© Boardworks Ltd 2010 1 of 11 Uses of Databases. © Boardworks Ltd 2010 2 of 11 Teacher’s notes...
-
Upload
griffin-hood -
Category
Documents
-
view
212 -
download
0
Transcript of © Boardworks Ltd 2010 1 of 11 Uses of Databases. © Boardworks Ltd 2010 2 of 11 Teacher’s notes...
© Boardworks Ltd 20102 of 11
Teacher’s notes included in the Notes Page
Flash activity. These activities are not editable. Web addresses
Icons key: For more detailed instructions, see the Getting Started presentation
Functional Skills check
Student task accompanies this slide Printable activity
This lesson will cover:
The purposes and methods of database use.
Data redundancy.
How and why Mail Merge is used.
© Boardworks Ltd 20105 of 11
Mail merge
Mail merge is often used to link the data in a database to a document which needs to go out to a number of people.
To set up a document using mail merge, you need a standard template and a database that shows the names and addresses of the recipients. The fields from each person’s record in the database are added to the document, and the two are merged.
It is often used when creating documents such as payslips, membership cards and name badges.
What are the advantages of using mail merge?
When the documents are printed, each one is personalized with a different name and address.
© Boardworks Ltd 20106 of 11
Data redundancy
In some databases the data is repeated and stored more than once. This is known as data redundancy.
Creating database relationships can help to cut down on data redundancy.
In this database system for a DVD rental business, relationships have been set up to help reduce data redundancy.
© Boardworks Ltd 20107 of 11
Practical uses of databases
Monique Colombet owns a florist shop, and has lots of regular customers.
She would like to expand her business by introducing a new home delivery service, where customers can arrange to have flowers delivered on a regular basis.
Monique has set up a customer database in order to manage the deliveries. The database will also help her to create a targeted marketing campaign.
© Boardworks Ltd 20108 of 11
Practical uses of databases
When customers come into her shop and buy flowers, Monique asks them to fill out a short form to register for special offers. She then adds this information to the database.
Her database includes fields for name, address, postcode, email address and favourite flowers. There is also a field for the date of the customer’s last purchase.
Monique can add, edit and delete customer records. She can conduct a query search to find customers that have not purchased any flowers in more than five years, and then delete these records to avoid sending out leaflets and emails to customers who might have moved house.
© Boardworks Ltd 20109 of 11
Practical uses of databases
Monique can sort the data according to postcode, in order to make her delivery run easier and more efficient.
She can also sort the data by flower preference. When Monique gets a new delivery of certain flowers, she can use mail merge to send out personalized leaflets about special offers to customers that might be interested.
Using data handling software, Monique can create graphs from her database with information about the most popular flowers, and how frequently her delivery service is used.
© Boardworks Ltd 201011 of 11
Emerging technologies
Data handling applications can be set up to easily make use of the vast amounts of data that can be stored in database systems.
There are many emerging data handling applications.
What do you think databases and data handling applications could be used for in the future?
These include models for:
financial forecasting
flight simulators
weather forecasting.