IMPACT OF ICT SYSTEMS AT HOME, AT SCHOOL AND AT WORK

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been developing extremely nowadays. It continuously change and innovate. As the world keeps on developing, technology will change, what is working today might not work tomorrow. The influence of ICT may be seen almost everywhere.  It is influencing every aspect of our life.

The influences are felt more at schools considering the exposure the students have to different types of ICT. Educators promote 21^st century learners. Nowadays we can access a full library of educational material via a mobile app or website on any smartphone or iPad. You can also do your research through an e-library wherein you can access different books and reference materials. ICT plays a vital role as the engine for knowledge generation.

 DIFFERENT USES OF ICT

ICT AT HOME

• For Communication purposes. You can get it touch with your classmates, friends and family. You can either make video call or call using internet.
• Use of computer for doing research works, preparing assignments and projects.
• Relaxation and entertainment purposes. Use of Smart TV and Surround Sound Systems. Use of computer for playing online games and watching movies. Use of different apps for sketching and drawing.
• For Crime and Disaster Prevention. Use of CCTV cameras and fire and burglar alarms.
• Online shopping is more convenient and hassle free. Users can easily purchase anything online without leaving the comfort of their homes.
• Adults can also use computer and gadgets in teleworking. Working from home with the use of internet.

ICT AT SCHOOL

• Communication with classmates, teachers and family.
• For research work and preparation of reports and projects.
• Easy access and generation of information.
• Use of certain application to prepare assignments.
• Make computer programs to invent useful things.
• Create web design, page and blogs, which can be helpful to students.

• Use of School Management Information System to manage daily routines of the schools
  • Usage of computer for student registration
  • Managing school accounting and financial processes
• Use of e-media to communicate with students and parents
  • Usage if e-media for notification regarding important concerns
• e-Learning
  • Use of Virtual Learning Environments for distance education.
• ICT integrated lessons
• Use of Smart Classrooms
• Use of ICT in assessment
  • Use in preparation of examinations
  • Managing examination results

ICT AT WORK

• Fast and easier means of communication
  • Use of telephone, mobile phone, networking and through emails, video conferencing
  • Use of e-media for notifications on different activities
  • Use of e-media for dissemination of information
• Record keeping
  • Easy retrieval of records
  • Fast tracking of documents through bar code system of data
  • Easy receiving, recording, and releasing of documents
  • e-Library
• Efficient management and administration of services
  • Computers can increase the amount of work done.
  • Faster transaction through electronic queuing
  • Use of kiosk or machines for ATM or other online services.
  • Use of robots or machines to operate factories.
• Attendance monitoring
  • Use of barcode electronic system, biometric or fingerprint scanning to monitor attendance of employees.

The use of technology is vast. ICT has played a vital role in our home, school, or work. Indeed, ICT is an essential part of our daily life. How we use technology however determines if it is good or bad to us or is it helpful or harmful to us. Technology, itself, is neutral but it is up to us if we will make it good or bad based on how we use it.  Be nice, be wise and be a responsible user.

COMPARISON OF ICT SYSTEMS

Components of an ICT system

1. People

• Needed to supply the data to the ICT system
• Make judgements and decisions from the output supplied from the system

2. Information

• The results from processing data
• The output from an ICT system

3. Hardware

• Physical components that make up the ICT system
• Input devices
• Storage
• Processor
• Output devices
• Communication devices

4. Procedures

• Determine what needs to be done and when
• Passing of data or information between different people

5. Software

• Computer programs which provide the step-by-step instructions to get the job done

6. Data

• Raw material of any ICT system
• Processed by the system to provide the information which is the output provided by the system

Hardware is the physical parts of the computer system – the parts that you can touch and see. Software is a collection of instructions that can be ‘run’ on a computer. These instructions tell the computer what to do. Software is not a physical thing (but it can of course be stored on a physical medium such as a CD-ROM).

The difference between Hardware and Software Computer Hardware is the physical components that make up the computer system. Hardware is useless without software to run on it. Software is instructions that tell computer hardware what to do. Software is useless unless there is hardware to run it on. For a computer system to be useful it has to consist of both hardware and software. Imagine an iPhone without IOS. Or a PC without Windows. It won’t work.

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the ‘brain’ of the computer. It is the device that carries out software instructions.

A motherboard is a printed circuit board found in many modern computer which holds many of the crucial components of the system.

Memory. Any data or instructions that are to be processed by the CPU must be placed into main memory.

Hard drive. A hard disk drive is a hardware device that’s used to store information like software and files.

Graphics Card. A graphics card is a device that attaches to the motherboard to enable the computer to process and display graphics.

CD/DVD Drive. An optical disc drive that reads and writes all common CD and DVD formats.

Power Supply. The component that supplies power to a computer.

Sound Card. A sound card is a device that attaches to the motherboard to enable the computer to input, process, and deliver sound.

The CPU is the ‘brain’ of the computer. It is where all the searching, sorting, calculating and decision making takes place.The speed of the CPU is measured in Gigahertz (GHz).A 1 GHz CPU can carry out 1 billion instructions per second!Intel and AMD are the most popular CPU brands.

CPU Fan. When the CPU is running powerful programs doing billions of calculations a second it can get very hot.It therefor needs a fan to help it cool down.

RAM is an example of primary storage

Main Memory (primary storage). Also known as Internal Memory, Main Memory, primary memory and primary storage. Main memory is a storage location that holds memory while the computer is running. It’s the fastest memory in your computer and is used to store data while its being used. RAM is an example of primary storage

Main Memory (primary storage). When a program is running the CPU uses RAM memory to run the program. Programs are installed on the computers hard drive (secondary storage)

RAM is the part of the computer that temporarily stores the instructions that the computer is running, and the data it is processing. RAM is volatile which means that when the computer is turned off all data is los

ROM stands for Read Only Memory. ROM is a built in memory that can not be changed (it can only be read from)ROM normally holds the ‘boot up’ program to a computer – without it the computer wouldn’t know what to do when on button is switched on ROM is non-volatile memory which means that memory is not lost when computer is turned off.

Backing Storage. Backing storage is also known as secondary storage Backing Storage is normally used to describe other storage devices aside from Main Memory (RAM or ROM). Backing storage is non-volatile which means that data is not lost when computer is turned off. Backing storage is used to store data for a long time (data can be read from and written to)

Software depends on hardware and hardware depends on software. Together they form a computer system.

UNIVERSAL ICT SOFTWARE

ICT SOFTWARE

A computer needs to be told what to do, otherwise it will just sit on your desk collecting dust and taking up space.

Software are the applications and programming instructions that tell your computer what to do.

Software enable you to use a computer for things such as playing games, writing an essay or listening to music.

There are two main types of software.

SYSTEMS SOFTWARE

The ‘systems software’ controls the way the computer works and tells it what to do. Examples include:

• Operating System
• Utilities
• User Interface

Operating systems

An operating system is a system program that controls and organises the general operation of the computer.

In any computer, the operating system:

• controls the backing store and peripherals such as scanners and printers
• deals with the transfer of programs in and out of memory
• organises the use of memory between programs
• organises processing time between programs and users
• maintains security and access rights of users
• deals with errors and user instructions
• allows the user to save files to a backing store
• provides the interface between the user and the computer

In a larger computer such as a main frame the operating system works on the same principles.

Computers can operate in many different ways requiring different and complex operating systems.

Utility Software

Utility software is system software designed to help analyze, configure, optimize or maintain a computer. It is used to support the computer infrastructure in contrast to application software, which is aimed at directly performing tasks that benefit ordinary users.

Although a basic set of utility programs is usually distributed with an operating system (OS), and utility software is considered part of the operating system, users often install replacements or additional utilities. It provides additional facilities to carry out tasks which are beyond the capabilities of the operating system.

Many utilities which might affect the entire computer system require the user to have elevated privileges, while others, which operate only on the user’s data, do not.

Types of Utilities

System utilities

Anti-virus utilities scan for computer viruses and remove them.

Clipboard managers expand the clipboard functionality of an operating system.

Memory testers check for memory failures.

Package managers are used to configure, install or keep up to date other software on a computer.

Registry cleaners clean and optimize the Windows Registry by removing old registry keys that are no longer in use.

Screensavers were desired to prevent phosphor burn-in on CRT and plasma computer monitors by blanking the screen or filling it with moving images or patterns when the computer is not in use. Contemporary screensavers are used primarily for entertainment or security.

Network utilities analyze the computer’s network connectivity, configure network settings, check data transfer or log events.

System monitors monitor resources and performance in a computer system.

System profilers provide detailed information about the software installed and hardware attached to the computer.

 

Storage device management utilities

• Disk checkersscan an operating hard drive and check for logical (filesystem) or physical errors.
• Disk compression utilities transparently compress/uncompress the contents of a disk, increasing the capacity of the disk.
• Disk defragmenters detect computer files whose contents are scattered across several locations on the hard disk, and move the fragments to one location to increase efficiency.
• Disk formatters prepares a data storage device such as a hard disk drive, solid-state drive, floppy disk or USB flash drive for initial use.
• Disk partition editors divide an individual drive into multiple logical drives, each with its own file system, which can be mounted by the operating system and treated as an individual drive.
• Disk space analyzersprovide a visualization of disk space usage by getting the size for each folder (including sub folders) & files in folder or drive showing the distribution of the used space.
• Tape initializers write a labelto a magnetic tape or other magnetic medium. Initializers for DECtape formatted the tape into blocks.

File management utilities

• Archiver’s output a stream or a single file when provided with a directory or a set of files. Archive suites may include compression and encryption capabilities. Some archive utilities have a separate un-archive utility for the reverse operation.
• Backup software makes copies of all information stored on a disk and restores either the entire disk (e.g. in an event of disk failure) or selected files (e.g. in an event of accidental deletion).
• Cryptographic utilities encrypt and decrypt streams and files.
• Data compression utilities output a shorter stream or a smaller file when provided with a stream or file.
• Data synchronizationutilities establish consistency among data from a source to a target data storage and vice versa. There are several branches of this type of utility:
  • File synchronizationutilities maintain consistency between two sources. They may be used to create redundancy or backup copies but are also used to help users carry their digital music, photos and video in their mobile devices.
  • Revision controlutilities can recreate a coherent structure where multiple users simultaneously modify the same file.
• Disk cleaners find files that are unnecessary to computer operation, or take up considerable amounts of space. Disk cleaner helps the user to decide what to delete when their hard disk is full.
• File managers provide a convenient method of performing routine data management, email recovery and management tasks, such as deleting, renaming, cataloging, uncataloging, moving, copying, merging, generating and modifying folders and data sets.

 

Miscellaneous utilities

• Data generators create a file of test data according to specified patterns.
• Hex editors directly modify the text or data of a file. These files can be data or an actual program.
• HTML checkers validate HTML code and check links.
• Sort/Merge programs arrange records (lines) in a file into a specified sequence.

 

User interface design (UI)

User interface design (UI) or user interface engineering is the design of user interfaces for machines and software, such as computers, home appliances, mobile devices, and other electronic devices, with the focus on maximizing usability and the user experience. The goal of user interface design is to make the user’s interaction as simple and efficient as possible, in terms of accomplishing user goals (user-centered design).

Good user interface design facilitates finishing the task at hand without drawing unnecessary attention to itself. Graphic design and typography are utilized to support its usability, influencing how the user performs certain interactions and improving the aesthetic appeal of the design; design aesthetics may enhance or detract from the ability of users to use the functions of the interface.The design process must balance technical functionality and visual elements (e.g., mental model) to create a system that is not only operational but also usable and adaptable to changing user needs.

Interface design is involved in a wide range of projects from computer systems, to cars, to commercial planes; all of these projects involve much of the same basic human interactions yet also require some unique skills and knowledge. As a result, designers tend to specialize in certain types of projects and have skills centered on their expertise, whether that be software design, user research, web design, or industrial design.

Processes

User interface design requires a good understanding of user needs. There are several phases and processes in the user interface design, some of which are more demanded upon than others, depending on the project. (Note: for the remainder of this section, the word system is used to denote any project whether it is a website, application, or device.)

• Functionality requirements gathering – assembling a list of the functionality required by the system to accomplish the goals of the project and the potential needs of the users.
• User and task analysis – a form of field research, it’s the analysis of the potential users of the system by studying how they perform the tasks that the design must support, and conducting interviews to elucidate their goals. Typical questions involve:
  • What would the user want the system to do?
  • How would the system fit in with the user’s normal workflow or daily activities?
  • How technically savvy is the user and what similar systems does the user already use?
  • What interface look & feel styles appeal to the user?
• Information architecture– development of the process and/or information flow of the system (i.e. for phone tree systems, this would be an option tree flowchart and for web sites this would be a site flow that shows the hierarchy of the pages).
• Prototyping – development of wire-frames, either in the form of paper prototypesor simple interactive screens. These prototypes are stripped of all look & feel elements and most content in order to concentrate on the interface.
• Usability inspection– letting an evaluator inspect a user interface. This is generally considered to be cheaper to implement than usability testing (see step below), and can be used early on in the development process since it can be used to evaluate prototypes or specifications for the system, which usually cannot be tested on users. Some common usability inspection methods include cognitive walkthrough, which focuses the simplicity to accomplish tasks with the system for new users, heuristic evaluation, in which a set of heuristics are used to identify usability problems in the UI design, and pluralistic walkthrough, in which a selected group of people step through a task scenario and discuss usability issues.
• Usability testing– testing of the prototypes on an actual user—often using a technique called think aloud protocol where you ask the user to talk about their thoughts during the experience. User interface design testing allows the designer to understand the reception of the design from the viewer’s standpoint, and thus facilitates creating successful applications.
• Graphical user interface design– actual look and feel design of the final graphical user interface (GUI). It may be based on the findings developed during the user research, and refined to fix any usability problems found through the results of testing. Depending on the type of interface being created, this process typically involves some computer programming in order to validate forms, establish links or perform a desired action.
• Software Maintenance- After the deployment of a new interface, occasional maintenance may be required to fix software bugs, change features, or completely upgrade the system. Once a decision is made to upgrade the interface, the legacy system will undergo another version of the design process, and will begin to repeat the stages of the interface life cycle.

APPLICATION SOFTWARE

The other type of software is called ‘application software’. It is this type of software that you use to do your work, keep in touch with friends and for entertainment. Some examples include:

• Word processors such as Word
• Spreadsheets such as Excel
• Databases such as Access
• Game applications such as Half Life, Call of Duty etc
• Instant messaging clients
• Video and telephone applications such as Skype
• Web browser

Word processing applications allow users to type and edit text.

Desktop publishing (DTP) applications allow users to create page layouts using text and pictures.

Word processing

Most people are familiar with word processing packages such as Microsoft Word or Writer (part of the Open Office suite).

Standard features

All word processing applications allow you to:  enter and edit text, save, print, cut/copy/paste, check your spelling

Text formatting

Formatting text makes a document easier to read. You can:

• change font type and size
• change the alignment of text (left, centre, right or justified)
• bold text
• underline text
• italicise text
• create bulleted or numbered lists

Graphics software

The range of pictures, drawings and images which can be produced by a computer are called graphics. The main types of graphics packages are painting, drawing, photo editing and CAD.

A painting application allows freehand drawing and colouring, usually with a mouse.

Images made with drawing packages consist of lines, shapes and co-ordinates. Drawing packages are also known as vector drawing packages. Generally a drawing package offers many similar features to a painting.

Vector graphics

Vector graphics are based on mathematical relationships with control points that make up the image, information is not stored about each pixel. These points are connected by lines and curves called vector paths or vectors.

Photo editing

Photo editing software allows the user to edit and adjust photographs. Usually these photos come from a digital camera, but they could also be scanned from existing photos. Digital photos are bitmap images.

Computer Aided Design (CAD)

CAD packages are more sophisticated drawing packages. They are used by engineers, architects and designers to produce detailed design plans and technical drawings. CAD software offers all the features of standard drawing software but in addition may also offer:

• greater accuracy (it is possible to work to within 1/72 of an inch)
• objects and drawings can be created in 2D, 3D, 2D CAD and 3D CAD
• images can be viewed from any angle
• powerful scaling, rotation and reflection options
• libraries of engineering components which can be imported
• links to packages to calculate costs

 

Presentation software- is used to create presentations, quizzes, e-learning packages, information points and many other multimedia products.

HTML

Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is a basic programming language for building web pages. It uses a set of predefined tags that the web browser then interprets and renders/displays.

HTML is typically written (or generated) in two ways:

1. using a plain text editor, eg Notepad, Notepad++, TextPad etc
2. using a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor, eg Dreamweaver, iWeb, SeaMonkey Composer etc

Different types of browser

Not all browsers render (display) web pages in the same way. Common browsers include:

           Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Chrome

Programming languages

A programming language is a specially written code used for writing applications. C++ and Java are examples of programming languages. These are known as high level languages because they have been developed to be a little like a human language.

 

Software depends on hardware and hardware depends on software. Together they form a computer system.

THE CAN’S AND CANT’S OF COMPUTER

What Computers Can and Cannot Do: The increasingly role that computers play in our society makes it important that we understand the potential and limitations of computers.

Computers are expert at solving problems that benefit from their unique skillset, but humans hold the edge on tasks that machines simply cannot perform.

Computers can take in and process certain kinds of information much faster than we can. They can twirl that data around in their “brains,” made of processors, and perform calculations to provide many scenarios at superhuman speeds. The best chess-trained computers considering that they can strategize many moves ahead may beat the best chess-playing humans.

Computers learn much more quickly and almost error free. Humans can also learn fast but when it comes to tackling the kinds of puzzles computers excel at, we are far beyond their expertise.

Computer does not possess creativity and intuition. For instance, computer can mimic creativity through incorporating works of art into a database and create a new work of ‘art’. But it will never be the same as human creativity.

Computers have better memories, so they can be fed a large amount of information, and can get into all of it almost instantly. Computers do not require sleep the way humans do. They can work day in and day out. They can calculate, analyze and perform tasks tirelessly. Computers are not affected or influenced by emotions, feelings, wants and needs that often hinders the judgement and intelligence of humans.

Computers can never excel compare to humans on certain things. We perform tasks, make decisions, and solve problems based not just on our intelligence but also based on our instincts, our common sense, and perhaps most importantly, our life experiences. Humans still tower over computers in general intelligence, creativity, and a common-sense knowledge or understanding of the world. Computers are not equipped to know what is important.

Computers can be programmed with huge amount of information, but they can’t experience life the way humans do. Humans possess traits we sometimes refer to as creativity, imagination and inspiration. We can write a poem, compose and play music, sing a song, create a painting or dream up a new invention. Although computers can be programmed to imitate some of those tasks, they don’t possess the ability to create the way humans do.

Computers have no definition of meaning the way a human does. Even if it can recognize emotion as what it is programmed it does not understand what experiencing an emotion means.

Humans are creative and unpredictable. While humans can actually create new things that have never existed before, computers are only ever following a set of instructions.

Computers can’t tell a story. A human can weave a story and deliver them depending on the audience they have. Computers can only search stories.

Computers can’t engage us learners in knowledge construction. They can give us a bunch of information though. They can not also give us feedback or tell us what is wrong with us.  Our teachers tailor their instruction methods according to students’ interests and learning styles.

Only humans, not computers, can learn and predict. While computers can find patterns that humans cannot, they do not know how to compare sources or how to interpret behaviors. They can never understand us humans.

We should not fear that maybe someday with the creation of Artificial Intelligence that computers will be smarter than us. The important thing to keep in mind is that it is not man versus machine.  We are not competing with them but rather accept them as a big help in doing our different tasks. We rather move for collaboration rather than competition.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton