 John Naisbitt, “the Megatrends”  introduces the “INFORMATION SOCIETY” concept.INFORMATION SOCIETY  A society in which a majority of workers are involved in the transmittal of information  Time Magazine  Names the computer “Machine of Year” – signified the computer’s “coming of age”.Machine of Year

Economic Era Primary Resource Transforming Agent Tools Needed Skills Needed to Function AgrarianLandNatural Energy Plough, Hoe, Farm Equipment Ploughing, tilting Sowing IndustrialCapitalProcessed Energy (Oil, Coal, Hydro) MachinesTechnical Engineering Management InformationMindKnowledgeComputer Literacy Information Literacy Visual Literacy

 A computer is an electronic device which accepts data, processes the data, stores and produces the result as information under the direction of a stored program of instructions with speed and accuracy.

ICT Revolution Digital Revolution

 ICTs stand for information and communication technologies  These technologies include computers, the Internet, broadcasting technologies (radio and television), and telephony diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate, and to create, disseminate, store, and manage information Internet

Technological advancement have revolutionized communication and spread of information Landmarks  In 1875, for example, the invention of the telephone breached distance through sound.  Between 1910 and 1920, the first AM radio stations began to broadcast sound.  By the 1940s television was broadcasting both sound and visuals

Landmarks …  In 1943, the world’s first electronic computer was created.  Microprocessor invented in the 1970s and computers became accessible to the public.  In the 1990s, the Internet migrated from universities and research institutions to corporate headquarters and homes.

 Earlier technologies relied on Analog transmission ( incorporated a combination of light and sound waves to transmit messages  Alexander Graham Bell invented of the telephone in 1875 used analog transmission  In the late 1940s, an alternative to analog transmission of voice the pulse-code modulation (an encoded signal of pulses) marked the start of digitization in telecommunications

 1961 that the first digital carrier system was installed in U.S  Digitization meant the widespread replacement of telephone operators with digital switches.  In 1971 the first fiber optic cables suitable for communications made - leading to efforts to send communications signals via light waves. (Light wave transmission systems are inherently digital.)

 By about 1989, “ones and zeros” had become the language of telephone networks in the US  Today, voice is translated into data packets, sent over networks to remote locations, sometimes thousands of kilometers away, and, upon receipt, translated back to voice.

 On a societal level, the digital and ICT revolutions make possible better and cheaper access to knowledge and information. This speeds up transactions and processes and reduces their cost, which in turn benefit citizens and consumers.  The ability of ICTs to traverse time and distance allows human beings to interact with each other in new ways. Distance is no longer a consideration.

Emerging Information Economy  An information economy is where the productivity and competitiveness of units or agents in the economy (be they firms, regions or nations) depend mainly on their capacity to generate, process, and apply efficiently knowledge-based information  Pervasive use of information and communications technology has made information plentiful in this economy.

 The information economy is global.  has the capacity to work as a unit in real time on a planetary scale  Corporations and firms now have a worldwide base for skilled labor to tap  it is highly productive  profits come from speed of innovation and the ability to attract and keep customers  Information economy is the same as “knowledge economy”, the “new economy”, or the “network economy”

 Computers are everywhere  Businesses  Government  Education  We live in Global Village  We are part of the Information network  Technology for students is about economic competitiveness