Information and communication technologies
Encyclopedia
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
(IT), but is usually a more general term that stresses the role of unified communications
Unified communications
Unified communications is the integration of real-time communication services such as instant messaging , presence information, telephony , video conferencing, data sharing , call control and speech recognition with non-real-time communication services such as unified...
and the integration of telecommunications (telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
lines and wireless signals), computers, middleware
Middleware
Middleware is computer software that connects software components or people and their applications. The software consists of a set of services that allows multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact...
as well as necessary software, storage- and audio-visual systems, which enable users to create, access, store, transmit, and manipulate information. In other words, ICT consists of IT as well as telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
, broadcast
Broadcast
Broadcast or Broadcasting may refer to:* Broadcasting, the transmission of audio and video signals* Broadcast, an individual television program or radio program* Broadcast , an English electronic music band...
media, all types of audio and video processing and transmission and network based control and monitoring functions. The expression was first used in 1997 in a report by Dennis Stevenson to the UK government and promoted by the new National Curriculum documents for the UK in 2000.
The term ICT is now also used to refer to the merging (convergence) of audio-visual and telephone networks with computer networks through a single cabling or link system. There are large economic incentives (huge cost savings due to elimination of the telephone network) to merge the audio-visual, building management and telephone network with the computer network system using a single unified system of cabling, signal distribution and management. This in turn has spurred the growth of organizations with the term ICT in their names to indicate their specialization in the process of merging the different network systems.
Some of the dangers of ICTs include cyberbullying, phishing as well as masquerading.
Trends and new concepts in the ICT roadmap
ICT is often used in the context of "ICT roadmap" to indicate the path that an organization will take with their ICT needs.Standards
Standards are very important for ICT, since they define the language that enables the technologies to understand each other. This is especially relevant because the key idea behind ICT is that information storage devices can communicate in media-frictionless manner with communication networks and computing systems. Open standards play a special role, as well as standards organizations such as the Telecommunications Industry AssociationTelecommunications Industry Association
The Telecommunications Industry Association is accredited by the American National Standards Institute to develop voluntary, consensus-based industry standards for a wide variety of ICT products, and currently represents nearly 400 companies...
in the United States and ETSI in Europe.
Campaigns and Projects
Recently, many companies are coming up with campaigns to promote ICT and how it can be used to protect nature. Wipro was a leading company that organized Earthian, wherein students came up with ideas to use technology to benefit society.See Also
- Global e-Schools and Communities InitiativeGlobal e-Schools and Communities InitiativeThe Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative is an international not-for-profit organisation providing demand-driven assistance to developing countries seeking to harness the potential of Information and Communication Technologies to improve their education systems.-Background:GeSCI was...
- Information AgeInformation AgeThe Information Age, also commonly known as the Computer Age or Digital Age, is an idea that the current age will be characterized by the ability of individuals to transfer information freely, and to have instant access to knowledge that would have been difficult or impossible to find previously...
- Information and Communication Technologies for DevelopmentInformation and Communication Technologies for DevelopmentInformation and Communication Technologies for Development is a general term referring to the application of Information and Communication Technologies within the fields of socioeconomic development, international development and human rights...
- Information and Communication Technologies for Environmental SustainabilityInformation and communication technologies for environmental sustainabilityInformation and Communication Technologies for Environmental Sustainability is a general term referring to the application of Information and Communication Technologies within the field of environmental sustainability...
- Market Information SystemsMarket Information SystemsMarket information systems are information systems used in gathering, analyzing and disseminating information about prices and other information relevant to farmers, animal rearers, traders, processors and others involved in...
- Mobile WebMobile WebThe Mobile Web refers to the use of Internet-connected applications, or browser-based access to the Internet from a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet computer, connected to a wireless network....
Further reading
- Caperna A., Integrating ICT into Sustainable Local Policies. ISBN13:9781615209293
- Carnoy, Martin. "ICT in Education: Possibilities and Challenges." Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 2005.
- "Good Practice in Information and Communication Technology for Education." Asian Development Bank, 2009.
- Grossman, G. and E. Helpman (2005), "Outsourcing in a global economy", Review of Economic Studies 72: 135-159.
- Oliver, Ron. "The Role of ICT in Higher Education for the 21st Century: ICT as a Change Agent for Education." University, Perth, Western Australia, 2002.
- Walter Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (London, UK: Routledge, 1988), in particular Chapter 4