Exciting theme for this session was Information and Communicational Technology (ICT) and world change. ICT is one of the fields in technology which I believe our present generation is most familiar to. ICT includes technology concerning Internet, Mass media, Gaming, Wireless technologies and Cloud computing. Before, my perception of world of ICT was limited to internet, wireless technologies and mass media only. Through this session and recommended readings, I have broadened my horizons about ICT. I learnt how ICT’s application goes beyond entertainment and communication. ICT serves as a world changing tool as it has significant applications in field of education in form of e-learning and health care in form of telemedicine.
One of the technologies that intrigued me was gaming and cloud computing. I knew very little about these technologies and the potentials that they have to bring change in the world. I used to see gaming as an area of entertainment only. I never realised how game simulations can be used and applied in areas such as medicine and transportation technologies. Similarly, I knew little about cloud computing but this session has motivated me to explore this topic furthermore. Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a common network. A surprise element about cloud computing for me and a lot of my classmates was that almost all of us have been using this technology such as Google mail and Google docs, Yahoo! Mail etc but we did not know that it is called cloud computing!
These technologies have undoubtedly changed our world. Today, it is hard to imagine life without internet, without Google. Imagine doing research assignments without Google and with piles of books in a library instead. Technology has brought everything just a click away. Besides making our life more convenient, ICT has brought many positive externalities to the poor and to less educated. E-learning has allowed millions around the world to become aware of global issues, to empower. Similarly, telemedicine has allowed doctors to reach their patients in remote areas. Besides, wireless technologies have helped farmers too. Now they are more informed of the market prices of their crops and seasonal changes. Technology has allowed them to make better decisions. The scope of ICT is limitless. It has brought information sharing and communication to an entirely new level. Bulk of information can now be transmitted in seconds. Even in politics, one can say an increasing role of ICT. Instant interaction with ministers/world leaders on Twitter or Facebook was of course not possible before.
In class we watched various videos but the one that fascinated me the most was about Poject Natal Milo. Here’s the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPIbGnBQcJY. Enjoy watching! :)
The video is fascinating because the technology can make the human looking figure, Milo in the screen so believable, to the extent that one can potentially interact with them.
This lesson also made me realise that just having a certain technology is not sufficient. For technology to be effective, its accessibility, understanding and adoption are essential. Therefore, government involvement in adoption of new technologies is significant in bringing the change in people’s lives, especially in lesser developing countries.
Another interesting observation mentioned by Prof was about the value of knowledge revolution. As mankind went through transition from being hunters/gatherers to agriculture and domestication of animals to industrial revolution, an increase in productivity of about 25 times was seen as we moved from one level to the next. Now, we are seeing time when we are moving from industrial revolution to ICT/ knowledge revolution and we have only seen five times rise in productivity thus, the question is how and after how long time will we be able to achieve further 20 times rise in productivity? When will we be able to capture the full potential of ICT/ Knowledge revolution?
My personal rating on this session 9/10
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