Peripheral devices and Media

Unit 1 - Information Technology Systems - Learning Aim A

Objectives
• Describe:
• peripheral devices used with other digital devices to form part
of an IT system:
• input devices
• output devices
• storage devices
• manual and automatic data processing
• accessibility devices
• characteristics and implications of storage media used to form
part of an IT system
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Starter
• Name eight other input and output devices that
could be attached to this computer system
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Input and output devices

• Input:
• Digital camera, webcam, scanner, microphone,
graphics tablet, MIDI keyboard, trackball, game controllers,
bar code readers
• Output:
• Printers, projector, 2nd display/monitor,
headphones, speakers
• Input and output:
• Touch screen
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Case study: WAYMO

• Waymo is a self-driving car created by Google
• The car started as the Google Self-Driving Car project in 2009
• The new 2018 car is built by Jaguar
• The car will be used as a taxi service with the technology also
being used in self-driving trucks
• Waymo has driven over 6 million miles on roads and
simulated driving more than 5 billion miles
• The car started taking public passengers
in Phoenix, USA in 2018
• What input and output devices
are used in self-driving cars?
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Case study: WAYMO

• Input devices:
• Lidar (light/laser radar)
• Radar
• High resolution cameras

• Output devices:
• Motor
• Indicator lights
• Brakes
• Steering actuator
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Case study: Amazon Echo

• The Amazon Echo is a type of smart speaker
• It makes use of the voice-controlled assistant called Alexa

• The device was first released in 2014

• Being controlled by voice, the device
has very few input/output devices
• Name two input devices used
• Name two output
devices used
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Case study: Amazon Echo

• Input devices:
• Microphones x7
• On/off button, action buttons
• Volume control wheel

• Output devices:
• LEDs
• Speakers x2 (one woofer and one tweeter)
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Case study: VoIP phone

• Many modern businesses now make use of Voice
over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones
• These connect to an Internet router anywhere in the world

• Features include:
• Displays incoming numbers
• Handset, headset and
speakerphone
• Buttons light up if
extensions are in use
or voicemail is received
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Worksheet 3
• Now complete Task 1, Task 2 and Task 3
on Worksheet 3
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Storage devices
• Storage drives and media have
different characteristics.
Typically we are interested in:
• Capacity – how much storage space there is
• Speed – how quickly data is transferred
• Cost – how expensive is the device

• Explain each of the following

features we are also interested in:
• Durability
• Reliability
• Portability
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Magnetic hard disks

• A magnetic platter contains data
• A read-write head reads and writes data to the disk

• Advantages:
• Very large capacities
• Fast to access data

• Disadvantages:
• Fairly large so less portable
• Not very durable if knocked
or dropped
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Solid state hard disks

• Solid state devices store data using flash
memory chips
• How do these drives compare with magnetic hard
disks in the following categories?
• Capacity
• Speed
• Cost
• Durability
• Reliability
• Portability
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Solid state hard disk

• Solid state features compared to magnetic disks
• Capacity – Similar to magnetic disks, but more costly
per Gigabyte
• Speed – Typically faster to transfer data. Faster to access is
there is no wait for the drive head to move
• Durability – These drives are more durable and are more
likely to cope with vibrations or being dropped
• Reliability – These drives are more reliable as they have no
moving parts
• Portability – These drives are more portable as they are
lighter and can be significantly smaller
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Solid state media

• Solid state storage is used in:
• USB removable media
• SD cards
• Internal storage of tablets, smartphones and some laptops

• What is the typical capacity

of solid state storage in
smartphones
and tablets?
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Optical media
• In optical media the data is stored on a disk
• A laser follows a spiral track running from the inside to
the outside
• Compact Discs (CDs) typically have a
capacity of 700 MB
• DVDs capacity is 5GB
• Blu-ray discs store 25GB or 50GB
• Some disks store up to 300GB

• The track is 5km long for a CD

and 27km long for a Blu-ray
• What are the disadvantages of optical media?
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Optical media
• Features of optical media:
• Capacity – Typical capacity of disks is lower than solid state
or magnetic disks, especially CDs and DVDs
• Speed – Blu-ray disks are fast to access data such as video,
but slower if the drive head needs to move constantly
• Cost – They are very cheap to share information compared to
solid state
• Durability and reliability – Scratches will lead to data loss, but
Blu-ray disks are more durable and reliable
• Portability – Disks are portable if stored correctly. However,
they are not small enough to be used in phones and tablets
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Magnetic tape
• Data is stored on a magnetic tape
• Accessing individual files is very slow
due to winding through the tape
• Magnetic tape is often used to
store backups
• Storing 15TB on a tape in 2019 costs
around £50
• Tape backups are very reliable
• Tapes are small and portable
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Worksheet 3
• Now complete Task 4 and Task 5 on Worksheet 3
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Accessibility devices
• There are many disabilities that make computers
and electronic devices difficult to use including:
• Blindness and poor eye sight
• Arthritis or repetitive strain injury (RSI)
• Inability to move hands, arms or legs

• What hardware devices and software are available

to help make computers and devices
more accessible?
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Ergonomic keyboards
• These keyboards often split the keys into a V shape
• The keys are positioned at an angle so that there is less
stress on each hand
• A wrist support will help keep wrists higher reducing strain

• Ergonomic keyboards are useful in preventing

repetitive strain injury (RSI)
• What difficulty do
ordinary users
often have with
these keyboards?
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Speech recognition
• For people who have difficulties typing
speech recognition will allow them
to enter text without using their fingers
• Dictation software is now accurate enough
for people to use on a
daily basis
• Most operating systems
and many other devices can
now be operated by voice
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Sight problems
• Braille is added to keypads and buttons
to help people who are blind
• This allows them to feel the text displayed

• Text to speech software can read

text aloud using a speaker
• This is known as speech synthesis
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Magnifier
• Many operating systems and devices allow people to
magnify areas of the screen
• This allows anything on the screen, including text and
images, to be increased in size
• The magnifier can be set to It all seemed too good to be true. Hither and thither through the meadows he rambled busily, along
the hedgerows, across the copses, finding everywhere birds building, flowers budding, leaves

follow the mouse or follow the

thrusting—everything happy, and progressive, and occupied. And instead of having an uneasy
conscience pricking him and whispering ‘whitewash!’ he somehow could only feel how jolly it was to
be the only idle dog among all these busy citizens. After all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not
so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working.

cursor as the user types

He thought his happiness was complete when, as he meandered aimlessly along, suddenly he stood
by the edge of a full-fed river. Never in his life had he seen a river before—this sleek, sinuous, full-
bodied animal, chasing and chuckling, gripping things with a gurgle and leaving them with a laugh, to
fling itself on fresh playmates that shook themselves free, and were caught and held again. All was a-
shake and a-shiver—glints and gleams and sparkles, rustle and swirl, chatter and bubble. The Mole
was bewitched, entranced, fascinated. By the side of the river he trotted as one trots, when very

• What other software can

small, by the side of a man who holds one spell-bound by exciting stories; and when tired at last, he
sat on the bank, while the river still chattered on to him, a babbling procession of the best stories in
the world, sent from the heart of the earth to be told at last to the insatiable sea.
As he sat on the grass and looked across the river, a dark hole in the bank opposite, just above the
water’s edge, caught his eye, and dreamily he fell to considering what a nice snug dwelling-place it

help people with

would make for an animal with few wants and fond of a bijou riverside residence, above flood level
and remote from noise and dust. As he gazed, something bright and small seemed to twinkle down in
the heart of it, vanished, then twinkled once more like a tiny star. But it could hardly be a star in such
an unlikely situation; and it was too glittering and small for a glow-worm. Then, as he looked, it
winked at him, and so declared itself to be an eye; and a small face began gradually to grow up

sight problems?
round it, like a frame round a picture.
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Sight problems
• Software to help with sight problems
• Narrator – this speaks aloud each character pressed and
where on the screen the mouse has selected
• High contrast – Changes colours so that text contrasts well
against its background
• Colour filters – Applies a filter such as grey or a specific set of
colours to the whole screen
• Cursor and pointer size – can be increased to make these
easier to see
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Worksheet 3
• Now complete Task 6 on Worksheet 3
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Manual data processing

• Manual data processing requires manually entering
information into the computer system. It can include:
• Entering sales orders over the phone
• Entering prices at a checkout
• Adding customer information to a
database from a paper form
• Marking a test or exam paper and
then entering the results into
a computer
• Discuss where you have seen
manual data processing
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Automatic data processing

• Automatic data processing is where data is input and
processed by the computer. Examples include:
• Car park tickets and free space
• Gas and electricity smart meters
• Electronic seismometers
• Race timing with RFID
• Weather stations

• For each of the above, what

are the benefits of having
the data collected and
processed by computer?
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Benefits of automation
• Benefits of automatic data processing:
• Car parks do not need to employ staff. A car park can make
sure it has free spaces before allowing more cars in
• Smart meters can automatically update electricity and gas
companies with meter readings so that bills are accurate
• Automatic seismometers can detect earthquakes instantly and
help give warnings for tsunami that may be minutes away
• Race timing with RFID makes times more accurate and can
measure many runners at once
• Automated weather stations can give live data about the
weather and don’t need a person to check each of the
readings. Weather prediction can be based on more accurate
data
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Case study: Blood pressure

• Blood pressure usually takes a nurse or doctor a few
minutes to read it
• A blood pressure monitor can allow a
user to take their own blood pressure
• Multiple readings can be taken
over an extended period
• They can reduce increases
in blood pressure caused by
anxiety of doctors or nurses
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Plenary
• For each of the following are they input, output or
storage devices?
Devices Input / output / storage?
Infra red detector
3D printer
Tablet display
Blu ray disk
LED screen at a train station
SD card
Fire alarm bell or siren
Peripheral devices and media
Learning Aim A Digital devices in IT systems

Plenary
• For each of the following are they input, output or
storage devices?
Devices Input / output / storage?
Infra red detector Input
3D printer Output
Tablet display Input and output
Blu ray disk Storage
LED screen at a train station Output
SD card Storage
Fire alarm bell or siren Output