Chapter 1 · Information and Communication Technology: World and Bangladesh Perspective
Information and Communication Technology · Classes 11-12 · Chapter 1 · 1.1.6 to 1.1.8
Office, Residence and Business.
When it is night in Dhaka it is day in North America. So must work stop when one office goes home? No. In this note you will see how the office, the home and buying and selling have each become part of the global village.
1. The office: from paper to digital
An office or workplace is a place where professionals carry out their work. A modern office is the best expression of the global village. With modern equipment, ICT and software, office work is easy, transparent and fast.
Because the work is done accurately and quickly, offices are becoming paperless, digitised offices. The filing system and the daily routine change with it. The time difference between Bangladesh and North America is about 12 hours, so two offices on the two continents can work the full 24 hours in shifts.
Services like Dropbox, Google Drive, Office 365 and Google Docs let us create files, store and share them securely, and reach them from anywhere. Every kind of office meeting can be held by video conferencing, and the instructions still get across.
There is a downside too. Office automation costs inexperienced workers their jobs. Interaction with clients and social contact with colleagues fall. And if big IT companies' data centres are used without control, national data is at risk.
change and effectFlip to see what follows.
Office change, effect
ChangeA 12-hour time difference
EffectTwo offices on two continents work 24 hours
ChangePaper files
EffectDigital files, a paperless office
ChangeDistance in meetings
EffectMeetings by video conferencing
ChangeFear of losing files
EffectSafe storage on Dropbox or Google Drive
ChangeWorkers without experience
EffectThey lose jobs
ChangeUncontrolled data centres
EffectRisk to national security
2. The Smart Home
A residence with the facilities of modern information technology is called a Smart Home, and its system is called the Home Automation System. Devices like the television, sound and music systems, lights, fans, air conditioner, washing machine, refrigerator, microwave oven, fire system, shower, blinds, garage doors, earthquake warning and temperature control are all connected.
A Smart Home works like a one-stop service point, from which every device is controlled. Cameras and motion sensors are linked to the police control room or a private security company, so the home is under constant watch. It is especially useful for disabled or old people, because voice commands open and close doors and switch lights, the computer and the telephone on and off.
Every device in a Smart Home runs from one point. Write a rule, then make the event happen and watch what the house does.
write a rulewhen, then
One point runs the house
The rules are examples. The book names the devices and says sensors are linked to the police and voices open doors; the other pairings are ours.
It has limits too: heavy investment, skilled staff to maintain it, invasion of privacy, and trouble using voice-controlled devices. Even so, its popularity keeps growing. Now sort the eight chips into benefits and limits.
sort themPlace each chip in the right bin.
Two sides of a Smart Home
Pick up a chip, then drop it in a bin. Ask: does it make the home easier and safer, or does it add cost or trouble?
Right. Next one.
Not yet. Recall the book's list of limits: investment, skilled staff, privacy, trouble with voice devices.
All in place. Cameras and motion sensors are linked to the police or a security company, all devices run from one point, and voice commands run doors, lights and the telephone. Investment, skilled staff, privacy and voice-device trouble are in the book's list of limits.
3. E-commerce
No country is fully self-sufficient. Each exports what it makes and imports what it needs. E-commerce is regarded as the pioneer of this journey.
The marketing, sales, distribution, shipping and any kind of transaction of a product or service between people or organisations, done through modern data processing and computer networks, especially the internet, is together called e-commerce (electronic commerce).
An e-commerce website lists a product's quality, description, pictures and price. Popular sites: bikroy.com, daraz.com, alibaba.com, amazon.com. A buyer and seller do not need to meet, and advertising on the internet opens local products to the global marketplace.
4. EFT and online banking
EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer) is an electronic transaction system operated and controlled by computer networks. It works between accounts of different branches of one bank, between accounts of different financial institutions, and even with foreign banks.
Doing a bank's financial transactions over the internet is known as online banking, also called internet banking. A client does not need to visit the bank in person. A smartphone or computer, an internet connection and a debit or credit card are enough.
Now put the three lists together and sort twelve names: e-commerce sites, office file services and Smart Home devices.
sort themRecall the book's three lists.
Know the kind by its name
Pick up a name, then drop it in a bin.
Right. Next one.
Not yet. Ask: is it a site to buy and sell, a service to keep files, or a device in the home?
All in place. The four dot-com names are in the book's list of e-commerce sites. Dropbox and Google Drive store and share files securely; Office 365 and Google Docs create and store office files. The motion sensor is a security device, the air conditioner and garage are controlled devices, and earthquake warning is in the book's Smart Home list.
5. Check yourself
Three questions in the exam's style. Start with the first.
check yourselfpick one answer
Question 1
Which service is used in offices today to store and share files securely?
Twitter is a social network; the book does not list it as an office file-storing service.
Facebook is a social network; it is not on the book's list of secure file services.
Right. Services like Dropbox, Google Drive, Office 365 and Google Docs store and share files securely.
NextGen is EHR software for patient records, not an office file-sharing service.
The second needs the book's lists.
check yourselfpick one answer
Question 2
What is a residence with modern information technology facilities called?
Right. A residence with modern IT facilities is a Smart Home, and its system is the Home Automation System.
The book has no term Modern Home; the name is Smart Home.
The book has no term Tech Home; the name is Smart Home.
The book has no term Sci-fi Home; the name is Smart Home.
In the last, test each statement on its own.
check yourselfpick one answer
Question 3
Which device is used for the security of a Smart Home?
An intercom is for talking; the book names cameras and motion sensors as the security devices.
The book names motion sensors and cameras for Smart Home security, not a tracker.
The book names motion sensors and cameras for security, not a detector alarm.
Right. Cameras and motion sensors linked to a police control room or security company keep the home under constant watch.
The whole note on seven cards.
cut from the notetap to turn over
Seven cards
QuestionWhat is the time difference between Bangladesh and North America, and how is it used?
AnswerAbout 12 hours; two offices on the two continents can run 24 hours in shifts.
QuestionWhich services store and share files securely?
AnswerDropbox, Google Drive, Office 365 and Google Docs.
QuestionWhich devices give security in a Smart Home?
AnswerSmart Home cameras and motion sensors.
QuestionName two limits of home automation.
AnswerHeavy investment and skilled staff for maintenance (also privacy intrusion and trouble with voice devices).
QuestionName e-commerce websites from the book.
Answerbikroy.com, daraz.com, alibaba.com and amazon.com.
QuestionBetween which accounts can EFT be used?
AnswerBetween branches of one bank, between financial institutions, and with foreign banks.
QuestionWhat is not needed in online banking?
AnswerVisiting the bank in person.
Source: Information and Communication Technology, Classes 11-12 (NCTB), Chapter 1 “Information and Communication Technology: World and Bangladesh Perspective”, section 1.1.6 to 1.1.8.