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FUNDAMENTALS OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

TECHNOLOGY

DATA AND INFORMATION.

Data can be defined as the representation of facts, concepts or
instructions in the formalized manner, which should be suitable for
communication, interpretation or processing by human or electronic
machine.

Data is represented with the help of characters like Alphabets (A-Z, a-z),
digits (0-9) or special characters + - / * < > =? % etc.

According to a common view, data is collected and analyzed; data only

becomes information suitable for making decisions once it has been
analyzed in some fashion

Types of data
Computers represent data in the following types;
 Text
 Numbers
 Video
 Images
 Sounds
 Currency, symbols etc

Computers represent these types of data as binary values using patterns of

just two numbers: 1 and 0. A bit is the smallest unit of data, and represents
just a single value. A byte is eight binary digits long. Storage and memory is
measured in megabytes and gigabytes.

Data processing

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Data has no meaning until it is processed in some ways; this processing

could be calculation, sorting, interpreting, grouping, arranging, Manipulating
or organizing in certain way. The process of performing such operation is
called data processing that results to what is called information. Data
processing is the process of giving meaning to data.

Data processing cycle

Data processing cycle is the re structuring or re ordering of data by people or
machine to increase their usefulness and add values for particular purpose

Data processing consists of the following basic steps; input, processing and
output, these three steps constitute the so called data processing cycle.

INPUT; In this step the input data is prepared in some convenient form
for
Processing. The form will depend he processing machine
PROCESSING; In this step input data is changed to produce data in a
more
Useful form. Calculate, sort, interpret, group, arrange,
Manipulate, organize etc

OUTPUT; Here the results of the proceeding processing steps are

collected.
The particular form of the output data depends on the use of data.

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Information
Information is organized or classified data (processed) which has some
meaningful values for the receiver. Information is the processed data on
which decision and actions are based.

In terms of communication, information is expressed either as the content of

a message or through direct or indirect observation. That which is perceived
can be construed as a message in its own right, and in that sense,
information is always conveyed as the content of a message.

Information can be encoded into various forms for transmission and

interpretation (for example, information may be encoded into a sequence of
signs, or transmitted via a signal). It can also be encrypted for safe storage
and communication.

Information is stimuli that have meaning in some context for its receiver.
When information is entered into and stored in a computer, it is generally
referred to as data. After processing (such as formatting and printing),
output data can again be perceived as information.

For the decision to be meaningful, the processed data must qualify for the
following characteristics

Timely - information should be available when required.

Accuracy - information should be accurate.

Completeness - information should be complete.

Sources of information
Source of information is anything that can be used to provide information
about any desired issue, subject, topic or any matter. There are many
sources of information, among others are,

 Books
 Reference source (e.g. Encyclopedia)
 Articles
 Government publications
 Web documents
 E mails
 Radio and TV
 Movies
 Music

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Significance of information
Information has become a valuable resource, just as much as capital money
and people. Information is collected on any amount of different items and
used by managers, administrators or leaders to make strategic decisions.

Generally the significance/importance of information are as follows;

 To enhance decision making

 For effective budget and financial control
 For detailed analysis of various cases,
 Statistical information
 Public opinion
 Immediate coverage of the current issue
 Entertainment
 For general overview of a current event

When information is packaged or used for understanding or doing

something, it is known as knowledge

NOTE THAT; THE SOURCE OF INFORMATION IS THE WAY OF

DISSEMINATING INFORMATION.

Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity, awareness, or understanding of someone or
something, such as facts, information, descriptions, or skills, which is
acquired through experience or education by perceiving, discovering, or
learning.

Knowledge can refer to a theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.

It can be implicit (as with practical skill or expertise) or explicit (as with the
theoretical understanding of a subject); it can be more or less formal or
systematic

Relationship among data, information and

knowledge
Data, information and knowledge are closely related concepts, but each has
its own role in relation to the other, and each term has its own meaning.

Data is often assumed to be the least abstract concept, information the next
least, and knowledge the most abstract. In this view, data becomes

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information by interpretation; e.g., the height of Mount Everest is generally

considered "data", a book on Mount Everest geological characteristics may
be considered "information", and a climber's guidebook containing practical
information on the best way to reach Mount Everest's peak may be
considered "knowledge".

Information is the resolution of uncertainty; it is that which answers the

question of "what an entity is" and is thus that which specifies the nature of
that entity, as well as the essentiality of its properties. Information is
associated with data and knowledge, as data is meaningful information and
represents the values attributed to parameters, and knowledge signifies
understanding of an abstract or concrete concept.

Communication
Communication is the act of conveying meanings from one entity or group to
another through. Communication is thus a process by which meaning is
assigned and conveyed in an attempt to create shared understanding.

Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place

to another. It is this process by which information is exchanged between
individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior.

Communication is sharing our feelings, ideas and opinions with others. They
can be intellectual, personal, spoken or written in nature. It is two way
process, for example in spoken communication, we have speakers and
listeners, who send and receive verbal messages from each other. In written
communication, we have writers and readers, where as in visualization and
observation, the symbols and signs are included.

Communication motivates, informs, suggests, warns, orders, changes

behavior, and establishes better relationships to make interaction
meaningful and make oneself understood. Communication is effective when
communicator is effective enough to communicate competently, simply
clearly, sincerely and dynamically.

Communication can be termed succeful, when a listener or reader

understand, reacts, responds to this communication and slopes his/her
learning behavior. Communication is essential for close, sympathetic
relationships in the society and for transformation of men, material and
thought from one place to another.

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Communication is the process of transmitting information and common

understanding from one person to another.

Communication process

Encode Medium
Decode
Sender M
Message Receiver
Decode Noise
Encode

Common elements:
In every communication exchange are the sender and receiver:

1) The sender: initiates the communication.

2) The receiver: is the individual to who the message is sent.

Sender- encodes the idea by selecting words, symbols, or gestures

with which to compose a message.

Message,-is the outcome of the encoding, which takes the form of

verbal, non verbal, or written language.

 The message is sent through a medium or channel ,which

is the carrier of the communication, the medium can be a
face to face conversation, telephone call ,e –mall, or
written report.
 The receiver decodes the receiver message into
meaningful information.

Noise: is anything that distorts the message, Different perception of

the message, language barrier, interruption, emotions and attitudes are
examples of noise.

Feedback: Finally, feedback occurs when the receiver responds to the

sender’s messages and returns the message to the sender.Feedback
allows the sender to determine whether the message has been
received and understood.

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So:-

- The elements in the communication process determine the quality of

communication.
- A problem in any one of these elements can reduce communication
effectiveness.

Barrier to Effective communication:

*Four types of barriers are:-
1. Process barriers
2. Physical barriers
3. Semantic barriers
4. Psychological barriers.

Others writers, Says: Are –

 Culture, background and bias

 Noise
 Ourselves
 Perception
 messages
 environmental barrier
 smothering
 stress

Process Barriers.

a) Sender barrier: A new administrator with an innovative idea fails to

speak up at a meeting, chaired by superintendent for fear of criticism.
b) Encoding barrier: A Spanish speaking staff member cannot get an
English speaking administrator to understand a grievance about
working condition.
c) Medium barrier: A very upset staff member sends an emotionally
charged letter to the leader instead of transmitting her feelings face to
face.
d) Decoding barrier: An older principal is not sure what a young
department head means when he refers to a teacher as ‘’spaced out’’.
e) Receiver barrier: A school administrator who is pre occupied with
the preparation of the annual budget asks a staff member to repeat a

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statement because she was not listening attentively to the

conversation.
f) Feedback barrier: During a meeting the failure of school
administrator to ask any question causes the superintended to wonder
if any real understanding has taken place.

Physical Barriers

Any number of physical distractions can interfere with the effectiveness of

communication including a telephone call drop in visitor’s distances between
people wall and static on the radio.

Semantic Barriers

The words we choose how we use them and the meaning we attack of the
causes many communication barriers

The same word may mean different things to different people. Words
and phrases such as efficiency, increased productivity, management
prerogatives, and just causes may mean one thing to a school administrator
and something entirely different to a staff member.

Psychosocial Barriers

These important concept are associated with Psychosocial and social

barriers;-

a) Fields of experience
b) Filtering
c) Psychosocial distance

Field of Experience—includes people’s backgrounds, perceptions, values,

biases, needs and expectations.

Filtering—means that more often than not we see and hear what we are
emotionally turned in to see and hear which guide our listening.

Psychosocial Barriers—often involve a Psychosocial distances between

people that is similar to actual Physical distance.

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Successful communication by school administrator is the essence of a

productive school organization.

The following are the major areas where communication breakdowns most
frequently occur in school:-

i) Sincerity
ii) Empathy
iii) Self perception
iv) Role perception
v) Efforts to distort the message
vi) Images
vii) Vehicle for message
viii) Ability to communicate
ix) Listening ability
x) Culture
xi) Tradition
xii) Conditioning
xiii) Noise
xiv) Feedback

Categories of communication:
G.w.poter, divides non-verbal communication into four broad categories:-
1. Physical—includes facial expression tone of voice, sense of touch, sense of
smell and body motions.

2. Aesthetic—takes place through creative expressions e.g. playing

instrumental music, dancing painting and sculpturing.

3. Signs – is the mechanical type of communication includes the use of signal

flags the 21 gun salute, horns and sirens.

4. Symbols—Is the type of communication that makes use of religion, status

or ego-building symbols.

Static features in communication

1. Distance: one stands from another frequency convey a non verbal
message.
2. Body orientation; face-to-face ,side-to-side or back-to-back
3. Posture :using down, seated or standing
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4. Physical contact; shaking hands, touching, holding or punching all

covey messages.

Dynamic features in communication

1. Facial expression :- A smile frown, raised eye brow yawn and

sneer all convey information
2. Gestures
3. Looking

4. Signal speaking

Improving communication Effectiveness

Effective communication is a two way process that requires effort and

skills by both sender and receiver

a) Sender’s Responsibilities.
Administrators:-
i. Need to clarity their ideas before communicating
ii. Need to examine the true purpose of each communication
iii. Need to consider the total physical and human setting
iv. Need to consult with others when appropriate in planning
communications
v. Need to be mindful while communicating of the over tones
as well as the basic content of the message
vi. Need to take the opportunity when it arises to convey
soothing of help or value to the receiver
vii. Need to follow up their communication
viii. Need to communicate for tomorrow as well as today.
Administrators:
ix. Need to be sure that their action support their
communication
x. Need to be seek not only to be understood but to
understand be a good listener

Types of communication media

There are two forms of communication media

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Analogy: includes conventional radio, telephones and televisions

transmissions

Digital; computer-mediate communication, computer networking and

telegraphy

Most commonly used date communication media

Include:
 Wire pairs
 Coaxial cable
 Microwave transmission
 Communication satellites
 Fiber optics.

Types of communication
1. Verbal communication
2. Non-verbal/interpersonal communication
3. Written communication
4. Formal or informal
5. Visual communication

(b) Receiver Responsibilities

i. Stop talking
ii. Put the talker at case
iii. Show a talker that you want to listen
iv. Remove distractions
v. Empathize with talkers
vi. Be patient
vii. Hold your temper
viii. Go easy on argument and criticism
ix. Ask questions
x. Stop talking

Active listening

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There are five guidelines that can help school administrators to become
more active listeners’

1. Listening for message content

2. Listening for feelings
3. Respond for feeling
4. Note all cues , verbal and non verbal
5. Rephrase the sender message

Technology:
Technology—Refers to Tools and machines that may be used to solve
real word problems. It is a collection of techniques the current state of
human’s knowledge to solve problems, fulfill needs or satisfy wants, it
includes technical methods. Skills, processes, techniques, tools and raw
materials.

Additionally technology is the application of math’s, science and arts for the
benefit of life.

Information technology
-Is defined as any technology that helps to process, produce manage,
manipulate, store, communicate and /or disseminate information. It is the
study, design development implementation, support or management of
computer based information system, particularly software. It is collection of
technology that deal specifically with processing storing and communicating
information including all types of computer and communication systems

Communication technology
This is communication that let you chats with different people across the
world through an on- line services. It is communication that allows you to
access huge servers of the information on the virtually subject via computer
networks. Therefore in the communication technology you are provided with
a combination of communication, computers and networking.

Generally communication is the transfer of the information from one person

to another person, or device to another. Computer has proved to be effective

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tool for it. It is networking which make computer an effective communication

tool.

Networking is the group of devices linked together example network

oftelephones.radio network or cable network. The communication via
computer can be done at distance in a very short amount of time and in the
very low cost. In fact communicating via computers proves much cheaper
and economic as compared to communicating via telephone lines. This is the
because a normal telephones call ties up an expensive dedicated circuit ,the
duration of the call where by access via networks ties up long distance lines
only while data are actually being transmitted. Also data in any form be text,
pictures, sound, video, graphics and animation can be transmitted via
computer networks while the telephones lines are mainly used for sounds
and sometimes text transmission.

Components of the computer networks.

The three components of the computer networks are

1. Sender computer
2. Communication channel (cable)
3. Receiver computer

The communication channel

Is the medium which carries the message/information sent by sender
and take it to the receivers end. Cables (twisted pair or coaxial), optical
fibres, satellite etc are used as communication channel.
Therefore when computer is connected via telephone, the network
comprises of the five components which are
1. Sender computer
2. Sender equipment
3. Communication channel (telephone cables)
4. Receiver equipment
5. Receiver computer

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

TECHNOLOGY

Types of technologies for information and

communication
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a) Interactive whiteboards (IWB) is a large board that is normally

placed at the front of the classroom. It is connected to Pc and projector
and provides interactivity via a keyboard , mouse, pen, finger and
other peripheral devices
b) Mobile phones (Mobile-technology)
- Are an electronic, portable and wireless communication devices
- They communicate via voice calls, E-mails, Text messages, video,
picture messages, Bluetooth, intra-red and fax.
c) Video-conferencing technology
- Allows communication and collaboration with other people at almost
any location within the world.
d) Other technologies;
Are computers the internet and broadcasting technologies (Radio and
TV) as well as teleconferencing?

Benefit of ICT:
1. Speed of processing
2. Big storage capacity
3. Ability to search and combine data in many different
4. Instant response
5. Accurate result
6. Communication improvement
7. Improving development process

ICT in Education can be broadly categorized in the following ways as:-

 ICT as subject that is computer studies, computer science or IT

 ICT as tool to support traditional subject, that is computer based
learning, presentation , research, etc
 ICT as an administrator tool that is education management information
system. (EMIS)

Limitation of ICT:

1. Job loss among employees

2. New or redesigned accommodation may be needed for the setup
3. Faults in the software may mean the new system does not work as
planned or expected

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4. Inadequate hardware may lead to barrier in the flow of data around

organization, institution or country
5. Hard to extract information in the right form is expected.

Exercise:
1. What is the meaning of communication?
2. Mention the components of
a. Directly connected computer network
b. Computer network connected via telephone
3. What is the different between communication channels and
modern?
4. Explain the concept of Technology.
5. What is the difference between IT and ICT?
6. Mention different technologies that you know in ICT?

COMPUTER AND NETWORKS;

Computer architecture:

A computer is an electronic device, operating under the control of

instruction stored in its own memory that can accept data (input) process
the data according to specified rules ,produce information (output) and
store the information for the future use.

Functionalities of a computer of a computer;

Any digital computer carries our five functions in gross terms;

 Takes data as input

 Stores the data /instructions in its memory and use them when it is
required .
 Processes the data and converts it into useful information

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 Generates the output

 Controls all the above steps;

Computer components

Any kind of computer consists of hardware and software

HARDWARE

Is the collection of physical elements that constitutes a computer

system.

Computer hardware; refers to the physical parts or components of a

computer such as the

 Monitor
 Mouse
 Keyboard
 Computer data storage
 Hard drive disk (HDD)
 System unit
 Graphic card
 Sound cards
 Memory
 Motherboard and clips

NB; “all of which physical object that can be touched”

(A) INPUTE DEVICES.

Is a peripheral (piece of computer hardware equipment to provide data and

signal to any information processing system such as a computer or other
information appliances.

-Input devices translate data from form that humans understand to one
that the computer can work with (0’sα1’s).

-Most common input are keyboard and mouse.

-Others;

 keyboard
 mouse
 microphone
 touch screen

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 touch pads
 video capture hardware
 barcode reader
 game pads
 digital camera
 electronic white board
 light pen
 track balls
 joystick

NB: the most common use keyboard in the QWERTY keyboard has 104 keys.

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