Information and Communication Technology .. Its Stages of Development .. and Areas of Use

 Written by Dina Mahmoud

The Concept of Information and Communication Technology

 Information and Communication Technology and its importance are simply defined in its simplest form as an electronic means of creating, storing, processing, receiving and sending information from one place to another. It makes the delivery of messages faster, more convenient, easier to access, understand and interpret.

It uses tools such as mobile phones, the Internet, wireless network, computer, radio, television, satellites and base stations. These resources are used to create, store, transmit, transfer and manage information.

Uses and Applications of Information and Communication Technology

• Information and Communication Technology in Entertainment

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has affected entertainment and leisure activities in different ways that you spend your time. Information and Communication Technology offers a variety of entertainment activities and allows quick access to movies or music that can be easily accessed. You can watch movies and listen to music directly from the Internet.

Information and Communication Technology adds more interactive technologies to television programs, and digital cameras, printers and scanners have enabled more people to experience image production, in addition to developing graphic interfaces.

• Information and Communication Technology in Medical Sciences

Modern medical devices and equipment have evolved greatly in favor of information and communication technology, and are associated with the devices, resources and tools needed to improve the acquisition, retrieval, storage and use of information in health and biomedicine.

 Therefore, we find that most of the medical devices currently available depend on information and communication technology in the way they are used, detected and treated.

 Health informatics tools include formal medical terminology, clinical guidelines, computers, information and communication systems.

• Information and Communication Technology in Finance

 Information and Communication Technology is used daily by financial companies, trading financial instruments, reporting company profits, and maintaining records of personal budgets.

 Information and Communication Technology allows for the rapid calculation of financial data and provides financial services companies with strategic and innovative advantages in addition to the electronic transfer of funds, through the use of credit cards or e-commerce, which includes online purchases and payments, etc.

 Information and Communication Technology helps in dealing with security concerns, legal issues and access to global markets.

• Information and Communication Technology in Public Sector Management

 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is used to facilitate more convenient government services, make government more transparent and accountable to citizens, and promote a more efficient and cost-effective government.

ICT provides greater public access to information and creates opportunities for public administration that require meeting many economic, financial, structural and legal conditions.

 It also allows people to perform many different activities, such as: paying bills or renewing official documents such as driving licenses and others online.

• ICT in Home Electronics

 The use of ICT in home electronics is developing rapidly, and equipment is used to increase access to home care, as it has become possible to manage the home through a system that controls lighting, home security, air conditioning, etc.

• ICT in Education

 ICT contributes significantly to education because it improves the way of teaching and provides a better learning environment, through the use of computers, tablets, data displays, interactive electronic boards, etc. in the process of delivering information to students.

 UNESCO follows a comprehensive educational system enhanced by ICT, focusing on the main challenges in joint work in the field of communications, information, science and education.

• ICT in Agriculture

 ICT in agriculture helps in the growing demand for new methods and focuses on promoting agricultural and rural development by improving information and communication processes.

It also helps in empowering rural people by providing better agricultural techniques, improved access to natural resources, effective production strategies, digital marketing strategies for agribusiness, financial services and many more.

• ICT in Business

 The use of ICT is very important for businesses to create secure and hassle-free communication flow and to meet daily operational tasks.

 Its tools help businesses analyze, store, process and share huge amounts of data and make better use of products and resources, and also help in improving profitability, reducing costs compared to manual tasks and reducing lead times.

 ICT systems allow managers and employees to make decisions quickly and accurately so that they can effectively manage the daily operations and activities process and quickly predict business opportunities or threats. 

• ICT Jobs

 In the field of ICT, the following jobs can be done:

• Manager: The position of manager is one of the important jobs that rely heavily on ICT.

• Developer Analyst: The person who designs information systems and learns how to upgrade software and how hardware works.

• Engineer: The person who can work on software to develop and implement software and applications for the system.

  Importance of Information and Communication Technology

• It creates an analytical mind in students that helps them study and provide solutions to emerging problems from all relevant fields using it as an educational tool.

• Being an emerging academic field of study, it helps students to be innovative and develop new ways to solve problems scientifically.

• It makes storing and retrieving information easy.

• It enhances computer networks known globally today as the Internet and Intranet.

• It accelerates economic development at the national level as it is a strong source of national income for all countries that have fully embraced its benefit.

• It creates income generating jobs, hence it is a vital source of livelihood.

• It makes understanding other subjects easy, almost all areas of learning are amenable to the use of ICT such as the application of projector for teaching in the classroom.

• It creates a scope for the exchange of ideas and inventions among IT scientists locally and internationally.

• It is the foundation of e-learning and online library, hence dissemination of information has become easier than ever before.

• It is central to globalization in all its ramifications and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals as agreed by the United Nations in 2000.

• It is used in various offices for proper documentation of official activities and administration.

• ICT faces a number of challenges that characterize an emerging field, some of the challenges are as follows:

• Expensive ICT materials: The materials required for practical knowledge of ICT especially at the advanced level are expensive such as computer, projector, internet device etc.

• Highly technical and practical driven: It is technically driven, it requires a great deal of logic and analytical thinking for deep understanding and application.

• Poor concept orientation: The first challenge in adopting ICT as a field of study for students who have no prior orientation from their basic education is rapid assimilation.

• Underdevelopment: ICT is a global concept and for an e-cigarette shop to have up-to-date knowledge on the subject, there must necessarily be technological development at the national level at least a well-established global information link on the subject, many countries have not yet achieved this.

• Global acceptance as a compulsory field of study: This subject has not been fully embraced by all cradle-to-cradle learning institutions worldwide, although it is now compulsory at the secondary school level in some countries, unless there is a solid foundation and love for the subject it may take some time for everyone to comply with the global Millennium Development Goals.

• Hijacking by unscrupulous persons: Information and communication technology is being used by some people for evil purposes such as cybercrimes and malware that can cause serious damage to computers and similar gadgets.