Topic 8: Information Age: Learning Objectives
Topic 8: Information Age: Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Situation:
Imagine that you are at lost in the wilderness and there is a substitution cypher
(a method of encrypting message in which the letters of the original text are
systematically replaced by different alphabet) that you need to answer to solve
your dilemma.
A E F G I J K M N Q T X
B C D H L O P R S U V W Y Z
S T X A F G I J K N P Q
U V W Y Z B C D E H L M O R
Hint: This is the first thing that you will be doing when you are at lost
Answer: __________________________________
Presentation of Contents
Information Age is the period starting in the last quarter of the 20th century when
information became effortlessly accessible through publication and through the
management of information by computers and computer networks. It is a true
new age based upon the interconnection of computers via telecommunications,
with these systems operating on both real-time and as needed basis- Theory of
Information Age (Messenger, 1982).
Before it has reached its current state, constant change has taken place in the
form of information revolution. By 1960’s to 1970’s, rapid growth of
information resulted to difficulty in collecting and managing them1980’s there
was Information Anxiety (Richard Wurman). In 1990’s, information became
the currency of the business world. At present, information turned out to be a
commodity, an over developed product, mass produced and unspecialized.
Robert Harris has outlined the truths about Information Age. He described it
as follows
Accessibility of information was made faster and easier with the aid of
computer. One of the significant applications of computers for science and
research is evident in the field of bioinformatics. Bioinformatics is the
application of information technology to store, organize and analyze vast
amount of biological data which is available in the form sequences and
structures of proteins – the building blocks of organisms and nucleic acids- the
information carrier (Madan, n.d.) Such was established because of the need to
create databases of biological sequences. Application includes the Human
Genome Project, Pharmacogenomics Drug Discovery, Gene Finder and
Annotator.
Application
Activity 1
Arrange the photos chronologically by writing numbers 1-12 below each photo
and explain the manner by which information is being acquired, stored,
retrieved and utilized.
Activity 2
Feedback
Create a poster on the advantages and disadvantages of Technology.