Lesson 1: What is Information and Communications

Technology?
Objectives:
By the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
1. Identify varied online platforms and sites.
2. Compare and contrast the nuances of varied online platforms, sites, and content to best
achieve specific class objectives or address situational challenges.
3. Evaluate existing online creation tools, platforms and applications in developing ICT
content

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) often deals with the use of different
technologies such as mobile phones, telephones, computer, Internet, and other devices, as well
as software and applications to locate, save, send, and manipulate information. Empowering ICT
is important for its innovative uses impacts our daily lives. It has affected our ways of
communicating, made our lives more convenient, and assisted countries towards their
modernization plans. Thus, there is a need to create a foundation of understanding in the world
of ICT.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) often deals with the use of different
technological inventions like mobile phones, telephones, computer, Internet, and other devices,
as well as software and applications to locate, save, send, and manipulate information. ICT has
greatly contributed to how easy our lives has been today. Our gadgets have become part of our
necessity that we check on them after we wake up. It made communication easier. We can use
cellular phones that are designed for communicating with other people even they are miles
away from us. It has also assisted us in our work since there are Internet-based jobs. It has
revolutionized our education and in the modernization of our economy.

ICT in the Philippines

Philippines is dub as the “ICT Hub of Asia” because of huge growth of ICT- related jobs, one of
which is BPO, Business Process Outsourcing, or call centers. In a data gathered by the Annual
Survey of Philippines Business and Industries in 2010, the ICT industry shares 19.3% of the
total employment population.
When the internet was fully commercialized in 1995, it has tremendously impacted culture and
commerce, including the rise of near instant communication by email, instant messaging,
telephony (Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP), two-way interactive video calls, and the World
Wide Web with its discussion forums, blogs, social networking, and online shopping sites.
Internet is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet
protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices.

The World Wide Web

The World Wide Web is an information system on the Internet that allows documents to be
connected to other documents by hypertext links, enabling the user to search for information by
moving from one document to another. It was invented by Tim-Berners Lee. The World Wide
Web browser software, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer/Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Opera,
Apple's Safari, and Google Chrome, let users navigate from one web page to another via the
hyperlinks embedded in the documents. These documents may also contain any combination of
computer data, including graphics, sounds, text, video, multimedia and interactive content that
runs while the user is interacting with the page. The Web has enabled individuals and
organizations to publish ideas and information to a potentially large audience online at greatly
reduced expense and time delay.

Types of Web Pages

• Web 1.0 or The Web. It is the first stage of the World Wide Web evolution. It is
a flat or stationary page since it cannot be manipulated by the user.
• Web 2.0 or The Social Web allows users to interact with the page, the user
may be able to comment or create a user account. Most website that we visit
today are Web 2.0.
• Web 3.0 or Semantic Web. The semantic web provides a framework that
allows data to be shared and reuse to deliver web content specifically targeting
the user. Search Engine will learn about you and your habits from each search
you perform and will gather details about you from your previous activities like
likes and social postings and present the answers as per your preferences.

Below is a comparison of Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0:

CRITERIA WEB 1.0 WEB 2.0 WEB 3.0

Communication Broadcast Interactive Engaged/ Invested
Information Static/ Read-only Dynamic Portable & Personal
Focus Organization Community Individual
Content Ownership Sharing Immersion
Interaction Web Forms Web Application Smart Applications
Search Directories Tags/ Keywords Context/ Relevance
Metrics Page Views Cost per Click User Engagement
Advertising Banners Interactive Behavioral
Technologies HTML/ FTP Flash/ Java/ XML RDF/ RDFS/ OWL
Features of Web 2.0

FEATURES WEB 2.0

FOLKSONOMY allows users to collectively classify and find information using
freely chosen keywords (e.g. "tagging" by facebook). Tagging
uses the pound sign #, often referred to as hastag.
 RICH USER dynamic content that is responsive to user input (e.g., a user
EXPERIENCE can "click" on an image to enlarge it or find out more
information)
USER the owner of website is not the only one who is able to put
PARTICIPATION content. Others are able to place a content on their own by
means of comments, reviews, and evaluation.
LONG TAIL services that are offered on demand rather than on a one-time
purchase. This is synonymous to subscribing to a data plan that
charges you for the amount of time you spent in the Internet, or
a data plan that charges you for the amount of bandwidth you
used.
SOFTWARE AS users will subscribe to a software only when needed rather
A SERVICE than purchasing them.

Lesson 1.1: Online Platforms and Sites

Because of the wide capacity of Web 2.0, it has helped in creating dynamic
online platform sites. Online platform is a specially developed platform using Internet
technology. Online platforms have revolutionized access to any information. Online
platforms currently include, but are not limited to:

Presentation or Visualization
Cloud Computing

File Management
Mapping

Social Media

Let us go through them one by one!

1. Presentation or Visualization Platform allows you to present and share
presentations, infographics and videos with other people. It is used to
communicate information clearly and efficiently.
2. Cloud Computing Platform is also called as “The cloud.” It is the practice of
using a network of remote servers hosted on the internet. Instead of using your
computer’s hard drive, you store and access your data and programs over the
Internet.
3. File Management Platform is used for the storing, naming, sorting, and
handling of computer files. Allows you to convert and manage files without
download in the software tool.
4. Mapping Platform is a transformation taking the points of one space into the
 points of the same or another space. Uses GPS to detect location and used for
navigation.
5. Social Media Platform is a computer-mediated tools that allow large group of
people to create, share or exchange information, interest and the information
shared can be in the form of ideas, pictures, videos or anything that you want
to create and share to virtual communities. It can be in the following platforms:

Social Networks. These sites allow you to connect with other people
with the same interests or background.

Bookmarking Sites. These are sites that allow you to store and
manage links to various websites and resources.

Social News. These are sites that allow users to post their own news
items or links to other news sources.

Media Sharing. These are sites that allow you to upload and share
media content like images, music, and video. Media sharing sites
can be specific for video sharing, photo sharing, slide sharing, social
bookmarking, and gaming.

Microblogging. These are sites that focus on short updates from

the user. Those subscribed to the user will be able to receive these
updates. Posts are brief that range typically from 140 – 200
characters.

Blogs and Forums. These are websites that allow users to post their
content. Other users can comment on the said topic.