Microsoft Office Tools

Graphics and Multimedia

Graphics

Refers to any computer device or program that makes a computer capable of displaying and manipulating pictures. The term also refers to the images themselves. For example, laser printers and plotters are graphics devices because they permit the computer to output pictures. A graphics monitor is a display monitor that can display pictures. A graphics board (or graphics card) is a printed circuit board that, when installed in a computer, permits the computer to display pictures. 

Many software applications include graphics components. Such programs are said to support graphics. For example, certain word processors support graphics because they let you draw or import pictures. Some database management systems and spreadsheet programs support graphics because they let you display data in the form of graphs and charts. Such applications are often referred to as business graphics.

All computer graphics have their genesis within the computer's graphics card. This card is responsible for translating raw data into data that your eyes can make sense of. When stored within a computer hard drive, a digital photo is a series of bits in a particular order. When you click on an image or press "Play" on a video, the CPU sends that data to the graphics card for processing. Furthermore, the computer's display is not a solid screen. It is actually a collection of very small dots called pixels. The graphics card must determine how the image will relate to those pixels.

 

 Multimedia

Multimedia uses computers to present text, audio, video, animation, interactive features, and still images in various ways and combinations made possible through the advancement of technology. By combining media and content, those interested in multimedia can take on and work with a variety of media forms to get their content across. This is an exciting new field for those interested in computers, technology, and creative career options. Multimedia can be accessed through computers or electronic devices and integrates the various forms together. One example of multimedia would be combining a website with video, audio, or text images.

Multimedia can literally be seen anywhere, from the Internet to Times Square. Huge digital billboards flash advertisements from the sides of roads, and informative websites display visual ads alongside their content. More and more, people absorb visual information from graphics that were created with computers. Computer graphics-driven multimedia is used in education, and is the driving force behind the video game industry. The movie industry, as well, benefits from advancements in computer graphics technology. As the state of the art in computer graphics continues to advance, new applications will be put into practice.

What is a Spreadsheet?

A spreadsheet is an electronic worksheet that stores data in rows and columns. An individual cell may contain “numerical values, words or character data, and formulas or calculation commands“. Formulas are used to perform instant numerical operations which make it possible for a student to compare data and explore changes with instant visual results.  Charts and graphs can be supplemented to enhance the organization and evaluation of the work.  The educational advantages of spreadsheets include:

• Performing numerical operations with visual representation for concrete learning.
• Enhancing a student’s projects with graphs, charts, and data display.
• Encouraging higher level thinking and “what if” problem solving by allowing functions to   complete low level arithmetic.
• Helping students track data from assignments/projects.
• Permitting students to keep track of their grades in order to predict outcomes and     encourage goal setting.

Spreadsheets took place in the 1960s. As early as 1964, Richard Mattessich at the University of California published a spreadsheet program written in FORTRAN. The first commercially successful electronic spreadsheet was invented in 1979 by Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston. It was called VisiCalc and was written to run on Apple II computers. It enhanced the popularity of the Apple II, which became a tool for creating home and business budgets.

What is a Database?

Databases are designed to offer an organized mechanism for storing, managing and retrieving information. They do so through the use of tables. If you’re familiar with spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel, you’re probably already accustomed to storing data in tabular form. It’s not much of a stretch to make the leap from spreadsheets to databases. Databases should be used to:

• Help students complete research and look for data among many different organizations.
• Learn invaluable lessons in study skills and organization by relating to the way databases handle information.
• Teach students how data can be organized to show relationships to small pieces of information.
• Question students and encourage them to find information to support their position
• Practice research skills by locating public databases for analysis.

The concept of a database is believed to have been developed in the 1960s. The modern technology-driven software database application revolutionized business and marketing in the late 1990s and into the 21st century.

The evolution of database applications beginning in the late 1990s paved the way for rampant growth of business and marketing processes like customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP). Companies now have the technological capabilities to collect, analyze and use data and information on customers.

Word processing

Word processing is the act of typing, editing and printing out of textual/graphical information using a word processor. Microsoft Word is an word processing program. When you use a program like Microsoft Word to create a document, you have performed word processing.

Word processing can be performed either electronically or mechanically. Electronic word processing  involves the use of a computer device running an appropriate word processing software, such as Microsoft Word or WordPerfect. Mechanical word processing involves the use of devices like a typewriter.

The first word processor, the Wang 1200, was released in 1971 and was reminiscent of a typewriter. The 1200 was basically a typewriter which had the ability to record keystrokes and then play them back onto a piece of paper. What qualified it as a word processor was the fact that people could go back and correct things that they'd typed without having it print onto a piece of paper. For those who feel they never have enough RAM, keep in mind that the Wang 1200 had 256 bytes of RAM. That meant it could hold just a few words at a time. A single gigabyte is 1,073,741,824 bytes.