ICT teacher handbook/ICT and society

ICTs and Society

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) refer to the infrastructure and processes connected to creating information, organizing, processing and representation of the information, as well as communication of the information. ICTs have impacted the functioning of existing institutions in government, private sector, media and civil society.

Understanding ICTs – a brief history

Information as well as the communication have been one of the defining characteristics of the human society. Historically, many societies and cultures have used different and multiple ways of organizing, representation and transmission of information. These differences exist in the manner of recording, the content recorded, ways of access and the scope of the transmission. Improved and easy access to information and knowledge significantly enhances people's overall life opportunities and has the potential to alter structures in society. Traditionally, difference in access and use of information by various sections of the society has led to marginalization and inequity.
ICTs are perhaps nearly as old as humanity itself, as human beings needed to communicate with one another, beginning with symbolic (non verbal) ways, before language was invented. Language could be seen as first 'ICT', it enabled (oral) communication amongst human beings. Yet oral communication had the limitation of space and time, meaning that the speaker and the listener had to be in the same space and time.
Script was the next ICT, invented around 5,000 years ago1, which enabled information to be held distinct from the communicator and be made available beyond the limitation of space and time that oral communication imposed. Writing also enabled easier recording of human history and thus the invention of script was a landmark in the history of ICTs. Invention of printing technologies scaled up the 'writing' process and enabled mass production of books. The invention of radio and television created the 'mass media' in which simultaneously the same message could be transmitted to thousands of people. Each ICT invention enabled the processes of information creation, sharing, storing and communicating to be easier, quicker, more efficient (reaching more people) etc. Each invention was a significant event in the evolution of human communication processes and in the explosion in the availability of information. Each step also resulted also in shifts in the way information became accessible to sections of society.

The digital paradigm

Information and communication have historically been drivers of social processes and systems. What makes the new framework different is the advancement in the digital technologies surrounding information and communications. We are now perhaps in the middle of the next epochal movement in the history of ICTs, the use of digital methods of accessing, creating, modifying sharing, storing information as well as for communication.
The digital format of resources has caused such an explosion of information since creation, storage and dissemination of information has become much easier and cheaper than before. Increasingly, production and consumption of information becoming increasingly important, not only from economic but even more so from social and cultural perspectives. This digital knowledge society is developing new structures and adjusting existing structures, along the lines of information flow. These pathways of information flow can also create more marginalization and exclusion if all the participants in society are not equipped with the skills to function in this society.
Another key aspect of ICTs is in the possibilities of connecting and their impact on communities and organization. By their very nature, ICTs allow new possibilities for network structures of organizing and communicating information.

Movement of ICTs

Knowledge model / Basis	Method	Storage	Sharing	Publishing (mass sharing)	Features
Oral / Language	Oral	Human memory; Speaking - Hearing	Not possible	Requires synchronicity of space and time
Written / Script	Text	Books	Physical	Not possible	Share knowledge across space and time, but in limited manner
Print / Printing	Text	Books	Physical	Books	Explosion
Mass Media/ Radio, TV	Analogue -Audio, video	Cassettes and similar analog devices	Physical	Over broadcast media	Mass reach across space and time
Digital (ICT)	Digital methods (text / audio / video editors)	Digital storage like hard disks	Email	Websites, blogs, Wikis – 'desktop publishing'	Information spreads fast and wide1. Much easier construction and much Wider possibilities – text, audio, video

Like the ICTs invented earlier, the invention and mass use of digital ICTs is having significant implications for society across various spheres of polity, economy, governance, media etc. We will explore these implications briefly in the next section.

ICTs and implications for polity, society and economy

Political

The political processes in most countries have been impacted by digital ICTs. Many political leaders now participate on virtual platforms that allow them to communicate with people directly. For e.g. Twitter which is a 'micro blogging' platform, is used by many political leaders, as well as government departments to communicate its work and information. Mass movements have also used digital networking tools to collaborate and support action. It is believed that during the recent Egypt struggle for democracy, protests were coordinated using social networking platforms/tools, which made them more effective. The counting of votes has now become a fraction of time, used earlier, through 'electronic voting machines' and in a large country like India with a large voter base, counting for an entire constituency can be completed in a matter of hours.

Think and talk it over with your students

The use of Internet by people mobilising in Egypt during the 'arab spring' is discussed in detail in 'Internet Activism and the Egyptian uprisings : transforming on-line activism into the off-line world' by Tim Eaton, see article). Read this article and discuss the concept of 'mediated mobilisation'. Can a variation of such a strategy be used for instance by women, to protest against liquor shops in villages? Can you create a group of your colleagues in your Mandal, using a tool like 'whatsapp' to discuss ways/methods of raising awareness against domestic violence?
The listed article was sourced using 'Google Scholar' a search engine that provides links to scholarly / academic articles. Can you search Google Scholar for articles of interest to you.

Digital technologies also allow unauthorised access (even spying). Emails and documents can be 'hacked' and accessed. A large part of our ICT infrastructure is privately owned, and the companies which often provide it 'free' (of cost) to users, may be using the information users feed, to monetise the same as well as share it with others. The sharing of such information both authorised by us (when we agree to the 'terms of use' of the software/tool), as well unauthorised, can be for the commercial gains of the company (they can sell or hire this information to advertisers for example), or for political purposes (to enable governments or other agencies to spy on us). ICTs make such tapping much simpler and easier, since the data passing over the global networks can be easily 'hacked' and a copy of the information shared with the people conducting such espionage.
Thus the digital nature of ICTs can be both greatly beneficial as well as greatly harmful for furthering human rights and development. Hence a critical perspective is essential, and as teachers we need to be cautious against the hype that surrounds ICTs, as a panacea for all problems, and instead keep a balanced and critical perspective.

Socio-cultural

Since communication is the essence of social processes, the introduction of ICTs has dramatically impacted most of our socio-cultural activities and processes. With the mass use of the cell phone, we now assume that we can reach anyone any time. This kind of access enables us to plan interactions / activities in much more efficient ways. Even twenty years back, the best of possible communication situations, one was not sure, if one could reach another person using a land-line / fixed line phone. In the absence of email, the formal communication method of a letter sent over postal services meant a gap of several days before communication could be established. The reduction in communication time, has opened up numerous more possibilities for each of us (who are part of this digital world). Social networking platforms are connecting millions of people to create 'virtual communities' or groups. Such interactions with large number of people who may not be physically proximate, opens new possibilities for friendships and learning. Of course, we also hear several anecdotes of how people can be naively trusting of 'friends' on such networks and get exploited or fooled. It is extremely necessary to exercise diligence and caution in making friends on such platforms. We also need to guide our students on safe and careful use of social media platforms.
The mass sharing of information through the digital networks is also perhaps accentuating and speeding up the assimilation of dominant cultures, which began with the advent of mass media. Wherever one travels, we can see the popular brands and symbols and the shopping malls across cities look familiar with the similar brands available on sale. There is research to suggest that this process is negatively affecting local contexts and cultures. UNESCO study has documented the decline of local cultures and languages and that many languages have become extinct and many dying. As teachers, your role would be to promote digital avenues for storing and sharing local cultures as well. For instance, the Wikipedia encyclopedia has more than 5 million articles in English but less than 1% of that in Telugu. Documenting local cultures, resources, literature and sharing it in digital formats on public digital platforms, such as Telugu Wikipedia is an important priority for our society, one in which teachers would need to have an important role.

Think and talk it over with your students

BBC study - source - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12419672

1. In 2000, 75% of stored information in the world in analogue format such as video cassettes, but by 2007, 94% of it was digital"
2. Email has become the primary communication tool for a significant number of people
3. 1.88 billion – The number of email users worldwide.
4. 294 billion – Average number of email messages per day. (42 emails for every human being)
5. Web 2.0 world – blog / wiki as collaborating and publishing knowledge
6. 255 million – The number of websites as of December 2010.
7. 21.4 million – Added websites in 2010.
8. Population of the world 6.89 billion, India - 1.17 billion
9. Amazon, the worlds largest book seller sells more e-books than books (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8443804.stm)

Economic

For several centuries, society was agrarian, meaning most people worked in agriculture, food (and related items) production was the most significant part of the gross domestic product (GDP). With the industrial revolution in the 18th century, industry / manufacturing sector became very important and its contribution to a nations GDP crossed that of agriculture. Think and talk it over with your students Society is changing, moving from an Agricultural society → Industrial society → Knowledge society. The table below lists highlights relating to the processes of production.

Kind of society	Basic production	Basic material	India in 1950 (2010)
Agricultural society	Food	Land	70.00% (15)
Industrial society	Goods	Capital	20.00% (28)
Knowledge society	Services / knowledge	Knowledge / Information	10.00% (57)

ICTs have affected the nature/shape of many industries and occupations. Typewriters, "film" based cameras have become extinct. Information based 'service' industries such as travel and tourism, financial services, insurance, have been significantly impacted. Many 'digital' occupations have also begun, such as software engineering, digital photography, system administration, desk top publishing etc. The possibilities of establishing information networks which can facilitate rapid communications and decision making has led to the creation of very large scale transnational corporations. They are able to support decentralised working, yet retain overall control through by better ICT based 'Management Information Systems. Such networks are also on the other hand, supporting decentralised production and collaborative production projects, such as FOSS or Wikipedia.

Governance

Democratic Governments have in the past had difficulties in sharing information transparently with citizens and also support citizen/ community participation in their activities. This is partly been to the large volumes of information being generated and stored across thousands of paper files which has made sharing difficult if not impossible. Slow modes of communication also lead to delayed communication with the public. However, increasingly, governments are using ICTs to improve information processing and sharing, leading to greater transparency. India has passed the Right to Information Act, 2005 and the use of 'pro-active' disclosure through the Internet is seen as a very important way of meeting RTI needs. Apart from information transparency, transaction processing too has been simplified in many areas. Booking of travel tickets has become simple, and in case of education, admission, examination administration etc. has also become quicker and more efficient.