Module 1 - 2 (Living in It Era)
Module 1 - 2 (Living in It Era)
Module 1 - 2 (Living in It Era)
IN
IT ERA
Week 1 - 2
MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
Although there is no single, universal definition of ICT, the term is generally accepted to
mean all devices, networking components, applications and systems that combined
allow people and organizations (i.e., businesses, nonprofit agencies, governments and
criminal enterprises) to interact in the digital world.
Uses of ICT In Our Daily Lives
Communication
We all know that ICT take a major role for us by means of communicating, way
back in the past our parents use to make letter and send it via post mail. But now
with the help of ICT it is easier to communicate with our love ones. We can use
cellular phones that design for communicating with other people even they are
miles away far from you.
Nowadays people are in touch with the help of ICT. Through chatting, E-mail, voice
mail and social networking people communicate with each other. It is the
cheapest means of communication.
ICT allows students to monitor and manage their own learning, think critically and
creatively, solve simulated real-world problems, work collaboratively, engage in
ethical decision-making, and adopt a global perspective towards issues and
ideas. It also provides students from remote areas access to expert teachers and
learning resources, and gives administrators and policy makers the data and
expertise they need to work more efficiently.
Job Opportunities
Nowadays, employers expect their staff to have basic ICT skills. This expectation
even applies to job roles where ICT skills may not have been an essential
requirement in the past.
Nowadays, finding a job is different, you can just use your smart phone, laptop,
desktop or any gadgets that is available in the comfort of your home.
Education
Schools use a diverse set of ICT tools to communicate, create, disseminate, store,
and manage information.(6) In some contexts, ICT has also become integral to the
teaching- learning interaction, through such approaches as replacing
chalkboards with interactive digital whiteboards, using students’ own smartphones
or other devices for learning during class time, and the “flipped classroom” model
where students watch lectures at home on the computer and use classroom time
for more interactive exercises.
When teachers are digitally literate and trained to use ICT, these approaches can
lead to higher order thinking skills, provide creative and individualized options for
students to express their understandings, and leave students better prepared to
deal with ongoing technological change in society and the workplace.
Socializing
Social media has changed the world. The rapid and vast adoption of these
technologies is changing how we find partners, how we access information from
the news, and how we organize to demand political change.
The internet and social media provide young people with a range of benefits, and
opportunities to empower themselves in a variety of ways. Young people can
maintain social connections and support networks that otherwise wouldn't be
possible and can access more information than ever before. The communities and
social interactions young people form online can be invaluable for bolstering and
developing young people's self-confidence and social skills
Page 3
As the ICT has become ubiquitous, faster and increasingly accessible to non-
technical communities, social networking and collaborative services have grown
rapidly enabling people to communicate and share interest in many more ways,
sites like Facebook, Twitter LinkedIn You tube, Flicker, second life delicious blogs
wiki’s and many more let people of all ages rapidly share their interest of the
movement without others everywhere. But Facebook seems to be the leading
areas of where people communicate and share their opinions. What a change!
“Nothing is permanent, but change” (As Heraditus in the 4thcentury BC). Internet
can be seen as the international networks of interconnection of computer
networks, the main purpose for the institution of internet are quest for information
i.e. browsing, electronic mail, knew groups fill transfer and access and use of other
computer. Socialization can be seen as a process by which a child adapts a
behavior to be an effective member of the society, which can only be achieved
through learning or education.
• Security: ICT solves or reduces some security problems, e.g. Encryption methods can
keep data safe from unauthorized people, both while it is being stored or while it is
being sent electronically.
• ICT allows people to participate in a wider, even worldwide, society.
• Distance learning: students can access teaching materials from all over the world.
• ICT facilitates the ability to perform ‘impossible’ experiments’ by using simulations.
• Creation of new more interesting jobs. Examples would be systems analysts,
programmers and software engineers, as well as help desk operators and trainers.
TASK NUMBER 1
1. What is the relevance of ICT in your chosen course?
2. Name at least 4 uses of ICT in our daily lives and explain.
3. Give 5 positive impacts and 5 negative impacts of ICT in the society.
Definition of Computer
• Computer is a programmable machine.
• Computer is an electronic device that manipulates information, or data. It has the
ability to store, retrieve, and process data.
• Computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions
(program).
• Computer is any device which aids humans in performing various kinds of computations
or calculations
Page 5
1. Business
Almost every business uses computers nowadays. They can be employed to store
and maintain accounts, personnel records, manage projects, track inventory,
create presentations and reports. They enable communication with people both
within and outside the business, using various technologies, including e-mail. They
can be used to promote the business and enable direct interaction with customers.
2. Education
Computers can be used to give learners audio-visual packages, interactive
exercises, and remote learning, including tutoring over the internet. They can be
used to access educational information from intranet and internet sources, or via
e-books. They can be used to maintain and monitor student performance,
including through the use of online examinations, as well as to create projects and
assignments.
3. Healthcare
Healthcare continues to be revolutionized by computers. As well as digitized
medical information making it easier to store and access patient data, complex
information can also be analyzed by software to aid discovery of diagnoses, as
well as search for risks of diseases. Computers control lab equipment, heart rate
monitors, and blood pressure monitors. They enable doctors to have greater
access to information on the latest drugs, as well as the ability to share information
on diseases with other medical specialists.
5. Government
Various government departments use computers to improve the quality and
efficiency of their services. Examples include city planning, law enforcement,
traffic, and tourism. Computers can be used to store information, promote services,
communicate internally and externally, as well as for routine administrative
purposes.
6. Marketing
Computers enable marketing campaigns to be more precise through the analysis
and manipulation of data. They facilitate the creation of websites and promotional
materials. They can be used to generate social media campaigns. They enable
direct communication with customers through email and online chat.
7. Science
Scientists were one of the first groups to adopt computers as a work tool. In science,
computers can be used for research, sharing information with other specialists both
locally and internationally, as well as collecting, categorizing, analyzing, and
Page 6
storing data. Computers also play a vital role in launching, controlling, and
maintaining space craft, as well as operating other advanced technology.
8. Publishing
Computers can be used to design pretty much any type of publication. These
might include newsletters, marketing materials, fashion magazines, novels, or
newspapers. Computers are used in the publishing of both hard-copy and e-books.
They are also used to market publications and track sales.
10. Communication
Computers have made real-time communication over the internet easy, thanks to
software and videoconferencing services such as Skype. Families can connect
with audio and video, businesses can hold meetings between remote participants,
and news organizations can interview people without the need for a film crew.
Modern computers usually have microphones and webcams built-in nowadays to
facilitate software like Skype. Older communications technologies such as email
are also still used widely.
12. Transport
Road vehicles, trains, planes, and boats are increasingly automated with
computers being used to maintain safety and navigation systems, and increasingly
to drive, fly, or steer. They can also highlight problems that require attention, such
as low fuel levels, oil changes, or a failing mechanical part. Computers can be
used to customize settings for individuals, for example, seat setup, air-conditioning
temperatures.
13. Navigation
Navigation has become increasingly computerized, especially since computer
technology has been combined with GPS technology. Computers combined with
satellites mean that it's now easy to pinpoint your exact location, know which way
that you are moving on a map, and have a good idea of amenities and places of
Page 7
interest around you.
15. Military
Computers are used extensively by the military. They are use for training purposes.
They are used for analyzing intelligence data. They are used to control smart
technology, such as guided missiles and drones, as well as for tracking incoming
missiles and destroying them. They work with other technologies such as satellites
to provide geospatial information and analysis. They aid communications. They
help tanks and planes to target enemy forces.
Page 8
20. Robotics
Robotics is an expanding area of technology which combines computers with
science and engineering to produce machines that can either replace humans,
or do specific jobs that humans are unable to do. One of the first use of robotics
was in manufacturing to build cars. Since then, robots have been developed to
explore areas where conditions are too harsh for humans, to help law enforcement,
to help the military, and to assist healthcare professionals.
a) Tally sticks
A tally stick was an ancient memory aid device to record and document numbers,
quantities, or even messages.
b) Abacus
An abacus is a mechanical device used to aid an individual in performing
mathematical calculations.
Page 9
Figure 1.2 Abacus
c) Napier’s Bones
• Invented by John Napier in 1614.
• Allowed the operator to multiply, divide and calculate square and cube
roots by moving the rods around and placing them in specially constructed
boards.
d) Slide Rule
Invented by William Oughtred in 1622.
• Is based on Napier's ideas about logarithms.
• Used primarily for – multiplication – division – roots – logarithms – Trigonometry
• Not normally used for addition or subtraction.
e) Pascaline
• Invented by Blaise Pascal in 1642.
• It was its limitation to addition and subtraction.
• It is too expensive.
Page 10
Figure 1.5 Pascaline
f) Stepped Reckoner
• Invented by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in 1672.
• The machine that can add, subtract, multiply and divide automatically.
g) Jacquard Loom
• The Jacquard loom is a mechanical loom, invented by Joseph-Marie
Jacquard in 1881.
• It is an automatic loom controlled by punched cards.
h) Arithmometer
• A mechanical calculator invented by Thomas de Colmar in 1820,
• The first reliable, useful and commercially successful calculating machine.
• The machine could perform the four basic mathematic functions.
• The first mass-produced calculating machine.
Page 11
Figure 1.8 Arithmometer
Page 12
• The first printing calculator.
m. Tabulating Machine
• Invented by Herman Hollerith in 1890.
• To assist in summarizing information and accounting.
n. Harvard Mark 1
• Also known as IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (ASCC).
• Invented by Howard H. Aiken in 1943
• The first electro-mechanical computer
Page 13
o. Z1
• The first programmable computer.
• Created by Konrad Zuse in Germany from 1936 to 1938.
• To program the Z1 required that the user insert punch tape into a punch tape
reader and all output was also generated through punch tape.
Figure 1.14 Z1
q. ENIAC
• ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer.
• It was the first electronic general-purpose computer.
• Completed in 1946.
• Developed by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.
Page 14
Figure 1.16 ENIAC
r. UNIVAC 1
• The UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic Computer 1) was the first commercial
computer.
• Designed by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.
s.EDVAC
• EDVAC stands for Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer
• The First Stored Program Computer
• Designed by Von Neumann in 1952.
• It has a memory to hold both a stored program as well as data.
Page 15
Figure 1.18 EDVAC
a. Premechanical
The premechanical age is the earliest age of information technology. It can be defined as
the time between 3000B.C. and 1450A.D. We are talking about a long time ago. When
humans first started communicating they would try to use language or simple picture
drawings known as petroglyths which were usually carved in rock. Early alphabets were
developed such as the Phoenician alphabet.
Page 16
Figure 2.1 Petroglyph
As alphabets became more popular and more people were writing information
down, pens and paper began to be developed. It started off as just marks in wet
clay, but later paper was created out of papyrus plant. The most popular kind of
paper made was probably by the Chinese who made paper from rags.
Now that people were writing a lot of information down, they needed ways to keep it
all in
permanent storage. This is where the first books and libraries are developed. You’ve
probably heard of Egyptian scrolls which were popular ways of writing down
information to save. Some groups of people were actually binding paper together
into a book-like form.
Also, during this period were the first numbering systems. Around 100A.D. was when
the first 1-9 system was created by people from India. However, it wasn’t until
875A.D. (775 years later) that the number 0 was invented. And yes, now that
numbers were created, people wanted stuff to do with them, so they created
calculators. A calculator was the very first sign of an information processor. The
popular model of that time was the abacus.
b. Mechanical
The mechanical age is when we first start to see connections between our current
technology and its ancestors. The mechanical age can be defined as the time
between 1450 and 1840. A lot of new technologies are developed in this era as
there is a large explosion in interest with this area. Technologies like the slide rule
(an analog computer used for multiplying and dividing) were invented. Blaise
Pascal invented the Pascaline which was a very popular mechanical computer.
Charles Babbage developed the difference engine which tabulated polynomial
Page 17
equations using the method of finite differences.
There were lots of different machines created during this era and while we have not
yet gotten to a machine that can do more than one type of calculation in one,
like our modern-day calculators, we are still learning about how all of our all-in-one
machines started. Also, if you look at the size of the machines invented in this time
compared to the power behind them it seems (to us) absolutely ridiculous to
understand why anybody would want to use them, but to the people living in that
time ALL of these inventions were HUGE.
c. Electromechanical
Now we are finally getting close to some technologies that resemble our modern-
day technology. The electromechanical age can be defined as the time between
1840 and 1940. These are the beginnings of telecommunication. The telegraph was
created in the early 1800s. Morse code was created by Samuel Morse in 1835. The
telephone (one of the most popular forms of communication ever) was created
by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. The first radio developed by Guglielmo Marconi
in 1894. All of these were extremely crucial emerging technologies that led to big
advances in the information technology field.
The first large-scale automatic digital computer in the United States was the Mark
1 created by Harvard University around 1940. This computer was 8ft high, 50ft long,
2ft wide, and weighed 5 tons - HUGE. It was programmed using punch cards. How
does your PC match up to this hunk of metal? It was from huge machines like this
that people began to look at downsizing all the parts to first make them usable by
businesses and eventually in your own home.
Page 18
Figure 2.3 Harvard Mark 1
d. Electronic
The electronic age is what we currently live in. It can be defined as the time
between 1940 and right now. The ENIAC was the first high-speed, digital computer
capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems. This
computer was designed to be used by the U.S. Army for artillery firing tables. This
machine was even bigger than the Mark 1 taking up 680 square feet and weighing
30 tons - HUGE. It mainly used vacuum tubes to do its calculations.
There are 4 main sections of digital computing. The first was the era of vacuum
tubes and punch cards like the ENIAC and Mark 1. Rotating magnetic drums were
used for internal storage. The second generation replaced vacuum tubes with
transistors, punch cards were replaced with magnetic tape, and rotating
magnetic drums were replaced by magnetic cores for internal storage. Also during
this time high-level programming languages were created such as FORTRAN and
COBOL. The third generation replaced transistors with integrated circuits, magnetic
tape was used throughout all computers, and magnetic core turned into metal
oxide semiconductors. An actual operating system showed up around this time
along
with the advanced programming language BASIC. The fourth and latest
generation brought in CPUs (central processing units) which contained memory,
logic, and control circuits all on a single chip. The personal computer was
developed (Apple II). The graphical user interface (GUI) was developed.
Page 19
Figure 2.4 Apple 2
The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for
memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very
expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, generated
a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions. First generation computers
relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language understood
by computers, to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a
time. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was
displayed on printouts.
Page 20
Examples: – ENIAC – EDSAC – UNIVAC I, UNIVAC II, UNIVAC 1101
Examples: UNIVAC III, RCA 501, Philco Transact S-2000, NCR 300 series, IBM 7030
Stretch, IBM 7070, 7080, 7090 series
The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of
computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called
semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers.
It could carry out instructions in billionths of a second. Much smaller and cheaper
compare to the second-generation computers.
Fourth generation computers also saw the development of GUIs, the mouse and
handheld devices.
Based on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Still in development. The use of parallel processing
and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality. The goal is to
develop devices that respond to natural language input and are capable of learning
and self-organization. There are some applications, such as voice recognition, that
are being used today.
Page 21
TASK NUMBER 2
(ESSAY)
1. How can ICT help in social change? Why you say so? (20 pts)
2. Describe briefly how do you use ICT in promoting social change? (30 pts)
3. How can ICT change the society? Discuss briefly. (10 pts)
4. As a student how ICT helps you in your daily life?
5. What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of first generation to last generation?
Page 22