Give a definition the role of ICTs in key sectors of society

ICT (information and communications technology - or technologies) is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application, encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various services and applications associated with them, such as videoconferencing and distance learning. ICTs are often spoken of in a particular context, such as ICTs in education, health care, or libraries.

Telecommunications

ICT is changing lives across the region. Farmers and fisher folk receive timely weather forecasts through their mobile phones, remote village schools connect to educational resources through internet -enabled computer labs, and citizens transact with their governments more efficiently through online systems. Most developed nations are also helping to expand telecommunication networks, provide shared ICT access facilities like Community e-Centers, and develop innovative and relevant ICT applications.

ICT in Education

ICT can improve the efficiency and quality of education at all levels. Information and Communication Technology can contribute to universal access to education, equity in education, the delivery of quality learning and teaching, teachers' professional development and more efficient education management, governance and administration. UNESCO takes a holistic and comprehensive approach to promoting ICT in education. Access, inclusion and quality are among the main challenges they can address. The Organization's Intersectral Platform for ICT in education focuses on these issues through the joint work of three of its sectors: Communication & Information, Education and Science

ICT in Public Sector Management

Researchers and scientists encourage governments to adopt both innovative approaches and modern technologies to promote good governance. This is done not just by shifting from manual, paper-based processes to automated systems, but also by creating new skills, building human and institutional capacity, and creating an enabling policy and regulatory environment to facilitate public sector reforms.

ICT in Health

ICT can be a powerful tool for improving health and related services. The projects related to this field are helping to improve dissemination of public health information, bridge the gap in consultation, diagnosis, and treatment between resource-rich and resource-poor hospitals, facilitate learning, enhance the ability to monitor diseases and other health issues, and make health administration more efficient.

ICT in Agriculture and Food Security

Modern technologies and ICT efforts are raising agricultural productivity and the quality of life of farmers and the rural poor by improving information flows, communication, and access to reliable, up-to-date information. This enables strategic decision-making by farmers and prevents or mitigates losses caused by natural disasters.

What are the key events in the history of computers

The electronic computer industry has developed faster than any other industry in history. Computers and computer technology is something that has changed the way some people live, communicate and get their information. In the early beginning, computers were nothing like what we have today. One of the things that was used a very long time ago was just some string with beads on them that helped add and subtract.

              The first electronic computer was called the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator). It was built at the University of Pennsylvania in 1943, and it was used for military calculations, for weather forecasting, and for atomic energy calculations, it weighed 30 tons and it filled a big room.First electronic computers used vacuum tubes, and they were huge and complex. The first general purposes electronic computer was the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer). It was digital, although it didn’t operate with binary code, and was reprogrammable to solve a complete range of computing problems.

              Dr. John von Neumann invented a technology for program storage at the University of Princeton in 1945. This technology allowed a computer to store a program in memory. People could change the program for different purposes. Dr. John von Neumann’s computer made it possible to develop the computers we use today.

There are five main periods in the history of computers. They show how the technology that computers use for processing data has changed and developed.

1.Vacuum Tubes(1930-1958): The first computers used vacuum tubes to make calculations. The ENIAC was a vacuum tube computer.

2.Transistors (1959): Transistors replaced vacuum tubes because they are smaller, faster, and use less energy.

3.Integrated Circuits (1965): Integrated circuits use semiconductors to make complex circuits for data processing. This was a big development for the computer industry. Big boards with transistors which took up a lot of space were replaced with small boards that reduced the size of computers and made them more reliable, and less expensive.

4.Microprocessors (1971): The computer company Intel introduced its first microprocessors allow computers to perform more accurate operations in less time.

5.PC (1981): The computer company IBM introduced its first personal computer, called the Datamaster, in 1981, which are still in usage today.