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95-467: Some of these organizations exist only as loosely tied combines of universities, institutes or departments that together provide a number of courses over the Internet, television or other media, that are separate and distinct from programs offered by the single institution outside of the combine. Others are individual organizations with a legal framework, yet are called "virtual" because they appear only on

190-436: A brick and mortar university. There are no buildings and no campus to go to because students receive learning materials over the Internet. In most cases, only a personal computer and an Internet connection are needed that traditionally required physical presence of students in the classroom. Course materials can include printed material, books, audio and video cassettes, TV programmes, CD-ROM/software, and web sites. Support

285-480: A "course in a box". These have been developed so that students can obtain almost immediate feedback from professors and online tutors through e-mails or online discussions. When the term "virtual" was first coined in the computational sense, it applied to things that were simulated by the computer, like virtual memory . Over time, the adjective has been applied to things that physically exist and are created or carried on by means of computers. The Open University in

380-448: A business has to make for elements such as rent of a store and monthly payments for services such as a security alarm . Fixed costs stay the same for a business even if it ramps up its operations or winds down its operations during a slow period. In contrast, variable costs change as a business ramps its operations up or down. Variable costs include wages (for employees paid by the hour) and electricity for operating machinery used by

475-619: A bygone era, and laptops becoming the preferred method of computing, ICT continues to insinuate and alter itself in the ever-changing globe. Information communication technologies play a role in facilitating accelerated pluralism in new social movements today. The internet according to Bruce Bimber is "accelerating the process of issue group formation and action" and coined the term accelerated pluralism to explain this new phenomena. ICTs are tools for "enabling social movement leaders and empowering dictators" in effect promoting societal change. ICTs can be used to garner grassroots support for

570-477: A cause due to the internet allowing for political discourse and direct interventions with state policy as well as change the way complaints from the populace are handled by governments. Furthermore, ICTs in a household are associated with women rejecting justifications for intimate partner violence. According to a study published in 2017, this is likely because "access to ICTs exposes women to different ways of life and different notions about women's role in society and

665-626: A division of the United Nations, has made integrating ICT into education as part of its efforts to ensure equity and access to education. The following, which was taken directly from a UNESCO publication on educational ICT, explains the organization's position on the initiative. Information and Communication Technology can contribute to universal access to education, equity in education, the delivery of quality learning and teaching, teachers' professional development and more efficient education management, governance, and administration. UNESCO takes

760-443: A few types of each product. Online shops are able to have a huge amount of stock in numerous large warehouses (e.g., Amazon.com has warehouses in numerous locations from which it ships its products) which it can quickly ship out. An online store may be able to order up products from a large number of geographically dispersed warehouses, even warehouses owned and operated by third parties (e.g., smaller companies), which are connected to

855-448: A holistic and comprehensive approach to promote ICT in education. Access, inclusion, and quality are among the main challenges they can address. The Organization's Intersectoral Platform for ICT in education focuses on these issues through the joint work of three of its sectors: Communication & Information, Education and Science. Despite the power of computers to enhance and reform teaching and learning practices, improper implementation

950-505: A lecture or a virtual class meeting every week. Afterwards, students get a homework assignment; for example, they have to solve an exercise, elaborate on some problem, discuss a case study, or take a test. Lecturers give them immediate feedback, and one week later, the same happens again. Coursework can be the same for a Virtual University as the On-campus University in certain cases. NYU Tandon Online , for example, provides

1045-534: A more consistent curriculum across the educational service area. In 2011, UNESCO started a yearly symposium called Mobile Learning Week with the purpose of gathering stakeholders to discuss the M-learning initiative. Implementation is not without its challenges. While mobile phone and internet use are increasing much more rapidly in Sub-Saharan Africa than in other developing countries, the progress

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1140-503: A physical presence (e.g., a retail shop in a building) and offer face-to-face customer experiences. This term is usually used to contrast with a transitory business or an Internet -only presence, such as fully online shops , which have no physical presence for shoppers to visit, talk with staff in person, touch and handle products, or buy from the firm in person. However, such online businesses normally have non-public physical facilities from which they either run business operations (e.g.,

1235-406: A physical presence only, they may also have an online presence such as Tesco , who offer an online grocery service as well as a brick-and-mortar retail presence. The presence of brick-and-mortar establishments may bring many benefits to businesses; The brick-and-mortar approach also has various drawbacks. Fixed costs are a serious challenge for B&M businesses. Fixed costs are payments that

1330-585: A physical rental store to rent a DVD, and then return to the store to give the DVD back. "The rapid rise of online film streaming offered by the likes of Lovefilm and Netflix made Blockbuster's video and DVD [rental] business model practically obsolete.' There has been an increase in online retailers in the 2000s, as people are using e-commerce (online sales) to fulfill basic needs ranging from grocery shopping to book purchases. Sales through mobile devices such as tablet computers and smartphones have also risen in

1425-414: A pre-Internet era, when contrasting businesses with physical retail presence with those that operated strictly in an order-by-mail capacity pre- Internet . The history of brick-and-mortar businesses cannot be dated precisely, but it existed in the earliest vendor stalls in the first towns (as early as 7500 BC), where merchants brought their agricultural produce, clay pots and handmade clothing to sell in

1520-446: A range of benefits closely related to the specific functions of literacy practices." Furthermore, literacy and social development are intertwined, and the literacy divide does not exist on the individual level. Warschauer draws on Scribner and Cole 's research to argue that ICT literacy functions similarly to literacy acquisition, as they both require resources rather than a narrow cognitive skill. Conclusions about literacy serve as

1615-608: A range of government departments and agencies, ranging from departments of motor vehicles (online car registration), police (paying speeding tickets online), city services (paying parking tickets online or requesting that a pothole be filled) and social services (registering for social assistance or unemployment insurance ) and tax departments (paying a tax bill or submitting a tax return online). Many governments use e-services to provide online information to citizens (e.g., "help" guides, Frequently Asked Question lists, manuals for government program applicants, etc.), thus saving on

1710-518: A service center or repair facility where customers can bring their products, has played a crucial role in providing goods and services to consumers throughout history. All large retailers in the 19th and the early to mid-20th century started off with a smaller brick-and-mortar presence, which increased as the businesses grew. A prime example of this is McDonald's , a company that started with one small restaurant and now has nearly 36,000 restaurants in over 120 countries and plans to grow further; this shows

1805-434: A shift toward mobile technology; fewer people are purchasing broadband connection and are instead relying on their smartphones for Internet access, which can be found for free at public places such as libraries. Indeed, smartphones are on the rise, with 37% of Americans using smartphones as their primary medium for internet access and 96% of Americans owning a smartphone. In 1981, Sylvia Scribner and Michael Cole studied

1900-460: A smartphone, information and data are increasing by leaps and bounds. This rapid growth, especially in developing countries, has led ICT to become a keystone of everyday life, in which life without some facet of technology renders most of clerical, work and routine tasks dysfunctional. The most recent authoritative data, released in 2014, shows "that Internet use continues to grow steadily, at 6.6% globally in 2014 (3.3% in developed countries, 8.7% in

1995-747: A timetable, which the student receives with the course materials. These may include the planned activities for each week of the course and due dates for the assignments. If the course has an exam, the students will be informed where they have to go to write it. An example of a university that maintains a tight schedule is the Virtual Global University (VGU) in Germany. VGU offers a graduate program "International Master of Business Informatics" (MBI)—a master program in information technology and management that takes an average of four semesters to complete (for full-time students). Each course has

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2090-574: A tribe in Liberia , the Vai people , who have their own local script . Since about half of those literate in Vai have never had formal schooling, Scribner and Cole were able to test more than 1,000 subjects to measure the mental capabilities of literates over non-literates. This research, which they laid out in their book The Psychology of Literacy , allowed them to study whether the literacy divide exists at

2185-403: A village market . Bricks and mortar businesses remain important in the 2010s, though many shops and services, ranging from consumer electronics shops to clothing shops and even grocery shops have begun offering online shopping. This physical presence, either of a retail shop, a customer service location with staff, where clients can go in person to ask questions about a product or service, or

2280-540: Is 20 times more than it was in 2010. To tackle the environmental issues of ICT, the EU commission plans proper monitoring and reporting of the GHG emissions of different ICT platforms, countries and infrastructure in general. Further the establishment of international norms for reporting and compliance are promoted to foster transparency in this sector. Moreover it is suggested by scientists to make more ICT investments to exploit

2375-463: Is a metonym derived from the traditional building materials associated with physical buildings: bricks and mortar , however, it is applicable to all stores with a physical storefront, not just those built out of bricks and mortar. The term brick-and-mortar businesses is also a retronym , in that most shops had a physical presence before the advent of the Internet . The term is also applicable in

2470-494: Is a list of OECD countries by share of ICT sector in total value added in 2013. The ICT Development Index ranks and compares the level of ICT use and access across the various countries around the world. In 2014 ITU (International Telecommunication Union) released the latest rankings of the IDI, with Denmark attaining the top spot, followed by South Korea. The top 30 countries in the rankings include most high-income countries where

2565-444: Is a matter not only of education but also of power. Therefore, Warschauer concludes that access to ICT cannot rest on devices or conduits alone; it must also engage physical, digital, human, and social resources. Each of these categories of resources have iterative relations with ICT use. If ICT is used well, it can promote these resources, but if it is used poorly, it can contribute to a cycle of underdevelopment and exclusion. In

2660-440: Is a widespread issue beyond the reach of increased funding and technological advances with little evidence that teachers and tutors are properly integrating ICT into everyday learning. Intrinsic barriers such as a belief in more traditional teaching practices and individual attitudes towards computers in education as well as the teachers own comfort with computers and their ability to use them all as result in varying effectiveness in

2755-406: Is an organization or business with a physical presence in a building or other structure. The term brick-and-mortar business is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases retail shops , factory production facilities , or warehouses for its operations. More specifically, in the jargon of e-commerce businesses in the 2000s, brick-and-mortar businesses are companies that have

2850-407: Is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications ( telephone lines and wireless signals) and computers, as well as necessary enterprise software , middleware , storage and audiovisual, that enable users to access, store, transmit, understand and manipulate information. ICT is also used to refer to

2945-455: Is devices. In this model, access is defined most simply as the ownership of a device such as a phone or computer. Warschauer identifies many flaws with this model, including its inability to account for additional costs of ownership such as software, access to telecommunications, knowledge gaps surrounding computer use, and the role of government regulation in some countries. Therefore, Warschauer argues that considering only devices understates

Online university - Misplaced Pages Continue

3040-409: Is offered to learners from the professor or a tutor online through e-mails if they are having problems with the course. Taking courses online means that students will be learning in their own time by reading course material, working on course activities, writing assignments and perhaps working with other students through interactive teleconferences . Online learning can be an isolating experience since

3135-497: Is relevant because communicative practice is a key asset for refugees and immigrants as they immerse themselves in a new language and a new society. Well-designed mobile language learning activities connect refugees with mainstream cultures, helping them learn in authentic contexts. ICT has been employed as an educational enhancement in Sub-Saharan Africa since the 1960s. Beginning with television and radio, it extended

3230-441: Is still slow compared to the rest of the developed world, with smartphone penetration only expected to reach 20% by 2017. Additionally, there are gender, social, and geo-political barriers to educational access, and the severity of these barriers vary greatly by country. Overall, 29.6 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa were not in school in the year 2012, owing not just to the geographical divide, but also to political instability,

3325-577: Is the informational equivalent to 1.25 stacks of CD-ROM from the earth to the moon in 2007, and the equivalent of 4,500 stacks of printed books from the earth to the sun in 2014. The world's technological capacity to receive information through one-way broadcast networks was 432 exabytes of (optimally compressed) information in 1986, 715 (optimally compressed) exabytes in 1993, 1.2 (optimally compressed) zettabytes in 2000, and 1.9 zettabytes in 2007. The world's effective capacity to exchange information through two-way telecommunication networks

3420-578: The Labour Party under the leadership of Harold Wilson formed an advisory committee to establish an Open University. With the goal of bringing higher education to all those who wanted to access it, the committee came up with various scenarios before settling on the name Open University . The first idea floated in the UK was to have a "teleuniversity" which would combine broadcast lectures with correspondence texts and visits to conventional universities. In

3515-564: The OECD countries a reduction of 0.235% energy use is caused by an increase in ICT capital by 1%. On the other side the more digitization is happening, the more energy is consumed, that means for OECD countries 1% increase in internet users causes a raise of 0.026% electricity consumption per capita and for emerging countries the impact is more than 4 times as high. Currently the scientific forecasts are showing an increase up to 30700 TWh in 2030 which

3610-887: The Royal Society recommended that the use of the term "ICT" should be discontinued in British schools "as it has attracted too many negative connotations". From 2014, the National Curriculum has used the word computing , which reflects the addition of computer programming into the curriculum. Variations of the phrase have spread worldwide. The United Nations has created a " United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force " and an internal "Office of Information and Communications Technology". The money spent on IT worldwide has been estimated as US$ 3.8 trillion in 2017 and has been growing at less than 5% per year since 2009. The estimate 2018 growth of

3705-611: The United Kingdom was the world’s first successful distance teaching university. It was founded in the 1960s on the belief that communications technology could bring high quality degree-level learning to people who had not had the opportunity to attend campus universities. The idea for a "wireless university" was first discussed at the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) by the educationalist and historian J.C. Stobbart. From these early beginnings, more ideas came forth until finally

3800-486: The convergence of audiovisuals and telephone networks with computer networks through a single cabling or link system. There are large economic incentives to merge the telephone networks with the computer network system using a single unified system of cabling, signal distribution, and management. ICT is an umbrella term that includes any communication device, encompassing radio, television, cell phones, computer and network hardware, satellite systems and so on, as well as

3895-404: The "teleuniversity" scenario courses are taught on the radio and television and in fact many universities adopted the use of this technology for their distance education courses. The name "teleuniversity" morphed into the "University of Air" which still had the same goal of reaching the lower-income groups who did not have access to higher education. The name "University of Air" did not stick and by

Online university - Misplaced Pages Continue

3990-464: The 2000s: "While total online sales rose 18% year-on-year in December to £11.1 [B], according to the latest figures [January 2014] from e-tail industry body IMRG and advisory firm Capgemini, sales via mobile devices doubled to £3 [B].' The increase in households where both adults work outside the home, combined with the convenience of shopping for and buying products and services online, has decreased

4085-539: The Information Age is one of many models for describing and managing competencies for ICT professionals in the 21st century. The phrase "information and communication technologies" has been used by academic researchers since the 1980s. The abbreviation "ICT" became popular after it was used in a report to the UK government by Dennis Stevenson in 1997, and then in the revised National Curriculum for England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2000. However, in 2012,

4180-707: The Information Society (WSIS) to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing today's information society. According to this resolution, the General Assembly related the Summit to the United Nations Millennium Declaration 's goal of implementing ICT to achieve Millennium Development Goals . It also emphasized a multi-stakeholder approach to achieve these goals, using all stakeholders including civil society and

4275-621: The Internet, without a physical location aside from their administration units. Still other virtual universities can be organized through specific or multiple physical locations, with or without actual campuses to receive program delivery through technological media that is broadcast from another location where professors give televised lectures. Program delivery in a virtual university is administered through Information and communications technology such as web pages, e-mail and other networked sources. As virtual universities are relatively new and vary widely, questions remain about accreditation and

4370-509: The Virtual Class: Education in an Information Society" (London and New York, Routledge). It was based on a joint research project at Victoria University of Wellington that ran from 1986-1996. Called the virtual class laboratory it used dedicated telecommunication systems to make it possible for students to attend class virtually or physically and was at first supported by a number of telecommunication organisations. Its purpose

4465-501: The basis for a theory of the digital divide and ICT access, as detailed below: There is not just one type of ICT access, but many types. The meaning and value of access varies in particular social contexts. Access exists in gradations rather than in a bipolar opposition. Computer and Internet use brings no automatic benefit outside of its particular functions. ICT use is a social practice, involving access to physical artifacts, content, skills, and social support. And acquisition of ICT access

4560-456: The business during its operating hours. If a business increases its hours of operation, its hourly wages and electricity bill will rise, but its rent and security alarm costs will stay the same (assuming that the business does not add additional locations). Start-up companies and other small businesses typically find it hard to pay all of the fixed costs that are part of their venture. Research shows that 70% of new start up businesses fail within

4655-439: The citizens using online services are generally doing all of the administrative tasks (e.g., downloading a form, filling in a form, looking up guidance in an online "help" manual, paying fees) themselves using their home computer. E-government services also improve service for citizens who have access to a computer, Internet and an online payment method (e.g., a credit card or PayPal ), because these citizens are not limited by

4750-545: The classroom. Since then, multiple projects have endeavoured to continue the expansion of ICT's reach in the region, including the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, which by 2015 had distributed over 2.4 million laptops to nearly two million students and teachers. The inclusion of ICT in the classroom, often referred to as M-Learning , has expanded the reach of educators and improved their ability to track student progress in Sub-Saharan Africa. In particular,

4845-487: The company headquarters and back office facilities), and/or warehouses for storing and distributing products. Concerns such as foot traffic, storefront visibility, and appealing interior design apply to brick-and-mortar businesses rather than online ones. An online-only business needs to have an attractive, well-designed website , a reliable e-commerce system for payment, a good delivery or shipping service, and effective online marketing tactics to drive web traffic to

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4940-438: The concept of a Global Virtual University. Providing access to higher education for all students, especially adult learners, is made easier by the fact that most virtual universities have no entry requirements for their undergraduate courses. Entry requirements are needed for the courses that are aimed at postgraduates or those who work in specific jobs. Studying in a virtual university has essential differences from studying in

5035-493: The customer experience, they add to the costs of operating a B&M establishment. On the other hand, an online virtual store in which customers select their own purchases in a virtual "shopping cart" and pay for them using e-commerce approaches may be able to serve thousands of customers at the same time. Beginning in the 1990s and early 2000s, many governments in industrialised countries began to offer e-government services to citizens. Online government services are offered by

5130-535: The developing world); the number of Internet users in developing countries has doubled in five years (2009–2014), with two-thirds of all people online now living in the developing world." However, hurdles are still large. "Of the 4.3 billion people not yet using the Internet, 90% live in developing countries. In the world's 42 Least Connected Countries (LCCs), which are home to 2.5 billion people, access to ICTs remains largely out of reach, particularly for these countries' large rural populations." ICT has yet to penetrate

5225-406: The early 21st century a rapid development of ICT services and electronical devices took place, in which the internet servers multiplied by a factor of 1000 to 395 million and its still increasing. This increase can be explained by moores law , which states, that the development of ICT increases every year by 16–20%, so it will double in numbers every four to five years. Alongside this development and

5320-450: The entire ICT is 5%. The biggest growth of 16% is expected in the area of new technologies ( IoT , Robotics , AR / VR , and AI ). The 2014 IT budget of the US federal government was nearly $ 82 billion. IT costs, as a percentage of corporate revenue, have grown 50% since 2002, putting a strain on IT budgets. When looking at current companies' IT budgets, 75% are recurrent costs, used to "keep

5415-543: The first 10 years. People have busier lifestyles in the 2010s, with more families having both adults working, and therefore they find it harder to find the time to physically go and shop at stores and services. As well, in many cities traffic jams and congestion on roads have made it more stressful and time-consuming to drive to physical locations to shop. Online shopping and online services, which consumers can access from an Internet -connected laptop or smartphone are more convenient for these people. B&M increases

5510-489: The fixed cost for any business, therefore the products sold in physical shops tend to be more expensive compared to online shops. For stores selling expensive products or services in a B&M format, customers expect beautiful window displays, fine decorating in the establishment and well-dressed salespeople who earn high commission on their sales. Some high-end hair salons and luxury car stores even offer conveniences such as free espresso and bottled water, all of which add to

5605-403: The high investments in increasing demand for ICT capable products, a high environmental impact came with it. Software and Hardware development as well as production causing already in 2008 the same amount of CO 2 -emissions as global air travels. There are two sides of ICT, the positive environmental possibilities and the shadow side. On the positive side, studies proved, that for instance in

5700-474: The hours and location(s) of their bricks and mortar stores. Netflix , an online movie streaming website founded in 1997, is an example of how an online business has affected a B&M businesses such as video rental stores . After Netflix and similar companies became popular, traditional DVD rental stores such as Blockbuster LLC went out of business. Customers preferred to be able to instantly watch movies and TV shows using "streaming", without having to go to

5795-584: The household, especially in culturally conservative regions where traditional gender expectations contrast observed alternatives." Applications of ICTs in science, research and development, and academia include: Scholar Mark Warschauer defines a "models of access" framework for analyzing ICT accessibility. In the second chapter of his book, Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the Digital Divide , he describes three models of access to ICTs: devices, conduits, and literacy. Devices and conduits are

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5890-517: The importance of career development grew, so the university began to offer professional training courses alongside its academic programmes. By the mid-nineties, the OU was using the internet. As of 2008, more than 180,000 students were interacting with OU online from home. The idea of a virtual university as an institution that used computers and telecommunications instead of buildings and transport to bring students and teachers together for university courses

5985-405: The importance of having a physical presence. For many small businesses , their business model is mostly limited to a bricks and mortar model, such as a diner restaurant or a dry cleaning service. Nevertheless, even service-based businesses can use websites and "apps" to reach new customers or improve their services. For example, a dry cleaning service could use a website to let customers know of

6080-423: The importance of social origins, social structure, and gender inequality. Once in school, students also face barriers to quality education, such as teacher competency, training and preparedness, access to educational materials, and lack of information management. In modern society, ICT is ever-present, with over three billion people having access to the Internet. With approximately 8 out of 10 Internet users owning

6175-500: The individual level. Warschauer applied their literacy research to ICT literacy as part of his model of ICT access. Scribner and Cole found no generalizable cognitive benefits from Vai literacy; instead, individual differences on cognitive tasks were due to other factors, like schooling or living environment. The results suggested that there is "no single construct of literacy that divides people into two cognitive camps; [...] rather, there are gradations and types of literacies, with

6270-533: The integration of ICT in the classroom. School environments play an important role in facilitating language learning. However, language and literacy barriers are obstacles preventing refugees from accessing and attending school, especially outside camp settings. Mobile-assisted language learning apps are key tools for language learning. Mobile solutions can provide support for refugees' language and literacy challenges in three main areas: literacy development, foreign language learning and translations. Mobile technology

6365-511: The large company via the Internet. Queues ( lineups and waiting rooms ) are part and parcel of B&M retail businesses, due to physical constraints and the limitations on how many staff the business can afford to hire. A physical store may only have a few salespeople to serve customers, so many customers may have to wait in line during the busiest hours. To lessen the stress of waiting, some B&M stores provide big-screen TVs with cable TV, free coffee and newspapers; while these niceties improve

6460-536: The level of connectivity of those at the very bottom of the pyramid; an estimated 450 million people worldwide live in places which are still out of reach of mobile cellular service." Favourably, the gap between the access to the Internet and mobile coverage has decreased substantially in the last fifteen years, in which "2015 was the deadline for achievements of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which global leaders agreed upon in

6555-525: The lights on" in the IT department, and 25% are the cost of new initiatives for technology development. The average IT budget has the following breakdown: The estimate of money to be spent in 2022 is just over US$ 6 trillion. The world's technological capacity to store information grew from 2.6 (optimally compressed) exabytes in 1986 to 15.8 in 1993, over 54.5 in 2000, and to 295 (optimally compressed) exabytes in 2007, and some 5 zetta bytes in 2014. This

6650-546: The magnitude of digital inequality. For example, the Pew Research Center notes that 96% of Americans own a smartphone, although most scholars in this field would contend that comprehensive access to ICT in the United States is likely much lower than that. A conduit requires a connection to a supply line, which for ICT could be a telephone line or Internet line. Accessing the supply requires investment in

6745-415: The mobile phone has been most important in this effort. Mobile phone use is widespread, and mobile networks cover a wider area than internet networks in the region. The devices are familiar to student, teacher, and parent, and allow increased communication and access to educational materials. In addition to benefits for students, M-learning also offers the opportunity for better teacher training, which leads to

6840-457: The most common descriptors for access to ICTs, but they are insufficient for meaningful access to ICTs without third model of access, literacy. Combined, these three models roughly incorporate all twelve of the criteria of "Real Access" to ICT use, conceptualized by a non-profit organization called Bridges.org in 2005: The most straightforward model of access for ICT in Warschauer 's theory

6935-640: The need for call centers where citizens can call to ask questions or physical service locations where citizens can come in person to ask about government forms or services. These online government services aim at two goals: reducing costs to governments and improving client service. By offering these services and information online, governments save money, because they do not have to offer as many bricks and mortar client service centers where citizens can come and fill in these forms and pay government bills. Governments offering e-services can also operate with less civil servants and thus less salary and benefits costs, as

7030-523: The number of customers going to retail outlets, as consumers can access the same information about products and services without paying for gas, parking and other costs, thus saving them time and money. "Today’s consumers lead busy lives and [Bricks and Mortar] shopping takes time. Often it is a [challenging] task. Consumers find researching and shopping on the Web far more convenient than brick-and-mortar visits." Brick and mortar businesses are not limited to having

7125-646: The overhead of selling these products and services. Online shops, even those for luxury goods, do not have to pay for high-end retail stores and salespeople. Nevertheless, high-end online stores typically incur higher costs for their online presence, because they need to have leading edge Web 2.0 functions on their website, a professionally designed site, and in some cases, staff available to respond to phone calls, e-mails and online "chat" questions. Products may be out stock in relatively small brick-and-mortar retail stores and due to limited space in small business retail stores, these establishments may only be able to carry

7220-818: The potentials of ICT to alleviate CO 2 -emissions in general, and to implement a more effective coordination of ICT, energy and growth policies. Consequently, applying the principle of the coase theorem makes sense. It recommends to make investments there, where the marginal avoidance costs of emissions are the lowest, therefore in the developing countries with comparatively lower technological standards and policies as high-tech countries. With these measures, ICT can reduce environmental damage from economic growth and energy consumption by facilitating communication and infrastructure. ICTs could also be used to address environmental issues , including climate change , in various ways, including ways beyond education. Brick and mortar business Brick and mortar (or B&M )

7315-610: The private sector, in addition to governments. To help anchor and expand ICT to every habitable part of the world, "2015 is the deadline for achievements of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which global leaders agreed upon in the year 2000." There is evidence that, to be effective in education, ICT must be fully integrated into the pedagogy . Specifically, when teaching literacy and math, using ICT in combination with Writing to Learn produces better results than traditional methods alone or ICT alone. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation ( UNESCO ),

7410-512: The proper infrastructure from a commercial company or local government and recurring payments from the user once the line is set up. For this reason, conduits usually divide people based on their geographic locations. As a Pew Research Center poll reports, rural Americans are 12% less likely to have broadband access than other Americans, thereby making them less likely to own the devices. Additionally, these costs can be prohibitive to lower-income families accessing ICTs. These difficulties have led to

7505-432: The quality of assessment . The defining characteristic of all forms and generations of distance education is the separation of student and teacher in time and space. Distance education can be seen as the precursor to online learning. Before the advent of virtual universities, many higher education institutions offered some distance education through print-based correspondence courses. These courses were often referred to as

7600-556: The quality of life is higher than average, which includes countries from Europe and other regions such as "Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Japan, Macao (China), New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States; almost all countries surveyed improved their IDI ranking this year." On 21 December 2001, the United Nations General Assembly approved Resolution 56/183, endorsing the holding of the World Summit on

7695-427: The reach of education from the classroom to the living room, and to geographical areas that had been beyond the reach of the traditional classroom. As the technology evolved and became more widely used, efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa were also expanded. In the 1990s a massive effort to push computer hardware and software into schools was undertaken, with the goal of familiarizing both students and teachers with computers in

7790-613: The remote areas of some countries, with many developing countries dearth of any type of Internet. This also includes the availability of telephone lines, particularly the availability of cellular coverage, and other forms of electronic transmission of data. The latest "Measuring the Information Society Report" cautiously stated that the increase in the aforementioned cellular data coverage is ostensible, as "many users have multiple subscriptions, with global growth figures sometimes translating into little real improvement in

7885-493: The same as an on-campus degree, because the name of the granting institution is recognized. Information and communications technology Early research and development: Merging the networks and creating the Internet: Commercialization, privatization, broader access leads to the modern Internet: Examples of Internet services: Information and communications technology ( ICT )

7980-783: The same course work to its online students as the on-campus students at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering . This is done using advanced technologies. When online courses first began, the primary mode of delivery was through a two way audio-visual network. Then as well as now, many of the virtual study programs were mainly based on text documents, but multimedia technologies have become increasingly popular as well. These web-based delivery modes are used in order to expand access to programs and services that can be offered anytime and anywhere. The spectrum of teaching modes in virtual education includes courses based on hypertext , videos, audios, e-mails, and video conferencing. Teaching on

8075-577: The same way as traditional universities and operate according to a similar set of academic standards. However, questions remain about accreditation and the quality of assessment. Accreditation is required to assure students that the online institute has certified online instructors who have the expertise and educational qualifications to design and carry out the curriculum. Assessment standards need to be particularly closely monitored in virtual universities. For example, respondents in studies of opinions about online degrees will rate an online degree from Stanford

8170-413: The site. Governments are also adopting e-government approaches, which is the use of online services for citizens to enable them to fill out government forms, pay tax bills, and register for government programs online; these services aim to cut bricks-and-mortar costs (building leasing/purchase and staff costs) and improve services to citizens (by offering 24/7 access to information and services). The name

8265-432: The student spends the majority of their time working by themselves. Some learners do not mind this kind of solo learning, but others find it a major stumbling block to the successful completion of courses. Because of the potential difficulty of maintaining the schedule needed to be successful when learning online, some virtual universities apply the same type of time management as traditional schools. Many courses operate to

8360-492: The theoretical outlines for use of telecommunications and media for de-schooling and de-design of mainstream education and an alternative Virtual Free University system. By 1972 George Kasey established "Media Free Times - periodical Multimedia Random Sampling of Anarchic Communications Art" a prototype for remote learning with the use of "multi-media periodicals," that are now commonly referred to as "web pages". In 1995 by John Tiffin and Lalita Rajasingham in their book "In Search Of

8455-466: The time the first students were admitted in January 1971 the name had become what it is today "Open University". OU proved that it was possible to teach university-level courses to students at a distance. By 1980, total student numbers at OU had reached 70,000 and some 6,000 people were graduating each year. The 1980s saw increased expansion continue as more courses and subject areas were introduced; as

8550-507: The various services and appliances with them such as video conferencing and distance learning. ICT also includes analog technology, such as paper communication, and any mode that transmits communication. ICT is a broad subject and the concepts are evolving. It covers any product that will store, retrieve, manipulate, process, transmit, or receive information electronically in a digital form (e.g., personal computers including smartphones, digital television, email, or robots). Skills Framework for

8645-502: The web through courseware such as WebCT and Blackboard are also used. See Virtual education . Students taking "virtual" courses are doing real work to get their degrees, and educators preparing and teaching those courses spend real time in doing so. That is, students meet a comparable level of academic learning outcomes and are evaluated through programs constructed according to standard university-level criteria. Though it should not be assumed, virtual universities may be accredited in

8740-539: The year 2000, and the new data show ICT progress and highlight remaining gaps." ICT continues to take on a new form, with nanotechnology set to usher in a new wave of ICT electronics and gadgets. ICT newest editions into the modern electronic world include smartwatches, such as the Apple Watch , smart wristbands such as the Nike+ FuelBand , and smart TVs such as Google TV . With desktops soon becoming part of

8835-404: Was 281 petabytes of (optimally compressed) information in 1986, 471 petabytes in 1993, 2.2 (optimally compressed) exabytes in 2000, 65 (optimally compressed) exabytes in 2007, and some 100 exabytes in 2014. The world's technological capacity to compute information with humanly guided general-purpose computers grew from 3.0 × 10^8 MIPS in 1986, to 6.4 x 10^12 MIPS in 2007. The following

8930-608: Was first published in works like "De-Schooling Society" by Ivan Illich that introduced the concept of the use of computer networks as switchboards for learning, in 1970. In 1971 George Kasey, a media(activist)ethicist, delivered a series of lectures on "the Philosophy of Communications De-Design" under the sponsorship of Phil Jacklin PhD, professor at University of California San Jose, a member of "The (San Francisco)Bay Area Committee for Open Media and Public Access." The lectures contained

9025-591: Was to seek the critical factors in using ICT for university-level education. In 1992 the virtual class lab moved onto the Internet. A number of other universities were involved in the late eighties in pioneering initiatives and experiments were conducted between Victoria University in New Zealand, the University of Hawaii, Ohio State University and Waseda University to try and conduct classes and courses at an international level via telecommunications. This led to

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