Unit 1: Introduction to Information and Communication Technology

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TECHNOLOGIES

Lesson 1: What is Information and Communication Technology

(ICT)?
A connected world needs more than a network of computers and gadgets. It needs technology
enabled, confidently mindful and compassionate digitally aware community of lifelong learners.

Before we go any further, it is useful to have a working understanding of the term 'ICT'.
What exactly do we mean by 'information and communication technologies'? This can be
very difficult to define and explain, but here is a simple definition.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are the technologies used in the
conveying, manipulation and storage of data by electronic means. It refers to all the
technology used to handle;
Telecommunications
Broadcast media
Intelligent building management systems
Audiovisual processing
Transmission systems
Network-based control
Monitoring functions

ICT has more recently been used to describe the convergence of several technologies
and the use of common transmission lines carrying very diverse data and communication
types and formats.

Converging technologies that exemplify ICT include the merging of audiovisual, telephone
and computer networks through a common cabling system. Internet service providers
(ISP) commonly provide Internet, phone and television services to homes and businesses
through a single optical cable. The elimination of the telephone networks has provided
huge economic incentives to implement this convergence, which eliminates many of the
costs associated with cabling, signal distribution, user installation, servicing and
maintenance costs.

For instance, in a landline telephone system, messages are conveyed as signals on

wires. The message is conveyed electronically. Manipulation of data takes place when
you speak into the phone your words are transformed into electronic signals. The data
is then conveyed through the phone system, stored briefly for further processing on the
way, and transformed back into words at the other end. In a mobile phone system,

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Unit 1: Introduction to Information and Communication Technology

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messages are also stored and manipulated but in this case they are conveyed by
electromagnetic means such as radio waves, which are wireless.
What is ICT education and Why is it Important?

Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) education is basicall

efforts to introduce its current and emerging
valuable knowledge and skills
around computing and communications devices, software that operates them,
applications that run on them and systems that are built with them.
What are these things? How do they work? How do you use them productively? How are
they deployed, assembled, managed and maintained to create productive systems? How
they are used in specific business and industry settings? What are the underlying science
and technologies behind them and how might those be developed to advance ICT fields?

ICT is complex and quickly changing, and it is confusing for many people. It is so
pervasive in the modern world that everyone has some understanding of it, but those
understandings are often wildly divergent.
There are many important dimensions to ICT education, including:

ICT/Digital Literacy Today, everyone needs a basic understanding of ICT and how to
make productive use of it, just to be good students, workers and citizens. And how to be
competent basic users of ICT technologies is an important role of ICT education, so they
will be successful in their academic and work careers, and so they can efficiently
participate in modern technical society. As part of its study validating U.S. Department of
Labor IT Competency model content in California, MPICT determined with 99%
confidence California employer agreement with the following statements regarding Digital
Literacy:
ion and communication technologies (ICT) competencies are increasingly
important for most of our employers, regardless of role. If there was an agreedupon standard for "digital literacy", or ICT competencies expected of all workers,
regardless of workplace role, my organization would value a credential based on
that standard as a way of validating ICT skills for nonor very much agree)
technologies is becoming as essential to education, life and workplace success as
skill by educational systems, something taught to and assessed for all students.
(85.2% agree or very much agree)

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Unit 1: Introduction to Information and Communication Technology

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This study details 49 competencies for ICT User level knowledge and skills, as an
actionable, teachable and assessable definition of what people need to know and

ICT Infrastructure and Support Applied Technologists

Beyond a basic user
competency, our society also needs more knowledgeable and capable technical people
to deploy, manage and maintain ICT equipment, software and systems, so they work well
for users. In all industries, these people manage computer and communications
hardware, software and applications; networked systems; online information sharing,
communication and commerce systems; business processes making use of these
systems; and user support.
Specialized Business and Industry Uses of ICT As enabling technologies, ICT is
used strategically in almost all businesses and industries. Many have developed
specialized systems and uses of ICT, and many have specialized legal and regulatory
requirements; quality control systems; integrations with production and research
equipment and systems; security requirements; and software applications. For example:
Bioscience industries rely on specialized ICT systems and applications to conduct
research, analyze organic materials, produce biotech products and do required
reporting;
Financial services industries rely on ICT to maintain customer records, do
business, conduct trades, do financial reporting, secure proprietary information
and comply with regulations;

Manufacturing industries use specialized computer controlled systems and

robotics to design, produce and test products.
Property management operations use ICT to network and control heating and
cooling, lighting and building access systems.

Electric utilities use ICT to monitor and manage electricity distribution, customer
billing and smart metering systems.
Telecommunications, cable TV and other entertainment industries use ICT to store
content, manage customers and deliver their services.

We need to develop a competent workforce that understands not only relevant

technologies, but also specialized business and industry environments and operations,
to meet these specialized needs.
ICT Research and Development Scientists ICT fields themselves are under
constant pressure to evolve and improve. We need people who deeply understand

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Unit 1: Introduction to Information and Communication Technology

fields.

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the science and technologies underlying ICT and who can work to advance the

In virtually all modern businesses and industries, and in modern society in general, ICT
has key strategic roles. It is strategically important to develop citizens and workers who
can competently and efficiently operate and add value in these systems and
environments.

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Unit 1: Introduction to Information and Communication Technology

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TECHNOLOGIES

The Network Society (Data and information)

Although this course is about ICTs, the technologies you'll be learning about do not
actually handle information. Instead they handle data. In everyday language the terms
'data' and 'information' are often used interchangeably, but it is important to understand
the difference when you are studying ICTs.
Data is a representation of information so that it can be conveyed, manipulated or stored.
Information is the meaning that people give to data in particular contexts. So data can't
really be considered information until it is given meaning and is interpreted.

ICT systems are increasingly embedded in many aspects of our daily lives. But ICTs don't
just exist in a vacuum they have an impact on society, and society has an effect on
them. They also have economic and political implications.

The end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century are often
compared to other historical periods of great technological change such as the Industrial
Revolution. This is because of the huge changes that are happening in many aspects of
life.

The terms information society and network society have been used to analyze the
social and economic changes that are taking place in conjunction with technological
developments. These ideas are used by policy makers to drive forward changes in our
technological infrastructure. For example, the UK government's vision is that many public
services will be accessible online, and billions of pounds have been spent to get
computers into schools and local communities. The language used by politicians has
drawn strongly on the inevitability of technological change and the need to be at the
forefront of these changes in order to secure future prosperity.

One of the discussions about ICTs concerns whether changes in society are driven by
technological development, or whether technologies are actually influenced and shaped
by the society that produces them. This is a complex debate but an interesting idea to
think about. On the one hand, if technologies are shaped by social conditions, then they
will inevitably reflect the values and norms of the particular society in which they are
created. On the other hand, if we believe technology determines the way society
develops, then we might feel very helpless and fatalistic. You could also think about this
on a personal level. In your everyday life, you will probably have experienced
technological change as something that you have no control over
something that
happens to you. For example, a new computer arrives in your office and you are required
to learn how to use it, whether you like it or not. Often you have no influence or control
over how technology intrudes into your life. In commercial terms this is sometimes
described as either a 'technology push' or, conversely, a 'market pull'.
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