The dynamic development of information and communication technologies, penetrating into all spheres of life of modern society, has so changed the attitude to the methods of obtaining and volumes of data of interest, the possibility of instant audio or visual communication with almost any point on the Earth and near space, which is already possible talk about the evolution of human information consciousness.
Altered reality
Moreover, this change in consciousness occurred rapidly, literally within a decade, which does not mean the spontaneity of the causes that gave rise to such a reaction.
In turn, personal transformation forces a global restructuring and modernization of hitherto rather inert state institutions that determine the prospective development of countries in the legal, social, economic and other directions.
Computer science and communication: from different definitions to a single whole
More recently, the phrase "developmentinformation and communication technologies" was used only with the union "and", and not with a hyphen between words, since it was about the development of different industries.
Communication technologies are defined by the methods, tools and techniques used to facilitate communication. Informational ones are used to create, record, modify and display transmitted content. Each of them was developed as a separate technological direction and an independent industry until the 1970s, when computer science began to be used in telecommunications networks. The term ICT (information and communication technology) has been adopted to refer to the convergence (from Latin convergo - "to bring together") of these technologies and industries. Today, this term defines electronic computer communication methods used as part of modern telecommunication networks or in conjunction with them.
A Brief History of ICTs
With the launch of the first commercial examples of the electric telegraph in 1837 and the telephone in 1876, it became possible to communicate by wire over long distances almost instantly, which was much more advanced than earlier methods of communication - knocking on the rail, signal fires and carrier pigeons.
Wireless telegraph communication (1895), shortwave radio (1926), and later more reliable high frequency radio waves (1946) overcame the physical limitations of having to connect the source and receiver of a signal by wire or cable. ultrashort waves(1957) provided more powerful communication channels for the transmission of television signals and created the basis for the development of satellite and space communications. In the 1970s, the first mobile telephones were developed and the underlying technologies for the emergence of the World Wide Web emerged. Both mobile and Internet communications have evolved rapidly since their inception in the 1980s to the point where mobile Internet access (such as smartphones) has become the dominant and fastest growing mode of communication.
Information + Communication=Future
Prospects for the development of information and communication technologies in the 21st century are aimed precisely at expanding the parameters and capabilities of equipment and communications. In the 1990s and 2000s, the term "technological convergence" became the leitmotif of the principle of applying this symbiosis of technologies to bring together previously independent means of communication such as telephone, radio, television, newspapers and computer data into a single World Wide Web powered by broadband telecommunications networks. high capacity networks.
ICT Applications
ICT technologies continue to improve, and with them the Internet is developing, covering more and more territories. The scope of modern software products has gone far beyond the information and communication industries, and it is already difficult to name a field of activity that has been deprived of their attention. Expanding the ability to collect huge amounts of detailed information (metadata) and creating networks of communication devices allows you to use a lot of useful applications in suchareas such as education, he althcare, environmental monitoring, etc., but at the same time, alas, provides additional loopholes for remote tracking of users by interested individuals or organizations.
Information as a global currency
It has long been recognized that advanced communications technology can provide enormous economic, political and military benefits. Information is power. The use of information and communication technologies is able to direct the vector of political and social moods within society in the direction required by those in power, and this applies not only to the internal aspects of the state, but also to foreign policy. Therefore, there is no big secret that the bulk of research and development in this area was and is still funded from the military budgets of the most influential powers.
Today, for any state, the use of ICT is the cornerstone of industrial and political strategies aimed at developing the national economy and uniting the country, as well as gaining advantages in a competitive global political economy.
Beware the Internet
ICT technologies are often presented as a panacea for solving economic and social problems, guaranteeing new benefits and freedoms both in the workplace and in social life. However, not all effects of newtechnologies can be foreseen. In the competition to promote the benefits of new technologies, the potential drawbacks and challenges of adaptation are too often ignored and sometimes simply covered up. Let's consider a small example. On the one hand, for Russia, as the largest state in the world in terms of area, with a relatively low population density, the issue of creating a global information network as a means of uniting the country is more relevant than anyone else. This work was carried out and is now being actively carried out by both state and commercial organizations. Every year, thousands of kilometers of fiber-optic cable are laid, suspended and stretched, giving the population of the most remote corners of the country the opportunity to communicate and access the media benefits of civilization. However, this bottomless source of information is not always filled with adequate content. The younger generation, and this is the most active segment of Internet users, is attracted by dynamic, bright and professional content, which is not so much in national media resources.
That is, the promotion of information and communication technologies should be in solidarity with the creation of our own and, most importantly, high-quality media product promoted in the network space.
ICT Growth Challenges
Uncritical acceptance of technological change does not consider its problems and pitfalls. For example, the excessive commercialization of the Internet, when the dominance of private desire for profit is the main trend that determines the development of information and communication technologies, while the creationpromising social areas (new opportunities for education, more democratic participation in political processes, distance medicine) are relegated to the background, for the sake of momentary gain.
The pitfalls of ICT include a significant decrease in the level of confidentiality and, as a result, an increase in crimes using personal information received from users. The problem of the methods by which technologies contribute to changing employment patterns and incomes of the population remains topical. While creating new jobs, the Internet "buried" more than one hundred professions, and as analysts predict, this is only the beginning of large-scale changes in the labor market. For a variety of reasons, not all people who have lost their jobs are able to quickly find an equivalent replacement for their life's work, and this is already a nationwide problem.
What's good, what's bad - the choice is ours
While these fears are real, they are by no means unique to a particular state. And the solution of the question of where the development paths of the revolution in the field of information and communication technologies lead (in the interests of their citizens or big business) depends only on the priorities of the state policy of each country. Maximizing opportunities, minimizing undesirable consequences, and finding the right balance between private and public activities is a major challenge, especially in an economic environment dominated by powerful private corporations.
New technologieslearning
Let's take a closer look at the segment of information and communication technologies of education as one of the most significant areas that determine the development of ICT, as well as its very existence in the future. The prospects of technology are inextricably linked with changes within a particular person, the ability to accept new things, fully use and develop them, eventually becoming a cell of the information society, where the level of well-being will be determined by information and the ability to use it correctly. In this context, today the education system is faced with the task of developing methods and creating conditions for the maximum adaptation of students to the requirements of modern life, the definition and development of personal abilities, subject to obtaining high basic knowledge. Achieving these goals involves the use of a whole range of measures: technical support, development of didactic materials, creation of advanced teaching technologies, professional training of teaching staff and much more.
Harvard at home
The distant form of education that has become widespread in recent years, which has reached a completely different level thanks to ICT, has a huge potential. In the classroom, pupils and students get a unique opportunity to study the subject of interest to them from the best teachers, receiving the most complete information, which for the majority of those who wished, for various reasons, was actually unattainable.
This form of education, along with traditionalMethods, technologies and methods of education actively uses the teaching knowledge bases of the Internet, therefore, equipping educational institutions with information and communication technologies is one of the important elements of modernizing secondary and higher schools. The education system is becoming part of the information space, meeting the growing demands of a developing society. Tendencies towards the creation of common economic zones and international organizations similar in purpose will inevitably activate the processes of globalization and improvement of the education system of any member state of such an association.
Global Consequences
ICTs resemble a fantastic teleport, capable of connecting in time and space remote access points with the ability to transmit and collect information of a large volume and variety.
However, the full functioning and maintenance of such a miracle of technology requires enormous costs, special equipment and qualified specialists. And, as they say, the one who pays is the conductor, because the main beneficiaries of this activity are often multinational corporations that use ICT to expand their sphere of influence, increase sales markets and instantly transfer financial resources around the world.
Current ICT issues
For many, especially developing countries, Internet expansion can pose a threat to domestic production and employment, national sovereignty and local culture. AlthoughThe rapid spread of mobile phones around the world has allowed millions of people in poor countries to have access to basic communication services for the first time, and there are still many places on Earth where the population is deprived of such an opportunity. Closing this "information gap" is the goal of the initiatives of international, state and some non-governmental organizations. The only question is how unselfish this desire is.
