Chapter 1 · Information and Communication Technology: World and Bangladesh Perspective
Information and Communication Technology · Classes 11-12 · Chapter 1 · 1.1.9 to 1.1.11
News, Entertainment and Culture.
You wake up in Dhaka, open your phone, and there is last night's news from Atlanta, a film from Korea and a photo from a friend in London, all on one screen. Distance has shrunk, and some dangers have arrived with it. The last three components of the global village, news, entertainment and culture, show both sides.
1. News: everywhere in an instant
News is one of the main components of the global village. With information technology, news from any corner of the world reaches everyone in an instant.
Some important news channels and agencies of the world are AP, Reuters, BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera.
The movement against racial discrimination that rose in the US in 2020 spread quickly to other countries through news and social media.
Online journalism is now a mainstay in Bangladesh. Every major newspaper has an online version, and you can fact-check a story by cross-referencing other sources on the internet.
But news portals and social media are easy to run, so misuse is easy too. Fake news and hateful propaganda are now a huge problem across the world.
To counter fake news the country needs to expand its own news servers with artificial intelligence, strong databases and networks, and security and monitoring systems.
Share a fake story round by round and see how fast it spreads. Then switch on the book's two defences and run it again.
let it spreadround by round
One post, many shares
This is a model: everyone sends to the people next to them, and how many check and when the server catches it are made-up numbers. The book only names the remedies.
2. Entertainment and social communication
Most entertainment today depends on electronic devices such as television, radio, mobile phones and the internet.
Netflix, which streams films over the internet, has reached the point of challenging cinema halls directly.
Other online entertainment includes internet gaming, IP TV (Internet Protocol TV) and YouTube.
Popular social media are Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Skype. On them, the number of ‘likes’ is an easy way to gauge public opinion.
The risks are real: losing national identity, addiction like drug abuse, weaker family and social ties, invasion of privacy, passing off another person's photo or information under another name, and propaganda and rumours that cause chaos.
Now tell the three kinds of names apart. Be careful: one name looks like a news channel but is not.
sort themThink about where IP TV belongs.
Know the kind by its name
Pick up a name, then drop it in a box. Remember the news list has five names.
Right. Next one.
Not yet. Ask: does it report news, is it something to watch or play, or is it a place to talk to people?
All in place. IP TV is not a news channel but Internet Protocol TV, online entertainment. Netflix streams films over the internet.
3. The exchange of cultures
Valentine's Day was not celebrated in Bangladesh before, but under the influence of the global village it is now popular with the young. A Bangladeshi and an American teenager use the same kind of technology at the same time.
It has adverse effects too. Under cultural aggression the language and culture of a country left behind come under threat, many traditions are close to vanishing, and remix, fusion and pop culture damage the original traditions.
The answer is to protect our own culture and traditions by promoting them on the internet through blogs, websites and channels.
In all three components, benefit and risk run side by side. Put the eight items on the right side.
sort themPlace each chip in the right bin.
Both sides
Pick up a chip, then drop it in a box.
Right. Next one.
Not yet. Ask: does this help someone, or harm them?
All in place. Speed of news, checking, opinion and meeting cultures are benefits. False propaganda, addiction, stolen photos and damage to tradition are risks.
The book gives one remedy for each problem. Read the problem on each of four cards, recall the answer, then flip to check.
problem and answerFlip to see the book's answer.
Problem, answer
ProblemFake news spreading
AnswerAI-based own news servers, strong databases, security and monitoring
ProblemDoubt about a news item
AnswerCross-check it against other sources online
ProblemOur culture is fading
AnswerPromote it on blogs, websites and channels
QuestionWe want to know public opinion
AnswerThe number of likes on social media
4. Check yourself
The first question is about the lists of names.
check yourselfpick one answer
Question 1
Which of the following is not a news channel or agency?
AP is a news agency named in the book, so it is not the odd one out.
Al Jazeera is a news channel named in the book, so it is not the odd one out.
Right. IP TV is an online entertainment medium; AP, Reuters, BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera are the news channels and agencies.
Reuters is a news agency named in the book, so it is not the odd one out.
In the second, watch the line between benefit and risk.
check yourselfpick one answer
Question 2
What is Netflix?
Right. Netflix is a streaming service for watching films online, and it directly challenges cinema halls.
Netflix is not a goods-selling site; it streams films.
Virtual reality is a technology for artificial 3D worlds; Netflix is not that.
Netflix is not a machine; it is a streaming service.
The last question is about the remedies.
check yourselfpick one answer
Question 3
By the number of what can public opinion be easily judged on social media?
A tweet is a message; the book names likes as the count for judging opinion.
Blogging is publishing posts; opinion is judged by the number of likes.
The book names likes, not reacts, as the measure of opinion.
Right. On social media the number of likes makes it easy to gauge public opinion.
The whole note on a few cards.
cut from the notetap to turn over
Seven cards
QuestionName important news channels and agencies of the world.
AnswerAP, Reuters, BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera.
QuestionIs IP TV a news channel?
AnswerNo; IP TV (Internet Protocol TV) is a means of online entertainment.
QuestionWhat does the book suggest against fake news?
AnswerOwn news servers with artificial intelligence, strong databases, networks, and security and monitoring.
QuestionWhat helps gauge public opinion easily on social media?
AnswerThe number of likes.
QuestionName one risk of entertainment and social communication.
AnswerInterference with personal information, passing another's photo or data under another name, propaganda and rumours (any one).
QuestionName one adverse effect of cultural exchange.
AnswerCultural aggression threatens the language and culture of weaker countries, and remix, fusion and pop culture harm tradition.
QuestionWhat does the book say we should do to protect our culture?
AnswerPresent our culture and heritage on blogs, websites and channels.
Source: Information and Communication Technology, Classes 11-12 (NCTB), Chapter 1 “Information and Communication Technology: World and Bangladesh Perspective”, section 1.1.9 to 1.1.11.