Teaching Unit: Methodological

Subject: Information and Communication Technologies

                 (ICT)

Credits: 2

Coefficient: 1

Evaluation Method: Examination (100%)

Course Mode: In-class

Lecturer: Z. LAKMECHE

              ___________________________________________

Rationale

     The world of today is exposed to rapid and constant technological change, with information and communication technologies/technology (ICT) becoming increasingly influential in every aspect of life (social, labor, economic, etc.). Its impact is felt across various sectors, from business and education to healthcare and entertainment. These transformations are reshaping society, the workforce, and the economy, and consequently, are having a significant impact on education, which is considered to be one of the cornerstones of society and which must adapt to these rapid technological advancements.

     Research has shown that investment in information and communication technologies is associated with such economic benefits as higher productivity, lower costs, new economic opportunities, job creation, innovation, and increased trade. ICTs also help provide better services in health and education, and strengthen social cohesion.

      Information and communication technologies play a decisive role in the learning process and students must be technologically literate so that they can easily have access to knowledge and navigate oceans of information available online, through searching, selecting and extracting, etc., in a free and autonomous manner.

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Learning Outcomes, Aims and Objectives:

     The world is rapidly going hi-tech in almost every aspect of life, in a way that it is increasingly possible to access almost any part of the globe either physically or virtually. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) prepares the learners to participate in a rapidly changing world in which work and other activities are increasingly transformed by access to varied and developing technology. ICT is recognized to be an important tool in both the society we live in and in the process of teaching and learning. Learners use ICT tools to find, explore, analyze, exchange and present information responsibly, creatively and with discrimination. They learn how to employ ICT to enable rapid access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of sources, and to become confident users of these technologies so that they can develop the skills, knowledge, understanding and competencies which enable them to be creative and independent learners.

     The ability to use ICT effectively and appropriately is now seen as essential to allow students to acquire and exploit information within every sphere of human activity. ICT offers great potential to improve standards of attainment in literacy and mathematics.

     Upon completion of this course, learners should be able to:

        familiarize with computers and the Internet,

       develop ICT capability in finding, selecting and using   information,

       use ICT for effective and appropriate communication,

       apply hardware and software to creative and appropriate uses of

          information,

       apply their ICT skills and knowledge to their learning in other areas,

       use their ICT skills to develop their language and communication skills.

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 Recommended prerequisites:

        General computer knowledge.

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Contents

                   ICT: CONCEPTS, TOOLS AND APPLICATIONS

1. Concepts and definitions

     a. Information

     b. Communication

     c. Technology

     d. Information and communication technologies (ICT)

     e. New information and communication technologies (NICT)

     f. ICT or NICT?

     g. Information and communication technologies for education (ICTE)

2. Different types of ICT

3. Benefits of ICT

4. ICT features

5. ICT tools

     a. The computers

     b. Software

  b.1. Operating systems or basic software

  b.2. Application software

     c. Telecommunications networks

  c.1. Definition

  c.2. Network classification

          c.2.1. Classification by size (or geographical scope/range)

          c.2.2. LAN network topologies

          c.2.3. Operating mode

  c.3. Network advantages

     d. Smart chips

6. ICT applications

    6.1. Communication spaces

           6.1.1. Internet :

                    6.1.1.1. Electronic messaging

                    6.1.1.2. Forum (newsgroup)

                    6.1.1.3. Chat or IRC (Internet Relay Chat)

           6.1.2. Intranet

           6.1.3. Extranet

    6.2. Databases

           6.2.1. The data warehouse

           6.2.2. Data mining

    6.3. Multimedia

           6.3.1. Audio conferencing

           6.3.2. Video conferencing

    6.4. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)

          6.4.1. Definition(s)

          6.4.2. The evolution of EDI

                    6.4.2.1. First era: EDIFACT

                    6.4.2.2. Second era: e-commerce

    6.5. Workflow