
  • Modelling can be used to see the effect of variable changes
• Databases


  • Use queries (advanced searches) to find and display data based on given criteria
  • Mail merge can be used to automatically send emails to the customers highlighted in the query
  • A report can be generated from the query results to display the information in a structured format. This can be used to make decisions and analyse data