TE year1sourcebook/Summary of the Unit

ICT are impacting society in socio­-cultural, economic and political ways. By making processes of communicating, as well as accessing, creating, modifying and sharing information much more simpler and cheaper, ICT have enabled an 'information and communication explosion'. Digital ICT are another step in the evolution of ICT in our history, and each such evolution has had similar, disruptive impact. Over time, the newer ICT have been assimilated into societal processes, co­existing with earlier ICT.

A computer is a very powerful ICT device; the operating system allows the computer to become a 'general purpose ICT device', that is makes it powerful. You can use your computer to access the internet, which is a 'global digital library'. You can use search engines to search for material that is relevant to your needs.

You also can create virtual networks in the form of mailing-lists, one such list can be of all the students in your batch. You can use this list to share your ideas, experiences and resources during the course. You can also use the list for sharing on all subjects, including this one!

While digital nature enables easy sharing as well as modifying, this has been limited/constrained by legal as well as technological processes. Movements like the free software movement and the open educational resources movement have attempted to create a free and open digital environment that can enable all of us to participate freely in accessing, modifying and sharing resources. As teachers, it is our responsibility to ensure that learning resources (which will be increasingly digital in nature) are freely available, for use, modification and further distribution; this is essential to create an equitable, rich and diverse learning environment. The unauthorised access and use of proprietary software or content is both illegal and unethical. The use of FOSS and OER also enables us to avoid software and content piracy.