Lesson Element

Unit 1: Fundamentals of IT

LO4: Understand employability and

communication skills used within an IT
environment
Communication technology

Instructions and answers for tutors

These instructions cover the learner activity section which can be found on page 4. This
Lesson Element supports Cambridge Technicals Level 3 in IT.

When distributing the activity section to the learners either as a printed copy or as a
Word file you will need to remove the tutor instructions section.

The activity
In this lesson element learners will identify different types of communication technology used
to communicate. After the initial identification, learners will justify which type of technology to
use in different situations.

Learners will also need access to the PowerPoint presentation:

LE3_U01_tutor_resource.pptx

Suggested timings
Activities 1 and 2: 30 minutes maximum (Activity 2 is repeated over a number of scenarios
dependent on class size; tutors can reduce number of scenarios if necessary)

Activity 3: 30 minutes

ABC – This activity offers an WORK – This activity offers

opportunity for English skills an opportunity for work
development. experience.

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Activity 1
Tutors could display slide 5 from the PowerPoint resources LE3_UO1 tutor_resource.pptx to
allow learners to unscramble key information technologies. Slide 6 shows the correct
answers. When all six results have been displayed, tutors could ask learners to establish the
link between the information technologies.

Tutor question: ”What do all these technologies have in common?”

Learner answer: “All the technologies are used to communicate”

Activity 2
Print out slides 9 to 18 from the PowerPoint resource LE3_U01 tutor_resource.pptx. Split
learners into pairs. Distribute one scenario to each pair. Give each pair five minutes to read
the scenario and ask them to justify their choice of communication technology solution.
Rotate the scenarios until they have been completed by everyone (tutors could reduce the
number of scenarios depending on the size of the group/length of lesson). Use the table on
slide 7 as an example of how learners could record their results.

Example solutions for tutors:

Scenario Communication Justification

technology
A Email Professional layout will not disturb working day of the IT
companies. Read receipt function allows Clare to know
that her email has been read.
B Blog Mohammed can update his blog anywhere from mobile,
laptop, PC or tablet. He can control who has access to
the blog that he has created.
C Email, instant Sending the message through all technologies the staff
messenger and have access to will ensure the message about the
SMS meeting is read. A backup could be to send out a text
message.
D Email and social The communication method must be instant as the offer
networking is only available for two weeks.
E Presentation It is cheap and time-efficient to run a video conference
software and video and have attendees view the presentation at the same
conferencing time. It will be interactive to allow for questions.
F Intranet bulletin Accessible to all employees on the company website;
board employees can download their own copies of the
policies and digitally sign online.
G Personal assistant The director can have all his appointments scheduled
into his diary and alerts set to remind him where he
needs to be and when.

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 Scenario Communication Justification
technology
H Instant messaging The software alerts you when you have a message. It is
instantly sent and received.
I Social networking The new driver can invite friends and family to read
about all their new adventures instantly.
J VoIP or video Software allows you to have a real-time conversation
conferencing linked via computer over the internet.

There can be many outcomes as long as the learner has justified their choice.

Activity 3
Tutors should use the table on slide 19 to record learners’ results. Tutors could use this as
an opportunity for discussion.

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Lesson Element

Unit 1: Fundamentals of IT

LO4: Understand employability and

communication skills used within an IT
environment

Learner Activity
Communication technology
In this lesson element you will identify different types of communication technology used in
business. You will be then given a number of different situations for which you will have to
justify which type of technology would be best to use.

Activity 1
You will be given a number of scrambled words that you need to identify. You will then be
asked to establish the link between them.

Activity 2
Your tutor will give you a number of scenarios to read. Working in pairs, you will have five
minutes to justify the communication technology you advise an individual or a business to
use for each scenario. Record your results as demonstrated by your tutor.

Activity 3
This is an opportunity to check your decisions and enter into a discussion about your
justifications.

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