1. Potential of ICT

Answer in brief

i. Define Information Communication Technology.

Ans -> The term Information and Communication Technologies  refers forms of technology that are used to transmit, process, store,  create, display, share or exchange information by electronic means. ICT include such technologies as radio, television, video, DVD, telephone, satellite systems and computer and hardware and software as well as equipment and services associated with these technologies such as video conferencing, email , blogs, etc.

The six elements of ICT are  (1) People, (2) Information,(3) Communication, (4) Procedure, (5) Hardware, (6) Software.

ii. Define information highway.

Ans -> The information superhighway is an ever-growing global information and communication network of fibre optic cables that links computer and other communication networks, such as telephone networks, cable television networks and satellite communication networks.

       Information as well as audio and video services are available through the Internet. All types of information are digitalized and packetted before transmission over the Internet, each packet contains packet routing and assembly instructions called protocols. The protocols give the destination, return address and how the receiving computer can rearrange packets back in to the original information.

iii. Define Knowledge society.

Ans -> The term knowledge society generally refers to a society where knowledge is the primary production resource instead of capital and labour. A knowledge society creates, share and uses knowledge for the prosperity and well-being of its people.

iv. Write two roles of educator to promote literacy.

Ans -> The key ways in which educators will need to mentor and guide learners in ICT environment are as follows:

·         Planner - Proper planning and execution is necessary to ensure that future generation is equipped with the skills to derive maximum benefit from the use of ICT.

·         Teaching - Students should experience computer aided teaching.  Students should also have the opportunity to use various software in practical class and do assignment for effective learning.

·         Examiner – With the help of ICT, tutorial assignments and test papers as well as their results, can be posted online.

Answer the following questions.

i. Explain the scope of ICT

Ans ->  Education is a lifelong activity ICT enables flexible learning environment.  The advantages of ICT in education are as follows.

*  The world wide web (WWW) is a vast collection of knowledge, Even a villager can search WWW for the latest information, reference books, teaching techniques, information about curriculum and text books, etc are readily available on the Internet.

*  Open universities, distance education resources through ICT are the new avenues for employed people to acquire knowledge. ICT enables learning anywhere anytime with an economic manner.

*  Television is one of the best communication mediums to educate students, farmers etc. TV showing video clips of  difficult experiments or advanced surgical methods, innovative agricultural procedures etc.

*  Educational Cds, DVDs help students from kindergarten (KG) to postgraduate (PG)

*  LCD projectors can be used for computer aided teaching and interactive learning in the classroom.

*  Online examinations and tests will solve problems, such as availability of personnel, human mistakes etc.

ii. Explain knowledge society for ICT, education and development.

Ans -> Knowledge has replaced industrial organization and production as the major source of productivity. Knowledge society, where knowledge is the primary production resource instead of capital and labour. Globalization and the changing world economy are driving a transition to knowledge based economic growths.

     Education is very important in the knowledge society.  It is seen as (i) a source of basic skills, (ii) foundation for development of new knowledge and innovation, and (iii) A mechanism for socio-economic development.

     ICT is the enabler for both innovation and education-with our which a knowledge society cannot be realized, supported or further developed.

iii. What are challenging skill requirements?

Ans ->  Because of computerisation and globalisation, the labour force need  to be higher skilled and information literate. Thus education systems need to emphasise developing the following key skills.

1.  Basic skills:  Teaching advanced skills must be preceded by a strong foundation of basic reading writing and mathematics.

(a)  Reading - As computer technology and increased global competition accelerate the rate of economic change the need for reading has increased correspondingly.

(b)  Writing - Effective and repaid information exchange through documentation or emails requires the ability to write clearly and persuasively.

(c) Mathematics - Computers have transformed concrete processes in to numerical abstractions.  The use of these abstract models now pervades many jobs and has turned many people into mathematics consumers.

2.  Advanced skills:  These involve tasks that cannot be accomplished by following a set of rules and, therefore, cannot be computerised.

(a)  Expert thinking involves information processing to solve problems for which there are no rule-based solution and must be solved through understanding of the underlying relationships.

(b)  The skill of complex communication involves social interactions to acquire information, explaining and making effective arguments.

iv. Explain the transformative impact of ICT.
Ans-> ICTs are able to reach students in any place at any time. This has a potential to promote revolutionary changes in the traditional educational model.

* 1.A school may adopt a dual shift system. Students will attend school for half a day and spend the other half in educational activities at home, in a library, or in any other unconventional setting.

* 2. ICT can provide courses for small rural or urban schools to teach mathematics, science and foreign languages through multimedia CDs or online.

* 3. Teachers can use radio, TV or online instruction and multimedia materials for teaching among several schools.

* 4. With the help of ICT, experts from distant cities can teach the online courses.

* 5. ICT can make multi-grade schools viable in areas with low population density. Teacher can attend certain students for individual attention and other students can listen to educational program or interact with multimedia computer software.