APPLICATION OF ICT, ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THIS TELECONFERENCING (WEEK THREE)

WEEK THREE

APPLICATION OF ICT, ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THIS TELECONFERENCING…

The society at large has felt the impact of Information and Computer technology (ICT) in all areas of human endeavor. In this chapter, we will look at ICT application and the use of some of the basic ICT gadgets.

TELECONFERENCING

Teleconferencing is the use of telecommunication gadgets to hold discussions between participants in different locations. It simply means meeting through a telecommunication medium irrespective of the location of the participants involved. It is usually done by providing  audio, video, and data services by one or more means such as telephone, computer, radio and television.

Advantages of teleconferencing

1. Participants do not have to be physically present at the conference.
2. People are free to join the conference whenever it is convenient and leave as well.
3. It saves cost of traveling.
4. It solves logistic problems associated with conferences.

Disadvantages of teleconferencing

The disadvantages of teleconferencing are as follows:

1. The facilities are expensive to set up.
2. The platform is slow and depending on the computer configuration and other hardware.
3. The cost of staying online may be high depending on the period of time.
4. It is often of poor quality and may not always serve the intended purpose.

VIDEO CONFERENCING

Videoconference is a live visual connection between two or more people residing in separate locations for the purpose of communication. It allows people to interact in a platform and share ideas, resources in real time. It has also been known as visual collaboration.

INTERNET TELECONFERENCING

Internet Teleconferencing is the technology which includes internet telephone conference, videoconferencing, augmented reality conference that involves conducting a teleconference over the Internet or a Wide Area Network. One key technology in this area is Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP). Popular software for personal use includes Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger.

Telegram                                                                                                      

A telegraph is an instant messaging and voice over internet protocol service meant for transmitting and receiving messages over long distances. A printed telegraph message is known as a telegram.

Telecommunication and Networking

A communication network is a collection of devices like transmitters, receivers, radios and communication channels that send messages to one another.

CLASSROOM EXERCISE

1. Give two advantages and two disadvantages of ATM.
2. List two advantages and disadvantages of using fax machine.
3. Write on the following i) Video Conferencing ii) Tele conferencing iii) P.O.S

 A communication network consists of one or more devices that helps to establish a connection between two or more users. For both types of network, repeaters may be necessary to amplify or recreate the signal when it is being transmitted over long distances.

Electronic Mailboxes

They are computer equivalent to conventional mail boxes. They consist of files belonging to specific individuals to receive electronic messages.

Voice Mail

Here the sender’s spoken messages are digitized by voice tone as stored in bit form on an answering device at the receiver’s location. The voice mail system keeps the message for the receiver to listen to once the receiver presses a “listen leg” the digitalized message is reconverted to voice data.

Bulletin Boards

A bulletin board is a surface intended for the posting of public messages, for example, to advertise things to buy or sell, announce events, or provide information. It is more or less an electronic billboard that sometimes referred to as message boards.

ICT Gadgets

Telecommunications or telecoms, refers to communication over a distance using phone lines, privately owned cable, or by satellite. This is one of the fastest and most modern means of moving information from one place to another.

Mobile Phones

A mobile phone or cell phone is a phone with access to a cellular radio system that can be used over a wide area allowing the user to be mobile.

 It works by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator.

In addition, modern mobile phones also support a wide variety of other services such as text messaging, MMS, e-mail, Internet access, business applications, Transaction applications, gaming and photography. Mobile phones that offer these more general computing capabilities are referred to as smart phones.

Facsimile Machines (Fax Machines)

Fax machines are modern form of document transmission which uses phone lines. The word fax is short of facsimile which means “identical copy”. Fax machines are modified photocopies. They work by scanning the written or printed documents. The number of tiny dots of each horizontal line of the page is converted into telephone signal and is sent to a receiving fax machine which converts it back into printable form. In recent time, the email seem to have replace the work of fax messaging by sending and receiving documents without delay.

Advantages of Faxes

1. Accurate way to transfer data and information.
2.  They are efficient form of communication.
3. It does not require special training to be used.
4. They can communicate diagrams as well as text.

Disadvantages of Faxes

1. Faxes are usually printed on poor quality paper and cannot be stored for a long time without fading or curling up.
2. It often has distorted images in terms picture quality.
3. Faxes are slow for large document, computers are quicker.
4. Faxes have to be retyped or scanned into word processing systems if they contain text that is to be used.

Automatic Teller Machines (ATM)

An automated teller machine (ATM), commonly known as cash machine is a

computerized telecommunications device which provides the clients of financial institution (banks) with access to financial transactions in a public space