ICT IGCSE Theory

Audience

• Audience Appreciation
• Show a clear sense of audience and purpose when planning ICT solutions
• Planning ICT solutions that are responsive to and respectful of the needs of an
audience
• Analyse the needs of an audience when creating ICT solutions
Chapter 9: Audience

• Software Copyright
 ICT IGCSE Theory
Audience

Audience Appreciation

It is very important to tailor an ICT solution to the proposed audience. A number of factors
need to be taken into consideration to ensure the ICT solution is suitable for its target audience.

You need to consider all the following factors:

Chapter 9: Audience

• The age of the target group – example; young group will have a different
appreciation and response compared to a more mature group of adults.
• The experiences of the audience – a board of company directors would expect a
different approach compared to an audience composed of teenage school children.
• The expectation of the audience – example; if you advertise on a new restaurant, an
older audience might expect to see fine wines and good waiter service; whereas a
group of students might be more interested in pizzas and fast counter service.
• Knowledge of the audience – example; graduates in maths would be more
comfortable seeing equations in presentation than a group of history students.
 ICT IGCSE Theory
Audience

Audience Appreciation

It is very important to tailor an ICT solution to the proposed audience. A number of factors
need to be taken into consideration to ensure the ICT solution is suitable for its target audience.
Chapter 9: Audience

The following methods can be used to find out more

about the potential target audience.
• Interviews
• Questionnaires

Based on the research the ICT team will have a

clearer idea about the following factors:

Target Audience Age Audience Experience

Audience
AudienceExpectations
Expectation Audience Knowledge
 ICT IGCSE Theory
Audience

Audience Appreciation

It is very important to tailor an ICT solution to the proposed audience. A number of factors
need to be taken into consideration to ensure the ICT solution is suitable for its target audience.

How can you find out about your audience?

Chapter 9: Audience

To make sure your ICT solution fits the people who will use it, you need to understand your
audience. Here are two common ways:

 Interviews: Talk to a range of people from your target group to learn what they want and how
they might use your solution.

 Questionnaires or online surveys: Ask people in your target group questions about their
background, interests, and needs. This helps you design a solution that suits them.

After collecting the data, you can analyze the results to look for patterns and draw conclusions.
The amount of analysis you do will depend on how big your audience is.
 ICT IGCSE Theory
Audience

Audience Appreciation
• No vulgarity or use of inappropriate language since this can easily
Key factors when writing the offend people
• Use technical terms only for experienced or technical audience
presentations include:
• The language used • Use of sound, video & animation will always catch the attention of
• The need for multimedia
Chapter 9: Audience

the audience
• But it is important not to overlap it in case the message gets hidden
• The length of the because too many distractions.
presentation • Young audience more likely to respond to loud music & video clips.
• Use graph or animation to explain better.
• The need for audience
participation
• The examples used to • Long presentations only if it interesting & engage audience
• Young audience would get bored quickly and become restless
illustrate certain points.

• Good strategy – ask questions to audience or let them try things

• Always be aware that not everyone wants to take part

• When using examples to illustrate ideas, remember to be

understanding (no meet if audience are vegetarian)

[Link]
 ICT IGCSE Theory
Audience

Audience Characteristics
• Very young children need to have animations, bright colours, large font size and
Age range sound
• Older users will be more interested in actual content; therefore a simple
attractive colour scheme which is easy to navigate is very important
Chapter 9: Audience

• Suppose our website is selling cars.

Income • It is essential to carefully consider the target audience income levels; this will
clearly dictate which model ranges are advertised on the website

• Suppose we are developing a music website.

Interest • We need to know the interests of our target audience; do they like classical,
EDM, K-pop, rock, metal, hip hop, folk, pop, jazz, country? The website will need
to include articles and offers which reflect their music preferences.

• If the website is to be used by people who are visually impaired, then we need
Disabilities to use large font size, use contrasting colours, keep the language concise (so
there isn’t too much text to read) and include sound
 ICT IGCSE Theory
Audience

Audience Characteristics
Needs of the audience
Once you have established the characteristics of the audience that the website is aimed at, it is necessary to
understand their specific needs in a bit more depth, to ensure the final product is fit for purpose. Figure 9.3
considers the needs of three different age groups who would use the new website.
Chapter 9: Audience

• Bright, cheerful colours

• Animation and sound
• More pictures than text (less writing)
Young children
• Large font and simple short words
• Include games where possible
• Must be an easy-to-use interface (for example, touching characters or voice interface)

• Attractive display
Adults and older • The content must be interesting
children • Require a good mixture of text and images
• Careful to use appropriate language level
• Use bullet points to make the content easier to read

• Contrasting colours (makes it easier to distinguish words)

• Larger font size (in case of reading difficulty)
Older people • Easy-to-use interface (touchscreen)
• Make the display consistent from page to page
• Do not use too much technical language as they may be less familiar with this
 ICT IGCSE Theory
Audience

Audience Characteristics

Why we need to consider the needs of our audience

 Important to respect the needs of the users.
 For older people or users with sight problems, use clear, easy-to-read fonts.
 Complicated language can be difficult for children or people with English as a
Chapter 9: Audience

second language → text should be simple and clear.

 Need to keep users interested – otherwise they may stop using the website.
 Attractive screen designs help draw users in.
 Clear, easy-to-use interfaces keep people engaged.
 Too much typing or confusing website navigation frustrates users.
 ICT IGCSE Theory
Copyright

9.2.1 Software Copyright and Piracy

Software is protected by copyright laws in much the Software piracy is the illegal copying of software. It is a big issue
same way as music CDs, movies and articles from among software companies. They take many steps to stop the illegal
magazines and books are protected. copying and to stop any illegal copies being used once they have
been sold.
When software is supplied on CD, DVD or online there There are a number of ways software is protected – either by making
are certain rules that must be obeyed. It is illegal to: the installer agree to certain conditions or by methods which require
Chapter 9: Audience

 It is illegal to copy software and sell it or give it away the original software to be present for it to work:
 Using software on a network or multiple computers  When software is being installed, the user may be asked to key in
without a proper license is prohibited a unique reference number or product key (a string of letters and
 Copying code from copyrighted software and using it numbers) which was supplied with the original copy of the
software (for example: 4a3c 0efa 65ab a81e).
in your own software without permission is illegal
 The user will be asked to click “OK”/”I AGREE” or put a cross in a
 Renting out software without publisher permission is box to agree to the license agreement before the software
not allowed continues to install.
 Using the name of copyrighted software on other  If supplied as a hard copy, the original software packaging often
software without authorization is forbidden comes with a sticker informing the purchaser that it is illegal to
make copies of the software; the label is often in the form of a
hologram indicating that this is genuine copy.
 Some software will only run if the CD, DVD or memory stick is
actually in the drive; this stops illegal multiple use and network
use of the software.
 Some software will only run if a dongle is plugged into one of the
USB ports.
 ICT IGCSE Theory
Copyright

9.2.1 Software Copyright and Piracy

Chapter 9: Audience