Introduction TO ICT - Lecture notes

Information Communication Technology (University of Nairobi)

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INTRODUCTION TO ICT

ICT or information and communications technology (or technologies), is the infrastructure and
components that enable modern computing.

ICT means all devices, networking components, applications and systems that combined allow
people and organizations (i.e., businesses, nonprofit agencies, governments and criminal
enterprises) to interact in the digital world

USES OF ICT

In education

There are three general approaches to the instructional use of computers and the Internet,
namely:

• Learning about computers and the Internet, in which technological literacy is the end
goal;

• Learning with computers and the Internet, in which the technology facilitates learning
across the curriculum; and

• Learning through computers and the Internet, integrating technological skills

development with curriculum applications.
• use for doing different kind of research

In health sector

In this Digital era, people can easily seek, access, learn & communicate with others within a
quick span of time. This makes education accessible, available and open to all. Health education
creates awareness among the public about the communicable diseases, health status, prevention
measures and various current diagnostic & therapeutic procedures. This gives a freedom to the
people to choose the best hospitals and doctors to approach for treatment and to have their life in
a healthy way.

ICT helps the Hospital management to lead the organization in a successful way. This helps the
management to overcome the challenges faced by the Hospital. ICT helps the management to
improve the patient safety and satisfaction, get updated to the latest technology, have a
knowledge on population health & statistics and keep a note on the government mandates on
track. Primarily, the workplace can be strengthened.

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ICT in healthcare research helps in finding the possible prevention measures to eradicate and
reduce the spread of diseases. We can find new technology in diagnosis which reduces the time
and cost. This saves the lives of many individuals by providing treatment in advance. Through
ICT, the traditional healthcare systems can be eliminated and new models can be formed for
effective quality care.

The fundamental use of ICT in Hospital is for electronic storage of medical data. This helps to
retrieve the information easily. Through ICT the data can be transferred to the patient or to the
Doctors for consultation. The patient can have medical records in hand which can be used
anywhere, anytime.

Information & Communication Technology offers various ways to improvise the Healthcare
system. The healthcare field has to use ICT more intelligently to bring in more changes and
elevate the healthcare to a much higher level which is important for the country’s development.

In the business sector

Storage

You may already use a computer for data storage for your business. Inventory, sales, receivables
and payables stored in Excel, Open Office or a similar program keeps these figures at your
fingertips. Accounting software stores your payroll information, tax records and specialized data
for your business. Once you’re acquainted with a program, you won’t know how you functioned
without it. You can eliminate much of the physical storage at the office by using information
technology to scan and store old personnel and payroll files, tax files or client files. You may
need less square footage with information technology.

Marketing

Large and small businesses are on a level playing field on the Internet. You can have a Web
presence, take orders, buy merchandise, sell excess or even operate some businesses entirely
online. A marketing tool that uses information technology is the Quick Response or QR Code
that looks like a bar code but is square. A scan advertises your website address and includes any
text you choose. You can use your business management skills to direct employees or contractors
to do your Internet marketing, or you can choose to learn a new set of skills in information
technology.

Information

Whether you learned business management by the book or by practical experience, you’ll need
updates all of your life. The Internet is a wealth of information to keep you current with trends,
techniques, software and human resources. You can draw on online databases and websites to

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locate potential employees, compare insurance proposals, tackle employee issues or check out
the competition. Managing your business with information gleaned from the Internet keeps you
knowledgeable and on the cutting edge.

Communication

Communication by email is faster and costs less than sending a paper letter in the mail. You can
transform your business to the 21st century with the use of email for communication with clients
or customers. Information technology allows you to organize email file folders by client or by
type of communication, such as orders or billing. You can drag and drop your email files to
closed folders as your company completes projects. Your communication files become closed
files, placed in storage on CD or on a hard drive with a duplicate copy or backup automated by a
program or service.

Uses of ict in military

Weapons engineering is the design, development, testing and lifecycle management of military
weapons and systems. It draws on the knowledge of several traditional engineering disciplines,
including mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mechatronics, electro-optics, aerospace
engineering, materials engineering, and chemical engineering.

Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of engineering and science that includes mechanical

engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, and others. Robotics deals with the design,
construction, operation, and use of robots, as well as computer systems for their control, sensory
feedback, and information processing.

Uses of ict in government

ICTs also play a critical role in speeding up the flow of information and knowledge between
government and citizens and transforming the way in which governments and citizens interact.

E-government is the use of ICT to promote more efficient and effective government, facilitate
more accessible government services, allow greater public access to information, and make
government more accountable to citizens. E-government has emerged beyond electronic service
delivery and is part of the ongoing reform and transformation of government enabling
participatory governance and partnerships to improve efficiency and effectiveness

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Uses of ICT in entertainment

Computer games, downloading music, shooting videos and pictures etc

ICT equipment used in organizations

1. Computers

2. Photocopiers

3. Telephone

4. Fax machines

5. Printers

6. Scanners

Impact of ict in society

Positive and negative impact of ICT on society

Positive impacts:

A.) Faster communication speed

• – In the past, it took a long time for any news or messages to be send. Now with the
internet, news or messages are sent via

• e-mail to friends,business partner or anyone efficiently.

• – with the capability of bandwith, broadband and connection speed on the internet, any
information can travel fast at an instant. It saves time and is inexpansive

B.) Lower Communication Cost

• – Using the internet is cost-effective than the other mode of communication than the
other mode of communication such as telephone, mailing.It allows people to have access
to large amounts of data at a very low cost.

• – With the internet we do not have to pay for any basic services provided by the internet.
Furthermore, the cost of connection to the internet is relatively cheap.

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C.) Paperless environment

• – ICT technology has created the term paperless environment. This term means
information can be stored and retrieved through the digital medium instead of paper.
Online communication via email, online chat and instant messages also helps in creating
the paperless environment.

D.) Effective Sharing of Information

• – People can share and exchange opinions, news and information through discussion
groups, mailing list and forums on the internet. This enable knowledge sharing which
will contribute to the development of a knowledge based society

Negative impacts:

A.) Social problems

• There are some of negative effects of ICT.

• Nowadays, people tend to choose online communication rather than having real time
conversations.

• People tend to become more individualistic and introvert theft, hacking, pornography and
online gambling. This will result in moral decadent and generate threat to the society

B.) Health Problems

• A computer may harm the user if they use it if they use it for a long hours frequently.

• Computers users are also exposed to bad posture, eyestrain, physical and mental stress.

• In order to solve the health problems, an ergonomic chair can reduced back strain and a
screen filter is to minimize eyestrain.

COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER

• THE CPU
• The central processing unit (CPU) of a computer is a piece of hardware that carries out
the instructions of a computer program. It performs the basic arithmetical, logical, and
input/output operations of a computer system.
• The CPU is like the brains of the computer - every instruction, no matter how simple, has
to go through the CPU.

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• The CPU is sometimes also referred to as the central processor unit, or processor for
short.
• Components of a CPU
• A typical CPU has a number of components.
• Arithmetic logic unit (ALU)
• The first is the arithmetic logic unit (ALU), which performs simple arithmetic and
logical operations. The ALU is where the calculations occur, but how do these
calculations actually get carried out?
• To a computer, the world consists of zeros and ones. Inside a processor, we can store
zeros and ones using transistors. These are microscopic switches that control the flow of
electricity depending on whether the switch is on or off.
• Control unit (CU)
• Second is the control unit (CU), which manages the various components of the
computer. It reads and interprets instructions from memory and transforms them into a
series of signals to activate other parts of the computer.
• The control unit calls upon the arithmetic logic unit to perform the necessary calculations.
• Cache
• Third is the cache, which serves as high-speed memory where instructions can be copied
to and retrieved.
• Storage devices
• A computer uses two types of storage. A main store consisting of ROM and RAM, and
backing stores which can be internal, e.g. hard disk, or external, e.g. a USB flash drive.
• Main store (or computer memory) is divided into Read Only Memory (ROM) and
Random Access Memory (RAM).
• ROM
• ROM is memory that cannot be changed by a program or user. ROM retains its memory even
after the computer is turned o昀昀. For example, ROM stores the instructions for the computer to
start up when it is turned on again.
• RAM
• RAM is a fast temporary type of memory in which programs, applications and data are
stored. ): Memory that is constantly being written to and read from. It does not retain its
contents without a constant supply of power, e.g. when a computer is turned off,
everything stored in its RAM is lost.
• Here are some examples of what's stored in RAM: the operating system applications the
graphical user interface (GUI) If a computer loses power, all data stored in its RAM is
lost.
• CD
• A plastic, circular disc used to store up to 700 MB of music, video or data. CDs are
optical storage media, similar to DVDs and Blu-ray discs.
• DVD

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• A plastic, circular disc used to store up to 8.5GB of music, video or data. DVDs are
optical storage media, similar to CDs and Blu-ray discs.
• DVD-RW
• Digital Versatile Disc - Rewritable: a blank disc that can be written to and rewritten to.
• Floppy disk
• A type of storage, rarely used today because of its limited capacity (1.44MB).
• Hard drive
• A device used to store vast amounts of data.
• Memory stick
• A thumb-sized portable storage device used primarily for transferring files between
computers.
•
• The bus system
• The system bus is a pathway composed of cables and connectors used to carry data
between a computer microprocessor and the main memory. The bus provides a
communication path for the data and control signals moving between the major
components of the computer system.
• The system bus works by combining the functions of the three main buses: namely, the
data address and control buses. Each of the three buses has its separate characteristics and
responsibilities.
• The system bus connects the CPU with the main memory and, in some systems, with the
level 2 (L2) cache. Other buses, such as the IO buses, branch off from the system bus to
provide a communication channel between the CPU and the other peripherals.
• The system bus combines the functions of the three main buses, which are as follows:
• The control bus carries the control, timing and coordination signals to manage the
various functions across the system.
• The address bus is used to specify memory locations for the data being transferred.
• The data bus, which is a bidirectional path, carries the actual data between the processor,
the memory and the peripherals.
• The design of the system bus varies from system to system and can be specific to a
particular computer design or may be based on an industry standard. One advantage of
using the industry standard is the ease of upgrading the computer using standard
components such as the memory and IO devices from independent manufacturers.
• System bus characteristics are dependent on the needs of the processor, the speed, and the
word length of the data and instructions.
• The size of a bus, also known as its width, determines how much data can be transferred
at a time and indicates the number of available wires. A 32-bit bus, for example, refers to
32 parallel wires or connectors that can simultaneously transmit 32 bits.
• The design and dimensions of the system bus are based on the specific processor
technology of the motherboard. This, in effect, affects the speed of the motherboard, with

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 faster system buses requiring that the other components on the system be equally fast for
the best performance.
• Functions of Buses in Computers
• 1. Data sharing - All types of buses found in a computer transfer data between the
computer peripherals connected to it. The buses transfer or send data in either serial or
parallel method of data transfer. This allows for the exchange of 1, 2, 4 or even 8 bytes of
data at a time. (A byte is a group of 8 bits). Buses are classified depending on how many
bits they can move at the same time, which means that we have 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit or
even 64-bit buses.
• 2. Addressing - A bus has address lines, which match those of the processor. This allows
data to be sent to or from specific memory locations.
• 3. Power - A bus supplies power to various peripherals connected to it.
• 4. Timing - The bus provides a system clock signal to synchronize the peripherals
attached to it with the rest of the system.
• 5. The expansion bus facilitates easy connection of more or additional components
and devices on a computer such as a TV card or sound card.
•

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