Role of ICT

Introduction to ICT

ICT stands for Information and Communication Technology which deals with the use of electronic
media like computer, smart phone, ipad, etc. to store ,process, and retrieve data or information.

Role and Importance of ICT

ICT applications are found in every field – education, health, business, design, manufacturing,
science, environment.

ICT in education

ICT for education refers to the development of information and communications technology
specifically for teaching/learning purposes.

ICT has also become integral to the teaching-learning process. ICT, to some extent, has replaced
traditional chalkboards with interactive digital whiteboards,

Students are also using their own smart phones or other devices for learning during class time.

The concept of “flipped classroom” is becoming popular in many countries where students watch
lectures at home on the computer and use classroom time for more interactive exercises.

Using ICT tools can lead to

● higher order thinking skills

● provide creative and individualized options for students to express their understandings
● Students are better prepared to deal with ongoing technological change in society and the
workplace.

Some of the advantages of ICT in education are:

● Complex topics can be easily explained to the students with the help of pictures, videos,
presentations, etc.
● Images and videos used for teaching improves the retention memory of the students.
● Practical demonstration can be given to the students .
● If the teaching process in the class is interactive, it will make the lesson more enjoyable.
● An e-learning program allows students to learn at their own pace, at any convenient time,
and from any place.

ICT in Healthcare

ICT plays an important role in healthcare. Some of the uses of ICT in health care are:

● Through the right communication media, a doctor can easily deliver treatment and care to
the patient who is located far away. Doctor can also continuously monitor the patient’s
history, diagnostic report, and track the current health condition. The Doctor can also
interact with patient, recommend to take medical examination and prescribe medicine.
● Using the ICT tool or a suitable communication system, government can make efforts to
create awareness among the public about the communicable diseases, prevention measures
and various current diagnostic & etc.
● ICT in healthcare research helps to find the possible prevention measures to eradicate and
reduce the spread of diseases.
● Through ICT, the traditional healthcare systems can be eliminated and new models can be
formed for effective quality care.
 ● Hospitals can use different electronic media to store medical data. This helps to retrieve the
information easily. This data can be transferred to the patient or to the Doctors for
consultation.
● MRI, CT-scan, ultrasound are done in hospitals, diagnostic centres, to diagnose the diseases.
● Life support systems are provided to the patients
● You can search information on any disease, medicines, etc. on the internet.

ICT in Governance

ICT in governance means using Internet, other electronic media buy the central and state
governments, by local administrative bodies to improve the efficiency, transparency, efficiency of the
government.

ICT in governance can be help:

● Deliver government services efficiently

● E-governance sites enable people to perform various tasks such as filling a form, applying for
passport, paying bills, property tax, etc. even sitting at home.

ICT in Business

ICT in business can be used for the following purposes:

● Keep records of the stock

● Prepare accounts and balance sheets
● Maintain database of staff and customers
● E-commerce enables people to buy and sell products online. This service is available 24 x 7.
● E-banking facility helps to make banking transactions at any time of the day .

Impact of ICT on society

ICT has affected the society in both positive and negative way. We have already discussed the use of
ICT in various fields.

ICT has divided the society into two groups:

1. Persons who can do their personal and professional work efficiently. They are efficient in using
services like, e-banking, e-learning, e-governance sites, etc.

2. People who do not have access to a computer and internet. They also do not have knowledge to
use facilities available on the internet.

This has resulted in digital divide, which refers to the gap between people who have access to latest
information technologies, like, computer, smart phones, internet, ipad, etc. and have knowledge to
use them and people who do not have access to use these devices.

ICT Tools
ICT tools are devices that are used in Information and communication technology. For example,
computer, smart phone, radio, television, ipad, tablets, etc.

Some of these are discussed below:

Mobile

Mobile phones are the easiest and simplest way of communication. It is small in size, lightweight and
portable. You can stay in touch with your friends, relatives, anytime and anywhere.

Mobile phones are useful in studies. Students can access the internet on their mobile phones and get
knowledge on any topic.

You can even create documents, make presentations, etc on your smart phones as you do on your
computer.

Tablets

Tablets are small personal computers with a touch screen. Tablets allow user to input data and
instructions through keyboard or mouse. Learning software called apps can be downloaded onto
tablets. You can also watch videos relevant to your subject.

Radio

Radio is the oldest tool used to provide entertainment and information to people. You can listen to
music, radio shows, etc. on radio.

TV

Television is another important ICT tool. You can watch music, view programs, etc. on television.

Newspaper

Newspaper is another most important ICT tool. News related to all the issues , national,
international, sports, space, etc, are printed in newspapers.

Email

Email is the most common way of communication in today’s world. It is the official way of
communication. Some of the advantages of using email are:

● You don’t have to pay anything extra for sending or receiving email. You just pay for the
internet connection.
● You can send bulk mails
● The receiver may not be online when you send the email.
● You can send documents, presentations, images, videos, etc. as an attachment to email.
● When you send an email, it reaches, the receiver at any part of the world in few seconds.

Interactive White Boards (Smart Boards)

These boards a allow to project computer . Also handwritten notes can be taken on the board and
saved for later use.

E-readers

E-readers are electronic devices that can hold hundreds of books in digital form. Ereaders are
portable, have a long battery life.
COMPONENTS OF COMPUTER SYSTEM

A computer is an electronic device that has devices to enter data, store data and process raw facts
and figures according to the given instructions and give the desired result on an output device.

Data: Data refers to raw facts and figures. For example, 123, “English”, etc. Information: Information
refers to processed data. For example, total marks and percentage of a student

A computer system comprises the following components:

● Computer hardware – Physical parts of a computer such as Input devices, output devices,
central processing unit and storage devices are called computer hardware.
● Computer software – Software are the programs or applications that run on computer. For
example, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, Operating systems, etc.

Computer hardware

The physical components of a computer system are called hardware. A computer basically consists of
following physical components:

● Input unit
● Processing unit
● Storage unit
● Auxiliary storage
● Output unit
The Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The Central Processing Unit is the brain of the computer system.

Functions of Central Processing Unit are:

● It controls the sequence of operations within the computer

● It gives commands to other parts of the computer
● It controls the use of main memory for storing data and instructions

It consists of the following main units:

● Arithmetic and Logic unit (ALU)

● Control Unit (CU)
● Main Memory Unit

Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)

All the calculations and comparisons are done in this unit.

The ALU performs all the following arithmetic operations:

● + (addition)
- (subtraction)
● *(multiplication)
● /(Division)
● ^(Exponent)

The ALU also performs the following logical operations:

● < (less than)

● <(greater than)
● <= (less than or equal to)
● >= (greater than or equal to)
♦ (not equal to)

Control Unit

The control unit controls the flow of data from the input devices to memory and from memory to
output devices. It does not process the data.

When the processing begins, the first instruction of the program is selected and fed into the control
section of the primary storage area. It is then interpreted there and then the signals are sent to other
components to perform the necessary action.

The next instruction, is then selected, interpreted, and executed. This is continued till all the
instructions are processed.

Registers

These are temporary storage areas found in CPU of modern computers.