The Vital Role of ICT in the Dissemination of Information During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The history of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) started way back in the year
1970s, but its basic concept can be traced back to World War II, where it became a vital tool in the
defensive and offensive strategies of all the countries involved. ICT has evolved so much since then, and
now, it became a part of our daily living—we can see it everywhere and we use it every day.
With the COVID-19 pandemic that we are experiencing today, ICT has only further proven how
vital its role is. First is when the news about a new virus has circulated, ICT was the one who helped
disseminate the information to the public through different broadcasting means such as; television, radio,
and the internet. This helped the countries to come up with a solution to slow down the spread of the said
virus, several countries banned flights in and out of the country and some undergone a lockdown period,
and our country, the Philippines, is one of them. With the restrictions on the movement of people and
business operations, ICT played a crucial role in providing means for working and studying at home. Our
education system was forced to implement a new teaching system which is online classes. And in
compliance with the social-distancing measures set by the government, the demand for electronic
payment for services such as food delivery increased, especially since the use of physical money has been
identified as another medium for the spread of viruses and bacteria.
The implementation of online classes used ICT as its avenue to distribute the lessons of the
teachers to the students. A variety of internet-based videoconferencing platforms such as Google Meet,
Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Discord are used as an alternative to a physical classroom. These platforms
are supported by technologies such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops. It allows teachers to
quickly and easily produce and modify resources. These platforms are also used to communicate despite
the distance and time. And for more effective teaching and learning to happen, there is an option to “share
your screen” where the teacher and students can see each other’s screen to check if the lesson is clear.
Another way to share and disseminate lectures is through a pre-recorded or recorded video discussion,
this allows the learning materials to be accessed anytime and even repeatedly if the students want to.
When the lesson is unclear, we can use Google and YouTube, for additional information to help us
understand the topic more.
The role of information communication technology (ICT) tools helps fill in the gaps and establish
equal access to high-quality learning and information dissemination, across the world during these trying
times. ICT also helps lessen the adverse effects that the pandemic bought not just on the people but also
on the economy. Overall, I can say that our development in ICT has come a  long way and there is still
a long journey ahead, and with the pandemic that we are facing today, it has helped us in transitioning the
nation to the ‘new normal’.