TRANSCRIPTS
Transcripts
Unit 1, Lesson 2, Exercise B ≤1.1 Part 1
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the ICT faculty. I want to start by asking a simple question. What do the letters I-C-T stand for? That’s a very simple question, isn't it? We all know the answer, don’t we? Information and Communication Technology. But what is ICT about?
Well, if you ask most people to explain ICT to you, they will probably say it means ‘computers’. So if I use my computer to play a game of Solitaire, is that ICT? Not really. It uses a computer, certainly, and computers are often found in an ICT environment, but a computer is a component rather than the whole system. It’s an important component, as it’s the part that processes data. But ICT is more than just using computers.
Perhaps if we look at the intrinsic meaning of the three words that make up Information and Communication Technology – three words that are used separately and together on an everyday basis – we might get closer to understanding.
Unit 1, Lesson 2, Exercise C ≤1.2
Part 2 Many words have an intrinsic, or basic, meaning. We might use the same word in different situations with different surface meanings, but the intrinsic meaning remains the same. Let’s take an example, the word virus. It comes from the Latin word for poison and means a small organism that causes disease, and sometimes death, in living things. Is there any connection between that definition and the way that the word is used in ICT? Well, yes, there is. A computer virus is a program or a piece of code that stops a computer working normally. So we can easily see the link here.
As we learn our first language, we also acquire a feeling for the basic meaning of words. This helps us to understand the same word when it’s used in a new context. So when we’re learning another language, we have to remember to look for the basic meaning of a word because the direct translation in one context may not be the correct translation in another. For example, can you use the word in your language for driver in the context of printer driver, meaning the program routine which enables a computer to use a printer? The ability to look for the basic meaning
of words is especially important in the field of ICT, which is evolving on a daily basis and needs new words to describe new concepts, methods and applications.
Knowing the intrinsic meaning of a word might
not help you to understand the exact meaning when you come across the word in a new context, but it can be a good guide. Let’s have another look at the word virus. You may know the word because you were ill and the doctor told you that you had a virus. However, even someone who doesn’t use computers, or knows nothing at all about computer programs, can guess that when someone says ‘My computer’s got a virus,’ it isn’t a positive thing.
Unit 1, Lesson 2, Exercise D ≤1.3
Part 3 Let me go back to my original question: What is ICT? Well, let’s take some time to think about how and when we use ICT. ICT plays a huge part in all aspects of our lives. We use it at home, in schools and universities, and in hospitals. Most modern- day business and commerce couldn’t function without some form of ICT, and industry is becoming increasingly dependent on information and communication technology to produce goods.
So what is the connection between a car assembly line, an accountancy software package, a computer game, or using the Internet to research an essay you have to write for me, or sending a text message to your friend to arrange a game of football? How do we use these examples to define ICT?
Unit 1, Lesson 2, Exercise E ≤1.4
Part 4 Let’s look at the intrinsic meaning of our original three words: information, communication and technology. OK. Technology means the tools and machines we use to solve problems or do things efficiently. Information refers to facts about someone or something. In the context of ICT, information is data that is input, stored, processed or transmitted. That information can be represented in different forms, for example as a list, a text document, a spreadsheet, a picture, or an audio or video file. So what sort of information are we talking about? Well, examples include patient records on a hospital database, a web
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