Interview: Website designer

Students cjin then discuss in groups what makes a good website in general, and give examples of good sites they know. If they have access to computing facilities, they can print off sample pages. Each group should report to the class. Make a board

summary of their criteria. The CNN site in Unit 14 is a good example if the students cannot think of a site of their own. Website addresses change but at the time of writing you can visit this site at www.ednet.co.uk/~hillstreet/.

1. dead-ends

2. four steps

3. too many links (to scroll through)

4. the page look nicer

5. less sophisticated browsers

Listening

Task 2

The interviewee is an example of one of the new jobs - a website designer -created by developments in information technology. This interview is more difficult than the previous ones in the course, and you may need to give your students extra help. Discuss with the class what sort of people want websites and what they use websites for. Ask them how they would design a website.

Pre-teach behind the times, promotional material, aimed at, and update.

Pause the tape more frequently, if necessary after each question-and-answer exchange.

Key

1. people who feel they have to imitate their competitors, people who have to distribute a lot of information free, e.g. colleges

2. It saves money on printing, postage, faxes, etc.

3. colleges and universities

4. all their promotional material

5. who the audience is

6. how much time and money they will spend on updating

Task 3

Pre-teach dead-end, revise, link, and scroll. Elicit examples of multimedia (used in Unit 2), e.g. graphics, sound, animations. Pause as for Task 2 if required. You can also divide the task up so that students listen for different answers, and then combine their answers to complete the task.

Note: Microsoft Explorer and Netscape Navigator are the two most common browsers. Users with less- sophisticated browsers may find it takes a very long time to download graphics. If the site depends on graphics, this can be very frustrating. Good website designers offer text alternatives.

Task 4

This short final section should not cause too many difficulties. Gateway and bookmark may be unfamiliar but can be worked out from context.

Key

1 Yes 2 Yes 3 No 4 Yes 5 Yes

Task 5

Students could attempt this before listening to the whole interview and then check their answers during the final listening. The key is given in Task 6.

Language work

You can use the cartoon in Unit 7, Task 6 - which shows a badly designed workstation - to provide examples of practice required by rule, law, or common sense. Give two or three examples and write them on the board. Examples 1,3, and 4 on page 64 are suitable. Elicit further examples from the cartoon.

Task 6

This is best done as an individual written task.

Key

A

1. You have to/must divide information into small sections.

2. You have to/must have a lot of links to other sites.

3. You have to/must start with a brief piece of information to attract the reader.

4. You have to/must update your page regularly.

B

1. You mustn't have a lot of links on one page.

2. You mustn't include graphics only to make it look nice.

3. You mustn't forget about readers with less sophisticated browsers.

4. You mustn't have pages with dead-ends.

Computing words and abbreviations

Task 7

You can use Tasks 7, 8, and 9 together as a vocabulary test on Units 11 to 15.

Key

1. megabyte

2. compact disk-read only memory

3. Internet service provider

4. local area network

5. personal computer

6. random access memory

7. wide area network

8. single in-line memory module

9. optical character recognition 10 megahertz

Task 9

Do one or two examples on the board. Write down the key word; then elicit collocations and write them before or after the key word. Бог example:

local-area network topology wide-area terminal

server

interface card

Key

10. cache, main, random access, read only memory chip, slot

11. dot-matrix, inkjet, laser printer cable, port

12. serial mouse button, mat, port

13. computer screen

14. arrow, editing, function, keyboard, pad, press

15. screen cursor control

16. computer monitor screen.

Task 8

Key

1 byte 2 wide area network

3 hard disk drive 4 random access memory 5 port

Writing

Task 10

In addition to the points listed in Task 6, these points from the recording could be included.

You must decide who it's aimed at.

You have to decide how much time and money to spend

to keep the pages updated.

A word processing program or wordprocessor is used for creating and editing text documents. The program facilities can be accessed using a menu bar, although the most common tools can also be accessed using rows of button icons known as toolbars. The standard toolbar contains icons for the most frequently used facilities such as saving, printing, and spellchecking. There are also icons for cutting, copying, and pasting, and for undoing any changes. The formatting toolbar has icons for formatting the text, i.e. changing the size and shape of text characters. For example, the user can align the text to the left or to the right, or can justify the text, i.e. have it aligned to both the left and right at the same time. Rectangular gridlines, which form what is known as a table, can be used to control the layout. A desktop publishing package gives more precise control of format and layout, and allows the user to prepare documents for printing by a professional printer.

A WIMP system uses dialog boxes to give information or to get information from the user. Note that the American English spelling dialog is often used in computing although the British English spelling dialogue can also be used. A dialog box is a window that opens on the display screen. It can contain various components, some of which are shown in the table below.

Component	Purpose
text box	allows the user to input text
drop-down list box	allows the user to choose from
	a list that opens when clicked
command button	starts a process
checkbox	allows the user to choose True
	or False

One way to find a file on a computer system is to use the Find dialog box. Having indicated what they are looking for, using text boxes, drop-down list boxes, and checkboxes, the user clicks the Search command button. The Find facility then searches for the file and displays its path on the screen.

Objectives

By the end of this unit, students should be better at: listening for specific detail comparing texts to detect differences writing instructions.

They should be able to use the Present perfect passive.

They should know and be able to use these words: draft, font, bold, underline, justify, spelling checker, tab.

Tuning-in

Task 1

As a lead-in, check how many of the class have used general purpose packages such as word processors, spreadsheets, and databases and what use they have made of them. Students can do this as a class survey by devising and administering a simple questionnaire. You can prepare the questionnaire on the board. It could look like this:

1. Have you ever used: a a wordprocessor? b a spreadsheet? c a database?

2. If the answer is 'yes' to any of these questions, what have you used it for?

3. Can you name any common software of this type?

Before you begin the actual exercise for Task 1, pre- teach/ont.

Key

Word processing

Id 2b 3f 4g 5e 6a 7c

Task 2

Treat this as a pre-listening task. Students should be familiar with menu bar, title bar, and toolbar from Unit 14, Task 2, but write them up on the board and revise them if you think your students need it. Don't correct this task until Task 3 has been done.

Key

1b 2f 3d 4a 5g 6c 7e

Task 3

This is a fairly straightforward text that should not present the students with many problems. Terms such as pull-down menu and icon should be familiar from Unit 9, but, write them up on the board and revise them if students seem to be having problems.

Task 4

Key

1b 2c 3d 4g 5d

Reading

Task 5

Treat this as a 'spot the difference' puzzle. Students should work first on an individual basis; then compare their answers in pairs. Although they should be able to identify all the changes, they will not be able to explain these changes in English. Use the opportunity to teach delete, insert, justify, spellcheck, underline.

Key