Empowerment Technologies - Lesson 1

Information and Communication Technologies
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) deals with the use of different communication
technologies such as mobile phones, telephone, Internet, etc. to locate, save, send and edit information.
When we make a video call, we use the internet. When we send a text or make a call, we use
cellular networks. When we run out of load or battery, we use payphones which use a telephone
network. Having a unified way to communicate is one of the goals of ICT. In terms of economics, ICT has
saved companies a lot of resources (time and money) with the kind of communication technology they
use, nowadays. In similar way, we spend less because of ICT. As it normally costs us a peso to send text
message or SMS, with the Internet, we can send multiple messages and only be charged by a fraction.
ICT in the Philippines

Several international companies dub the Philippines as the “ICT Hub of Asia.” It is no secret that
there is a huge growth of ICT – related jobs around the country, one of which is the call center of BPO
(Business Process Outsourcing) centers.
In data, gathered by the Annual Survey of the Philippine Business and Industries, NSO, in 2010,
the ICT industry shares 19.3% of the total employment population here in the Philippines.
To add to these statistics, Time Magazine’s “The Selfiest Cities around the World” of 2013 places
two cities from the Philippines in the top 1 (Makati/Pasig) and top 9 (Cebu City) spots. The study was
conducted using Instagram, a popular media sharing application.
With these numbers, there is no doubt that the Philippines is one of the countries that benefits
most out of ICT.
What is WEB?
Web or World Wide Web is basically a system of internet servers that support specially
formatted documents. These documents are formatted in a markup language called HTML (Hypertext
markup Language)
Web 1.0
Static websites with out interactivity.
Web 2.0: Dynamic Web Pages

The Internet has been a vital tool to our modern lives that is why it is also important to make the
best of the Internet.
When the World Wide Web was invented, most web pages were static. Static (also known as flat
page or stationary page) in the sense that the page is “as is” and cannot be manipulated by the user. The
content is also the same for all users. This is referred to as Web 1.0.
However, the World Wide Web is more than just a static page. Pretty soon, Web 2.0 came to the
picture.
Web 2.0 is a term coined by Darcy DiNucci on January 1999. In here article titled, “Fragmented
Future, “she wrote:
The Web we know now, which loads into a browser window in essentially static screenfuls, is
only an embryo of the Web to come. The first glimmerings of Web 2.0 are beginning to appear,
and we are just starting to see how that embryo might develop.
Web 2.0 is the evolution of Web 1.0 by adding dynamic web pages – user is able to see a website
differently than others. Examples of Web 2.0 include social networking sites, blogs, wikis, video sharing
sites, hosted services, and web applications. Web 2.0 allows users to interact with the page: instead of
just reading a page, the user may be able to comment or create a user account. Web 2.0 also allows
users to use web browsers instead of just using their operating system. Browsers can now be used for
their user interface, application software (or web applications), and even for file storage. Most websites
that we visit today are Web 2.0.
Features of Web 2.0

The key features of Web 2.0 include:
1. Folksonomy – allows users to categorize and classify/arrange information using freely chosen
keywords (e.g., tagging). Popular social networking sites such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook,
etc., use tags that start with the pound sign (#). This is also referred to as hashtag.
2. Rich user Experience – content is dynamic ad responsive to user’s input. An example would be a
website that shows local content. In the case of social networking sites, when logged on, your
account is used to modify what your see in their website.
3. User Participation – the owner of the website is not the only one who is able to put content.
Others are able to place a content of their own by means of comments, reviews, and evaluation.
Some websites allow readers to comment on an article, participate in a poll, or review a specific
product (e.g., Amazon.com, online stores).
4. Mass Participation – diverse information sharing through universal web access. Since most
users use the internet, Web 2,0’s content is based on people from various cultures.
Web 3.0 and the Semantic Web

The Semantic Web is a movement led by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The W3C
standard encourages web developers to include semantic content in their web pages. The term was
coined by the inventor of World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee. Lee also noted that the Semantic Web is
component for Web 3.0.
According to W3C, “The Semantic Web provides a common framework that allows data to be
shared and reuse across application, enterprise and community boundaries.” The aim of Web 3.0 is to
have machines (or servers) understand that user’s preferences to be able to deliver web content
specifically targeting the user. For example, when doing a web search in Web 2.0 the topmost result is
based on the preference of several users who already searched for the item. The search engine then
labels it the most common answer to the query. Though there are instances wherein several
preferences are considered like geographic location, Web 3.0 aims to do better. This is through studying
personal preferences of an individual user and showing results based on those preferences. The Internet
is able to predict the best possible answers to your question by “learning” from your previous choices.
For example, if you search from the Internet for “Where is the best place to go shopping?” Web
3.0 will aim to give you results depending on how you have made choices in the past. If you have
purchased several shoes online, the Internet will give you results on the best place with highest rated
shoes around your vicinity.
Web 3.0 is yet to be fully realized because of the several problems:
1. Compatibility – HTML files and current web browsers could not support Web 3.0.
2. Security – The user’s security is also in question since the machine is saving his or her
preferences.
3. Vastness – The World Wide Web already contains billions of web pages.
4. Vagueness – Certain words are imprecise. The words “old” and “small” would depend on the
user.
Trends in ICT
As the world of ICT continues to grow, the industry has focused on several innovations. These
innovations cater to the needs of the people that benefit most out of ICT. Whether it is for business or
personal use, these trends are the current front runners in the innovation of ICT.
1. Convergence
Technological convergence is the synergy of technological advancements to work on similar goal
or task. For example, besides using your personal computer to create word documents, you can
now use your smartphone. It can also use could technologies to sync files from one device to
another while also using LTE technology which means you can access your files anytime,
anywhere. Convergence is using several technologies to accomplish a task conveniently.
2. Social Media
Social media is a website, application or online channel that enables web users to create, co-
create, discuss, modify, locate, and exchange user-generated content. According to Nielsen, a
global information and measurement company. Internet users spend more time in social media
sites than any other type of site. With this, more and more advertisers use social media to
promote their product.
There are six types of Social Media:
a. Social Networks – These are sites that allow you to connect with other people with the same
interests or background. Once a user creates his or her account, the or she can set up a profile,
add people, create groups and share content. Examples: Facebook and Google+
b. Bookmarking Sites – These are sites that allow you to store and manage links to various
websites and resources. Most of these sites allow you to create a tag that allows you and others
to easily search and share them. Examples: StumbleUpon and Pinterest.
c. Social News – These ae sites that allows users to post their own news items or links to other
news sources. The users can also comment on the post and comments may also be ranked. They
also capable of voting on these news articles of the website. Those who get the most number of
votes are shown most prominently. Examples: Reddit and Digg
d. Media Sharing – These are sites that allow you to upload and share media content like images,
music, and video. Most of these sites have additional social features like liking, commenting and
having user profiles. Examples: Flickr, YouTube and Instagram.
e. Microblogging – These are sites that focus on short updates from the user. Those subscribed to
the user will be able to receive these updates. Examples: Twitter and Plurk
f. Blogs and Forums – These websites allow users to post their content. Other users are able to
comment on the said topic. There are several free blogging platforms like Blogger, WordPress
and Tumblr. On the other hand, forums are typically part of certain website or web services.
3. Mobile Technologies
The popularity of the smartphones and tablets has taken a major rise over the years. This is largely
because of the devices’ capability to od tasks that were originally found in personal computers.
Several of these devices are capable of using high-speed Internet. Today, the latest mobile devices
use 4G Networking (LTE), which is currently the fastest mobile network. Also, mobile devices use
different operating systems:
a. IOS – used in Apple devices such as the iPhone and iPad.
b. Android – an open source operating system developed by Google. Being open source
means several mobile phone companies use this OS for free.
c. Blackberry OS – used in blackberry devices.
d. Windows Phone OS – a closed source and proprietary operating system developed by
Microsoft.
e. Symbian – the original smartphone OS; used by many major mobile phone brands,
like Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and above all by Nokia.
f. Windows Mobile – developed by Microsoft for smartphones and pocket PC’s
4. Assistive Media
Assistive media is a nonprofit service designed to help people who have visual and reading
impairments. A database of audio recordings is used to read to the user. You may visit
http://www.assistivemedia.org/ for several of their audio recordings.

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Information and Communication Technologies

ICT in the Philippines

Web 2.0: Dynamic Web Pages

Features of Web 2.0

Web 3.0 and the Semantic Web

There are six types of Social Media:

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