1. Computers and the
workplace
YEAR 8 ICT

2. Learning outcomes
• To know the changes in ICT that have affected
people’s jobs.
• To understand the idea of teleworking and
hot-desking
• To explain the advantages and disadvantages
of computers in the workplace

3. Computers and the workplace
Starter: For each of the following people, write down which type of
technology they use at work and how this makes their jobs easier.
E.g. A product designer will use 3D modelling software to see what the
finished product will look like. This means they don’t have to create a physical
model and can make changes to it if needed.
•A fashion photographer
•A supermarket delivery driver
Share and discuss these with the class. Sometimes ICT can make a job so
easy that you don’t need an actual person to do the job any more!!!

4. ICT has replaced some jobs but
created others
• Over the last 30 years, ICT has changed the
world of work in a big way. Some industries
have stopped existing, some have had to
change to take on board new technology and
some brand new industries have also
developed.
• We will be looking at some examples of how
ICT has brought about changes in a selection
of jobs.
• We will also look at some of the benefits and
some of the negative aspects of ICT and work

5. Printing Industry
• Daily newspapers used to be printed on this old fashioned printing press.
• Printing used to be a very manual, skilled job with a master printer taking
years to learn his craft.
• Each word had to be created by 'type setting' by hand.
• This meant picking each individual letter and creating sentences
(backwards).

6. Printing Industry
• This is a modern day printing press.
• Nowadays, newspapers are written by journalists who use
computer, laptop or tablet devices.
• The digital layout is then transferred to the printer and
newspapers are printed very quickly in their thousands.

7. Secretarial work
• Up until the mid 1980s, when letters or
reports needed to be typed, a typist
would use a manual typewriter.
• Each page had to be typed carefully
since mistakes were hard to fix - usually
the page would have to be typed out
again.
• There were no formatting features - if
you wanted something bold, you had to
type over the same words twice!
Typists would also work in large rooms, such
as the one seen above. They were called the
'typing pool'

8. Secretarial work
With the introduction of ICT, things have
changed a lot in this field.
There are no longer typing pools - they
are not needed. Most people in an
organisation do their own typing directly
into their desktop PC.
They can made amendments as they go
along, they can use formatting to
improve the look of their document and
they can correct mistakes quickly.

9. Secretarial work
Only senior managers in a company might now
have a secretary - but she is more likely to be
called a PA or 'Personal Assistant' and their work
is much more varied that just typing. For example
arranging meetings and appointments, making
travel arrangements and so on.
Typing is no longer a specialist skill - you are
expected to be able to type from the day you
start work in an office.
As a result of ICT, many typist lost their jobs.
Those that didn't, had to change from using the
typewriter to being able to use a PC.

10. Loss of employment
• Inevitably, since ICT can automate many
jobs and do them not only faster but also
more accurately, then many of the old jobs
have disappeared.
• We no longer have typing pools full of
secretaries, there is no need for an office
full of clerks to calculate and count out
weekly wages, there is no need for printers
to manually typeset the newspaper pages.
• Many hundreds of thousands of people
have lost their jobs over the last couple of
decades.

11. New job opportunities
On the positive side, ICT has resulted
in many new jobs being created.
Network Technician
• Helps set up office and school
networks
• Monitors network performance
• Installs new software
• Sets up and monitors user accounts
• Ensures network security

12. New job opportunities
Computer programmer
• Writes the code for new software
• Adapts or develops existing software
Website Designers
• With the explosion of the Internet, there
has been a huge demand for people who
can design and create websites.
• There has also been many jobs created
around web advertising, web hosting and
e-commerce

13. TASK
• Complete this task about ICT and jobs

14. Teleworking and Hot-desking task
Use these websites to help
Get into pairs – your task will be to carry out some research and you:
create a short 4 slide presentation explaining:
http://searchvirtualdesktop.t
echtarget.com/definition/hot
o What Teleworking and Hot-desking is -desking
o The advantages and disadvantages of both types of working
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
magazine-11879241
 Success Criteria
http://www.bobulous.org.uk/
misc/flexible-working.html
Your presentation should contain appropriate fonts and images for
people of your age http://jobs.lovetoknow.com/T
elecommuting_Advantages_a
nd_Disadvantages
Your presentation must contain appropriate transitions and loop
automatically.
* Your teacher will choose two pairs at the end of the task to
present their finding to the rest of the class

15. Advantages of ICT in the workplace
Computers are great because...
1. Computers can increase the amount of work done. This makes a
business more productive and competitive
2. Computers can do the boring, repetitive work and leave employees to
do more interesting jobs

16. Disadvantages of ICT in the workplace
Computers are rubbish because...
1. It’s expensive to keep investing in the latest technology and it takes time
and money to retrain staff.
2. There may be job losses as computers can replace people for some tasks.
3. Continued use of computers can cause health problems

17. Plenary
Complete the crossword on today’s lesson!

18. Homework
Complete the questions on today’s lesson!