Lesson video

Hello, welcome to today's computing lesson.

My name is Mr. Little and we're gonna be learning how to use text and images to communicate.

And that is from the unit Desktop Publishing.

We're gonna be learning some really cool and interesting things all about computing today.

And I know if you work hard and try your best, you're gonna be a computing champion today.

Are you ready to get started? Great.

Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to recognise the advantages and disadvantages of how text and images are used to communicate messages.

In today's lesson, there are three key words that I want you to watch and listen out for in the video.

The first key word is message.

My turn.

Message.

Your turn? And that means communication provided to someone.

The second key word is text.

My turn.

Text.

Your turn? And text means written words used to pass on a message.

And the final key word is image.

My turn.

Image.

Your turn? And image means pictures that pass on a message.

So we're gonna be learning all about these three words in today's lesson.

There's two parts to today's lesson.

And firstly, we are gonna look at communication using text or images.

Let's say hello to Jacob.

We're gonna be hearing a lot from him and one of his classmates, Sofia, today.

Hey Jacob.

So he asks a great question here, "What is a message?" Do you know? Now, a message is communication provided to someone.

I want you to repeat that.

So let's do my turn, your turn.

My turn.

A message is communication provided to someone.

Your turn? Now I want you to do it but in a loud whispering voice like me.

My turn.

A message is communication provided to someone.

Your turn? Brilliant.

So now you know what a message is.

Let's look at some examples.

So, examples of messages are written text.

I've given the example here of a written message that you might have given to a friend.

So you could have written a friend a message using a piece of paper and a pencil.

You might have written a message to a friend by typing something, perhaps in an email.

You can use written text to communicate messages.

Another example of a type of message is an image.

Images give messages, and I've given the example of an emoji here.

So you might have heard or seen of emojis like the smiley face emoji that might show or tell someone you're happy.

Or there might be an image around school that perhaps helps remind you to line up in a certain place or perhaps wash your hands after you use the toilet.

Images can be types of messages.

You can also communicate through messages by speaking them in spoken messages.

And that's what I'm doing to you now.

I'm speaking to you, I'm giving you spoken messages about what messages are.

I'm sure someone at home perhaps, or someone at school might have said to you this morning, "Good morning," or, "Good afternoon." They're both types of messages.

And finally, gestures, such as waving to someone, giving them the thumbs up or thumbs down or thumbs up or thumbs down.

They're types of messages.

So, gestures are types of messages too.

So there's four examples of what messages are, they're communication provided someone.

And we're gonna look in a bit more detail at written text and images.

Jacob and Sofia are talking about where they see text and images in their daily life.

So where do Jacob and Sofia see text and images around school, at home, away from school? Let's have a look.

Jacob says, "There are text and images in my favourite book.

The pictures and words tell a story." I'm sure you can think of a book that might have text and images that tells a story.

Sofia uses a different example here.

She says, "Menus in restaurants have text and images showing what food is available." Oh, that makes me hungry to have a nice meal in a restaurant.

So yeah, Sofia's right.

Menus in restaurants have text and images too.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how much you've understood about what messages are.

I want you to select all the examples of messages here.

So we've got A, written text.

B, a blank piece of paper.

C, images.

And D, gestures.

I think there's three correct answers here.

Firstly, written text, that's a type of message.

Images are types of messages you can send.

And also gestures.

So a blank piece of paper isn't a message.

Oh look, there's another key word here and it's the word text.

Text means written words used to pass on a message.

So we know a message is a type of communication.

Let's look in a bit more detail about what text is using some examples.

So, first of all, types of texts are written messages.

And here we've got the message, "Happy birthday, Jacob." That's written as text, and that's telling Jacob happy birthday.

Think about a road sign you might have seen.

Sometimes they have text on them.

Have you seen a road sign ever that says stop? Or go, perhaps? They're examples of text passing on a message.

I'm sure around your classroom in school, or perhaps even somewhere at home, you might have labels on things that tell you where certain things go.

I remember in my classroom there are labels to show you where scissors go or where paper goes or where rulers go.

And that text passes on a message to tell you to put that certain thing in a certain place.

That's a type of message.

Thinking about my school as well, I know there's posters that try and persuade children to eat five fruit and vegetables a day.

And they've got written text on them that says, "Eat five fruit and vegetables a day." And also that example that Jacob used, a book is an example, if there are words written as text, that tells a story.

Brilliant.

Our third key word's come up already.

Wow.

And it's the word image.

And that means pictures that pass on a message.

So whereas text is written words, we're gonna look at images and that's pictures that communicate a message.

So, let's look at some examples.

What does this image pass on to you? What message does it tell you? I'm sure you might have thought of the words cake and birthday.

Often people celebrate their birthday with cake, often with candles on too.

So it passes on the message that it might be someone's birthday or they might be celebrating something.

What about this image? You might have seen this image before, perhaps in a school hall or a large venue somewhere.

It points you to where the fire exit might be.

So if there was an emergency and you're inside a room, you look for this image that tells you which door you can use to leave the building.

And finally, what does this image tell you? This image could probably give a few different messages, but let's go back to that example of scissors in a classroom in the tray.

You perhaps could label your school tray with the word scissors or this image and that might tell you where to put the scissors in your classroom.

So, those three are examples where images mean pictures that pass on a message.

Okay, let's check your understanding of different types of messages.

I want you to tell me what type of message is this? Is it A, an image? Is it B, text? Or is it C, text and image? Well done if you selected A, it's an image.

When have you seen that image anywhere? That's one I've taken from perhaps a road sign or telling you not to enter somewhere or to stop doing something, perhaps.

So the same question here, but we've got a different example.

What type of message is this? Is it A, image? B, text? Or C, text and image? It's text here.

This text tells you, "Warning! Do not touch." And that's written in words.

So that's a text type of message.

Okay, time to put that knowledge about text and images into practise.

I want you to match the word with the correct definition.

So there's our three key words, message, text, and image.

And the definitions that you need to match to the keywords.

So I'll read the keywords again, message, text, and image.

And I'm gonna read the definitions and you need to match them up.

Written words used to pass on a message.

Communication provided to someone.

Pictures that pass on a message.

So pause the video and match the correct word with the correct definition.

Let's take a look at the answers.

So remember you needed to match the word with the correct definition.

The word message means communication provided to someone.

The word text means written words used to pass on a message.

And the word image means pictures that pass on a message.

Well done if you got those right.

Let's move on to the second part of today's lesson.

We are gonna be looking at the advantages and disadvantages of text and images.

Let's say hello to Sofia and she asks a great question here, "When should you use text or images?" Text and images can be used to communicate messages, we know that from the first part of today's lesson.

Now sometimes, it's best just to use text.

Sometimes, it's better just to use images.

And sometimes, it's better to use text and images together.

And we're gonna be looking at some examples of all of these.

Let's check your understanding with a true or false question.

You should only use text when communicating a message.

Is that true or false? It's false.

But why is that? Remember, sometimes, it's best just to use text.

Sometimes, it's better to use just images and sometimes, it's best to use a combination of both.

Let's look at this example of a message written just using text.

So it says, "At one o'clock, come inside from the playground and start your work." I'm sure that's a message that your teacher might have given you before or an adult at school might have given you before.

Now let's look at that same message but just using images.

We've got an image of a clock that shows one o'clock.

We've got a image of an arrow.

We've got an image of a seesaw.

And we've got an image of a blank piece of paper.

Now, here, I think it's best to use a written message using text if you were trying to communicate that message.

The reason is if you just look at those images on their own and you didn't know what the text said before that, you might not know, that image might mean one o'clock, and it might mean turn right 'cause that's an arrow pointing to the right, and it might be turn right to find the seesaw perhaps.

And then look at the sign or the piece of paper somewhere.

It doesn't tell you exactly what the text does.

So remember the text message says, "At one o'clock, come inside from the playground and start your work." The images, they probably don't give you that much detail.

They might help you, but they won't give you exactly the same message.

So here, I think it's best to give a written message here using text.

Let's look at a different example, here.

So here, a message is given just using an image.

Let's take a look at that image.

Now, let's look at the same message written with text.

It says, "Warning! Be careful, as the surface you are walking on can be slippery when wet.

Make sure you walk slowly." So it's clear that the image is telling you that it might be slippery where you are.

And the text actually explains that in words.

I think it's best here, to use an image to communicate that message.

One, because it's eye-catching, it's in bright colours.

And two, it quickly warns people that there might be danger somewhere.

Imagine you're walking somewhere and you saw that image, that might quickly tell you you need to be careful.

But imagine walking somewhere and you have to read all those words to tell you.

That might take longer and it might actually risk you slipping on something if it's wet.

So I think here, it's best just to use an image to communicate the message that it might be slippery.

Now, let's look at an example of a message that uses text and images.

We've got an image that's got a flame of a fire on it, it looks like.

And we've got the text underneath that says, "Warning!" With an exclamation mark.

"Fire risk." So I think here, the combination of image and text is effective.

It's eye-catching.

It tells you what the most important information is, that you need to be careful here.

There's a risk of fire.

And also there isn't too much information in the message.

It doesn't give too much text or there aren't too many images.

And this is also a really good example that you don't have to include lots of text in a message or you don't have to include too many images.

Sometimes less is more.

So, what I mean there is we've got one image and I think there are three words written there and that tells you really quickly in an eye-catching way that you need to be careful, warning, there is possibly a fire risk.

Let's check your understanding here with a true or false question.

So I want you to decide if this statement is true or false.

You should include as much detail as possible in text and images when communicating a message.

True or false? It's false.

But why is that? Now, whilst it's important that your image or text is clear, you don't always have to include lots of information.

Sometimes you just need to include the most important detail.

Remember that text and image of the "Warning! Fire risk." That's probably a good example of including the most important detail without including too much.

Jacob asked a really great question here.

"What are the advantages and disadvantages of using text?" So advantages means the good things, the things that text will be good for, and the positives using of using text.

And the disadvantages will be the things where text doesn't work, or the areas that it's not so good to use text in.

So let's look at the advantages, the good things.

Text helps explain things clearly.

Remember it uses words and words can often help explain things in a really clear way.

Second of all, it gives important details.

Sometimes it's really clear when a word or text, when it says something, that could be really important.

And also if you are trying to communicate something with either longer or more detail, written text can be used for this.

Think of that example of the storybook.

That's often a long message, isn't it? And some of the disadvantages.

Sometimes it can be harder to understand written text.

Sometimes the text might not explain exactly what you want it to.

Also it can take longer, especially if you need to read something.

And thirdly, it could be misunderstood or sometimes hard to read.

If there are complex words or difficult words to read there, what you are trying to communicate in that message might be misunderstood or it might be difficult for the person to understand.

So, let's check your understanding.

I want you to choose the two advantages, so the two good things about using text in a message.

From these options.

A, it could be used for longer messages.

B, it helps explain things clearly.

And C, can take longer to understand.

Well done if you chose A, one of the advantages of text is it can be used for longer messages.

And well done if you chose B, it can help explain things really clearly.

Taking longer to understand isn't an advantage.

Jacob asked here the same question he did of text, but this time he asks, "What are the advantages and disadvantages of using images?" Let's have a look.

So what are the advantages of using images when you're trying to communicate a message? Often, images could be quicker to understand.

And remember that example of the warning slippery sign? That image would be far quicker to understand rather than a long written-out sentence.

And similarly, they can be eye-catching.

That warning sign was bright yellow, it was really clear, and it caught my eye.

And finally, images can also show emotions or feelings.

You might be asked to tell by someone's face how they feel or the emotion they're thinking or feeling in a way that words might not be able to.

Now some of the disadvantages.

Often images could lack detail.

If it's a really simple image, it might be hard to exactly understand what's going on.

Often images could take up more space, too, than text or written messages.

And sometimes it isn't always clear what an image is or what it's trying to explain.

So sometimes images could be misunderstood or confusing to who's looking at them.

Okay, let's check your understanding here with a similar questions to the one before.

Choose the two advantages of using images in a message from these options.

A, can be more eye-catching.

B, can help explain things clearly.

C, can show warnings, feelings or emotions.

Definitely A, images can be more eye-catching.

Well done, if you selected that.

And also C, they can show warnings or feelings or emotions.

Sometimes, remember, with option B, images don't help explain things clearly.

The image might be confusing or difficult to understand.

Now Jacob asks, "What the advantages and disadvantages of using text and images together?" 'Cause remember you can do that when you're communicating a message, use text and images together.

So, let's look at the advantages.

Often it can be easier to understand when there's an image and there's text that helps explain that image.

It can be more eye-catching.

The words can catch someone's eye as well, as long as an image.

And it could be more memorable.

So that means easily remembered or you can remember something more if it uses text and images together because you might associate, you might recognise that an image means something written down or vice versa, something written down means the same as the image.

And the disadvantages.

Perhaps it could be confusing if there's lots of information with a text and image together, that could be confusing.

Which might mean it could take up more space if there's more information there.

And that might be too much for someone to understand.

If you want someone to understand something quickly, you could have too much information for them to hold in their brain.

So, time for a practi-cise now, to put all of that knowledge about text and images into practise.

I want you to complete the sentences with as many reasons as you can think of.

There are five sentences to have a go at, and I'm gonna read the out now.

So first of all, think of as many reasons you can for this.

An advantage of using just text in a message is.

Number two, a disadvantage of using just text in a message is.

Number three, an advantage of using just images in a message is.

Number four, a disadvantage of using just images in a message is.

And number five, an example of using text and images together is.

So here are the answers, and you might have written something similar to this.

So for number one, an advantage of using just text in a message is that it can help explain things clearly, it can give the most important details, or it could be used for longer messages.

For number two, a disadvantage of using text in a message is sometimes it can be harder to understand, it could take longer to understand, or it could be misunderstood or hard to read.

Number three, an advantage of using images in a message is they can be quick to understand, it could be more eye-catching, and it could show warnings or emotions or feelings in a different way to words.

Number four, a disadvantage of just using images in a message is it could lack detail, it could take up more space, or it can be misunderstood or confusing.

And finally, number five, an example of using text and images together is a warning sign, we've looked at that today, an information poster, you might have seen those around school, or a restaurant menu.

Remember that example Sofia gave that uses images and text to show you what's on offer from a restaurant? So we've come to the end of today's lesson.

Let's summarise what we've learned together.

Remember, messages can be communicated in different ways, and we looked at two examples, text and images.

And they can be used on their own, so you can just use just text or just images.

Or they could be used together to communicate messages.

And there are advantages and disadvantages of each of those.

Sometimes it's better to just use text.

Sometimes it might be better to just use images.

Sometimes it might be better just to use both.

Well done for trying your best today.

See you again soon.