ST.

MICHAEL ARCANGEL
TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, INC.
30 M.Santos St. Santulan, Malabon City

LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

• The state of ICT in the Philippines

• Online systems, functions and platforms.

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.

ICT in the Philippines

In the US Government’s Philippines Country Commercial Guide in 2017, the Philippine ICT
industry is still expected to improve and become more profitable due to the overall growth of the
different sectors like telecommunications, Business Process Management (BPM), financial, and health IT
sectors.

In a data gathered by the Information Technology and Business Processing Association of the
Philippines (IBPAP) in 2016, the IT industry size is worth $22.9 billion.

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 static pages. Pretty soon, Web 2.0 came to the
picture.

We Are Social, an agency that analyzes data from social

media usage, states that in 2017, 58% of the population of the
Philippines have Internet access. That is 8% higher that the
global average of 50% and higher than the Southeast Asian
regional average of 53%. The agency also shares that 52% of the
population are mobile-active social media users which
significantly higher than the global average of 3r% and regional
average of 42%.

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 and Top 10 spots. The study was
 ST. MICHAEL ARCANGEL
TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, INC.
30 M.Santos St. Santulan, Malabon City

conducted using the data from Instagram, a popular photo sharing application. With these numbers,
there is no doubt that the Philippines is one of the countries that benefits most out of ICT.

Web 2.0 is a term coined by Darcy DiNucci, an information architecture consultant, on January
1999. In her 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 where the user is able to see
a website differently that 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

1) Folksonomy – allows users to categorize and classify/arrange information using freely chosen
keyword (e.g tagging). Popular social networking sites such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
use tags that start with the pound sign (#). This is also referred to as hashtag.
2) Rich User Experience – content is dynamic and is responsive to user’s input.
3) User participation – the owner of the website is not the only one
who is able to put content. Others are able to place content of
their own by means of comments, reviews, and evaluation. Some
websites allow readers to comment on am article, participate in a
poll, or review a specific product (e.g., Amazon.com, online
stores).
4) Long tail – services that are offered on demand rather than on a one-time purchase. In certain
cases, time-based pricing is better than file size-based pricing or vice versa. This is synonymous
to subscribing to a data plan that charges you for the amount of time you spent on the Internet,
or a data plan that charges you for the amount of bandwidth you used.
5) Software as a service – users will subscribe to a software only when needed rather than
purchasing them. This is a cheaper option if you do not always needs to use a software.
6) Mass participation – diverse information sharing through universal web access. Since most
users can 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
 ST. MICHAEL ARCANGEL
TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, INC.
30 M.Santos St. Santulan, Malabon City

coined by the inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee. Lee also noted that the Semantic Web
is a component for Web 3.0.

According to the Web 3.0, “The Semantic Web provides a common framework that allows data
to be shared and reused across applications, enterprises, and community boundaries.” The aim of Web

3.0 is to have machines (or servers) understand the users’ preferences to be able to deliver web content
specifically targeting the user.

For example, if you search 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 the highest rated shoes
around your vicinity.

Another example is when you search for the best restaurant to visit in a specific area. First, it
may look for your precious visits from other restaurants and check if you have rated them whether good
or bad. In return, Web 3.0 will search for restaurants that have a similar menu, good rating and budget
that fit your preference in the past.

Web 3.0 is yet to be fully realized because of 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.
5) Logic. Since machines use logic, there are certain limitations for a computer to be able to predict
that user is referring to at a given time.

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.

A. Convergence – Technological convergence is the synergy of technological advancements to

work on a similar goal or task.
B. Social Media – Social media is a website, application or online channel that enables web users
to create, co-create, discuss, modify and exchange user-generated content. According to
Nielsen, a global information and measurement company, Internet users spend more time in
social media sites than in any other type of site. With this, more advertisers use social media to
promote their products.
There are six (6) types of social media:
 ST. MICHAEL ARCANGEL
TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, INC.
30 M.Santos St. Santulan, Malabon City

• Social Networks – sites that allow you to connect with other people with the same
interests or background. (e.g. Facebook, Google+)
• Bookmarking Sites – sites that allow you to store and manage links to various websites
and resources. (,e.g. StumbleUpon, Pinterest)
• Social News – sites that allow users to post their own news items or links to other news
sources. (e.g. Reddit and Digg)
• Media Sharing – sites that allow you to upload and share media content like images,
music and video. (e.g. Flicker, YouTube, Instagram)
• Microblogging – sites that focus on short updates from the user. Those subscribed to
the user will be able to receive these updates. (e.g. Twitter, Plurk)
• Blogs and Forums – websites that allow users to post their content. Other users are able
to comment on the said topic. (e.g. Blogger, WordPress, Tumblr)

C. Mobile Technologies
• iOS - used in Apple devices such as the iPhone and iPad;
• Android – an open source operating system developed by Google. Being an open source
means several mobile phone companies use this OS for free.
• BlackBerry OS - used in BlackBerry devices;
• Windows Phone OS – a closed source and propriety operating system developed by
Microsoft as replacement to Windows Mobile;
• Symbian – the original smartphone OS; used by Nokia devices;
• WebOS – originally used for smartphones; now used for Smart TVs;
• Windows Mobile – discontinued family of mobile operating systems and was developed
by Microsoft for smartphones and pocket PCs.
D. Assistive Media – is a non-profit service designed to help people who have visual and reading
impairments.
 ST. MICHAEL ARCANGEL
TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, INC.
30 M.Santos St. Santulan, Malabon City

KEY TERMS

• Web 1.0 – static websites without interactivity

• Web 2.0 – websites that contain dynamic content
• Web 3.0 – a concept of the World Wide Web designed to cater to each individual user.
• Static – refers to web pages that are the same regardless of the user.
• Dynamic – refers to web pages that are affected by user input or preference
• Convergence – the synergy of technological advancements to work on a similar goal or
task.