Chapter 4: ICT - Definition and Evolution

1. Definition
Set of tools and technology resources for transmitting, recording, creating, sharing
or exchanging information including computers, the internet (websites, blogs and e-
mail), live streaming technologies and devices (radio, television and Internet
broadcasting) and offline (podcasts, audio and video players and recording media) and
telephony (fixed or mobile, satellite, videoconferencing, etc.).

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become an integral

part of everyday life in households and are gradually providing a wider access to
cultural goods and services. With the trend of falling prices for digital equipment
(computer, public electronics, internet subscription) and the rise of broadband, the
rapid multiplication of new equipment functionalities, their dissemination and use have
intensified and become more democratic, even though their uses still depend on the
level of education, income and age of users. However, the digital divide is narrowing
as digital convergence progresses: thanks to higher speeds, access to cultural content
(radio and television programs, press, music, etc.) is expanding as high definition and
mobile internet emerge with the new generation of equipment (TV, electronic
wallet...). Each time, the supply connection demand for cultural goods is a central
factor in the deployment of ICTs, their diffusion and their uses.
2. Activities using ICT.
1. Match
Prepare a message locally and then send it to others. They respond and the
exchange continues.
2. Competition
Register in advance, perform an activity locally. Submit completed work on
time, receive evaluation.
3. Learn - Understand
Find resources on the web and then exploit them locally (gather information
and synthesize it)
4. Pooling
Create a local document, add it to a similar work set, and form a centralized
collection. (Collect-share-compose)
5. Passing of the baton
Perform an activity locally, report on that activity and send it to others for
them to do the same or continue.
6. Accompany
Virtually follow others who are making a geographic or cognitive
journey, possibly exchanging with them
7. Collaborate
Working together with others remotely to create an object/ document
3. ICT Assessment
The advent of the Internet and mainly the Web as mass media and the success of
blogs, wikis or peer-to-peer technologies give ICTs a societal dimension. - ICT is also
referred to as “new information and communication technologies” (ICT), a term used
in the 1990s to differentiate Internet-based technologies from traditional means of
telecommunications. - Moreover, these technologies are not really new anymore,
given the speed of ICT evolution, hence the name ICT. - Corresponding English
acronyms are IT, for “Information Technology” and NICT, for “New Information and
Communication Technology/Technologies”

4. Technologies
ICT is a set of resources needed to manipulate information, especially the
computers, programs and networks required to convert, store, manage, transmit and
retrieve it. ICT can be grouped into the following sectors:
Computer equipment, servers, computer hardware (PC, printer, switch...);
Microelectronics and components (transistor, diode, integrated circuit...);
Telecommunications and computer networks;
Multimedia;
Computer services and software
Electronic commerce and electronic media.
 5. Convergence of technologies
Communication technologies include techniques, tools and methods used to
facilitate communications. Information technology includes the techniques, tools and
methods used to create, record, modify and display the content communicated. These
two types of technologies were developed separately until the 1970s, when
information technology began to be applied to the telecommunications network. The
term “information and communication technologies” (ICT) was adopted to reflect the
convergence of these two types of technologies and associated industries. The
emergence of ICTs is due in particular to the convergence of computer,
telecommunications and audiovisual technologies.
Example 1: the computer that offers voice in addition to text and graphics,
cell phones that allow you to receive text and graphics in addition to voice.
Example 2: A personal computer was used primarily for word processing
and spreadsheet calculations. Then in the 1990s, it was also used for e-mail and slide
presentations. So a computer was clearly computer equipment. But with digital
convergence, a personal computer is becoming a basic tool for the audiovisual and
multimedia field. It may be:
➢ A telephone terminal with Voice over IP service.
➢ A video communication terminal (Skype, Messenger.)
➢ A television screen to receive online or catch-up programming.
➢ A screen to view photos or videos from user-generated service platforms
(Instagram, YouTube, etc.).
➢ A tool to edit movies from a set of videos taken with your camcorder or
smartphone.
6. Areas of ICT application
ICT plays a major role in the competitiveness of enterprises and in
the efficiency of public administrations and services (health, education, security). ICT
has also become a crucial issue for the production and dissemination of cultural goods.
These technologies present themselves as a necessity in the context of society where
rapid changes, increasing knowledge and demands for constantly updated high-level
education are becoming an ongoing requirement. This applies to almost all areas of
our company whose main areas of application are:
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Administration and governance;
✓
Education;
✓
Training;
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Health;
✓
Commerce: Websites can be used to make online purchases;
✓
Geolocation;
✓
Transport: electronic ticketing and online booking;
✓
The environment;
7. Communication tools
Delayed exchanges (or asynchronous): not requiring the interlocutors to be
available at the same time
❖
E-mail is a very simple way to exchange information with one or more people.
An email is intended to transmit written information that may contain attached
files (images, videos...).
❖
Social media and networks: social media and networks such as Twitter or
Facebook to exchange information with a community of people. For some of
them, there is a public part as well as a private part where the information
published may be different.
❖
The forums allow for exchange between people in the form of
questions/answers. This tool allows the development of a very useful
knowledge base by theme for a community sharing the same needs.
In addition to the web tools, there are also

• SMS: these are mini-messages that can be sent to mobile phones. Their main
advantage is that they allow information to be exchanged quickly from any
location.
• Fax: very well known, fax is still a widely used means of sending important
administrative documents. Instant (or synchronous) exchanges: the
interlocutors are available at the same time
• The telephone: originally transported on totally separate network
infrastructures (switched telephone network, ISDN...), the telephone is
gradually integrated into computer networks and the border between voice over
IP, from a computer with tools such as Skype, and traditional telephony is
gradually disappearing.
• Instant messaging: also known as «chat», it allows you to communicate in writing
between one or more people. The dialogue is interactive.
These systems (IRC, MSN, Skype...) work on a computer but also on the latest
generation phones. Some applications also allow you to talk or see each other.
• Audio conferencing: this technology allows for oral exchange with one or
more people. It is easy to use and has the advantage of
 to operate without too many technical constraints. Audio conferencing can be
done both by phone and computer.
• Video conferencing: this device allows a visual exchange with one or more
interlocutors. It is very convenient to exchange with people geographically
distant. More resource-intensive than audio conferencing, it requires a higher
speed and therefore a better internet connection or an expensive dedicated link.