Module 1: Impact of Digital Technology

Society’s Reliance on Technology

  • Technology has revolutionized lives in the last quarter century.
  • Advances in technology:
    • Faster and more effective access, search, and share of information.
    • Management of finances, calendars, and tasks.
    • Entertainment and relaxation through games and videos on phones or computers.
  • Digital literacy (computer literacy):
    • Current knowledge and understanding of computers, mobile devices, the web, and related technologies.
    • Essential for jobs, global communications, and participating in the international community.
  • Computer definition:
    • Electronic device operating under instructions in its memory.
    • Accepts data, processes it into information, and stores it for future use.
  • Data definition: Raw facts, such as text or numbers.
  • Computer components:
    • Hardware: Physical devices like wires, cases, switches, and electronic circuits.
    • Software: Programs and apps that instruct the computer to perform tasks, processing data into meaningful information.

History of Computers

  • Tools and machines for counting and manipulating numbers have been used for thousands of years, evolving from the abacus to modern smartphones and tablets.
  • First generation computers:
    • Used vacuum tubes to control electron flow.
    • Examples: ENIAC and UNIVAC.
    • Limitations: Large size, high power consumption, heat generation, and short lifespan.
  • Second generation computers:
    • Replaced vacuum tubes with transistors (smaller, cheaper, more reliable).
    • Included tape and disk storage, memory, operating systems, and stored programs.
  • 1960s: Development of integrated circuits, packing thousands of vacuum tubes or transistors into a silicon chip.
  • 1971: Ted Hoff and team at Intel/IBM introduced the microprocessor.
    • Microprocessor = brains of a computer, a chip containing a central processing unit.
    • Faster, smaller, and less expensive than integrated circuits.
    • Today, microprocessors are often called processors.
  • 1970s and 1980s: Personal computers gained popularity.
    • 1978: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (Apple) introduced the Apple II (preassembled, color graphics, VisiCalc spreadsheet software).
    • 1981: IBM introduced its personal computer (PC).
    • The number of PCs in use has grown to billions.
    • Many people now use tablets and smartphones instead of or in addition to PCs.
  • Today’s computers:
    • Connected devices that share data via the Internet or wireless networks.
    • Smaller, faster, and more capable than previous computers.
    • Smartphones have more computing power than the computer that guided the Apollo mission to the moon in 1969.

Impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Embedded Computers

  • Internet of Things (IoT):
    • Processors are embedded in everyday products (things).
    • These things communicate via the Internet or wireless networks.
    • Examples: Alarm clocks, coffeemakers, thermostats, streetlights, navigation systems.
    • IoT-enabled devices are often called smart devices due to their ability to communicate, locate, and predict.
    • Smart devices often have associated apps for control and interaction.
  • Basic premise of IoT: Objects can be tagged, tracked, and monitored through a local network or the Internet.
  • Communication tech enabling IoT:
    • Bluetooth.
    • RFID tags.
    • Near-field communications (NFC).
    • Sensors.
    • These technologies have become readily available, more powerful, and less expensive.
    • Sensors and tags transmit data to a server on the Internet over a wireless network for analysis and storage.
  • Big Data developments:
    • Efficiently access, store, and process data from sensors.
  • Mobile service providers:
    • Offer connectivity to various devices for quick data transmission and reception.
  • Embedded computer:
    • A computer that functions as a component in a larger product with a specific purpose.
    • Small with limited hardware but enhances device capabilities.
    • Performs a specific function based on product requirements.
    • Example: An embedded computer in a printer monitors ink levels, detects paper jams, and checks for a paper shortage.
  • Ubiquity: Embedded computers are everywhere, enabling devices to connect over the Internet using IoT.
  • Vehicles: Modern vehicles have numerous embedded computers for features like backup cameras, blind spot warnings, and alerts for unsafe road conditions.
  • Recent requirements for new cars: Backup cameras and electronic stability control (steering assistance during skidding).
  • Critics of in-vehicle technology: Can provide a false sense of security, leading to accidents if drivers over-rely on sensors or electronic stability control.
  • ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) and kiosks are common uses of IoT.
    • ATMs allow users to withdraw cash, deposit checks, and interact with bank accounts.
    • Recent innovations: Chip-and-pin technology for improved card security.
  • Kiosk: A freestanding booth in a public area with a display device showing information.
    • Examples: Self-service transactions in hotels/airports (check-in) and healthcare (patient check-in).

IoT Applications

  • IoT at Home: Remote management of devices (washing machines, webcams, thermostats).
    • Personal IoT: Wearable fitness trackers recording exercise activity, steps, and heart rate, sending data to smartphones or computers.
  • IoT capabilities: Secure, energy-efficient, connected, voice-activated, and remotely accessible homes.
  • IoT in Business: All business areas can leverage IoT.
    • Manufacturing: Monitoring processes and increasing quality using sensors.
    • Retail: Tracking inventory and sending coupons to customers’ phones.
    • Shipping: Tracking mileage, location, and driving times for safety.
  • Healthcare Provider Use of IoT:
    • Connecting to wearable blood pressure or glucose monitors.
    • Sending prescription updates to pharmacies and alerting patients.
    • Tracking and storing data from wearable monitors for follow-up care.
    • Sending appointment reminders.
  • Uses of IoT: Rapidly expanding, impacting and enhancing business practices at all levels.
  • Artificial intelligence (AI):
    • Technological use of logic and prior experience to simulate human intelligence.
    • Capabilities: Speech recognition, virtual reality, logical reasoning, and creative responses.
    • Computers with AI: Collect information to make decisions, reach conclusions, and combine information.
    • Machine intelligence is used rather than human intelligence.
    • Goal: Minimize the gap between machine and human capabilities.
    • Programming: Training computers to act in scenarios with if X happens, then do Y instructions.
  • Virtual reality (VR):
    • Use of computers to simulate a real or imagined 3-D environment.
    • Simulations: Use 3-D images for sensory experience through visual and sound effects.
    • Applications: Gaming (interaction with virtual environments and digital beings).
  • Augmented reality (AR):
    • A type of VR that overlays digital information onto an image of a real place or thing.
    • Examples: Photos with overlaid information (places of interest) or football broadcasts with first-down markers.
  • VR developers: Use digital graphics, animation, and AI to create virtual creatures that make decisions based on interactions.

Digital Divide

  • Digital divide: The gap between those with access to technology (especially the Internet) and those without.
  • Causes: Socioeconomic and demographic factors.
  • Impacts: Individuals, households, businesses, or geographic areas.
  • Educational opportunities: High-speed Internet, personal devices, and software vs. restricted access and limited resources.
  • Consequences: Inequalities affecting learning, knowledge, and future opportunities.
  • Solutions: Corporations, nonprofits, educational institutions, and governments working to narrow the digital divide for digital literacy.
  • Personal uses for technology: Productivity, learning, and career growth.
  • Interaction with embedded computers: Stores, public transport, cars.
  • Assistive technologies: Help people with disabilities use technology.
  • Green computing: Reduces the impact of electronic waste.
  • Digital citizen: Familiarity with using technology productively in the digital world.

Personal Uses for Technology

  • Technology: Enables efficient information access, sharing of ideas, communication, financial management, shopping, entertainment, networking, organization, and business activities.
  • Artificial intelligence and robotics: Increase productivity.
  • Practical Uses of AI:
    • Strategic gaming.
    • Military simulations.
    • Statistical predictions.
    • Self-driving cars.
    • Meteorologists: Use AI to analyze weather data patterns and create possible outcomes, which are reviewed by people.
  • Daily Interactions with AI:
    • Virtual assistants: Voice recognition and search engines to answer requests.
    • Social media/Online ads: Track data and target ads.
    • Video games: Provide information to virtual opponents based on skill level.
    • Music/Media streaming: Recommend options based on past choices.
    • Smart cars: Automate driving tasks.
    • Navigation apps: Provide traffic information and best routes.
    • Security: Fingerprint access, facial recognition, and motion-detection cameras.
  • Natural language processing:
    • Computers interpret and digitize spoken words/commands.
    • Users may need to train software to recognize speech patterns.
    • Digital assistants (Alexa, Siri): Use natural language processing to respond to verbal commands, using search technology to provide answers or perform tasks.

Robotics and Virtual Reality

  • Robotics: Combines engineering and technology to create and program robots.
  • Robots: Used in impractical, dangerous, or inconvenient situations for humans.
    • Examples: Hazardous waste cleanup, domestic uses (vacuuming), and agricultural/manufacturing uses.
  • Robotic surgery:
    • Robotic arms/instruments offer more precision, flexibility, and control than human hands.
    • 3-D cameras enhance vision.
    • Smaller incisions lead to faster healing and reduced infection risk.
    • Surgeons require medical and robotic training.
  • Self-driving cars:
    • Use cameras to adjust speed based on traffic and GPS for navigation.
    • Proponents: Reduce dangers related to human error.
    • Concerns: Contribution to accidents caused by distracted driving.
  • VR applications (outside gaming):
    • Science and medicine: Training and research.
    • Medical students: Practice emergency medicine skills.
    • NASA: Simulates space flight and other planetary environments.
    • Commercial: Home previews for buyers and building previews for construction companies.
  • Mimicking human action: AI and other technologies use past experiences, knowledge bases, and sensory clues to predict outcomes or responses.
  • Computer learning: Learning from past interactions to predict outcomes; using databases and Internet searches to answer questions; camera use for facial recognition and voice analysis.
  • Daily Life with Technology:
    • Internet use: Finding information, social media, purchases.
    • Smart speakers: Set alarms.
    • Coffee makers: Programmed brewing.
    • Thermostats: Adjust temperatures based on occupancy.
    • Public transportation apps: Locate stations and provide directions.
    • Payment: Phone scanning for fares.
    • Screens: Display train alerts.
    • Sensors: Determine oncoming traffic and report delays.
    • GPS: Set vehicle navigation.
    • Car: Senses space between vehicles and adjusts speed.
    • Banking apps: Balance checking and money transfers.
    • Loyalty apps: Checking for coupons.
    • Sales associates: Use tablets to look up personal profiles and past purchases.

Technology to Assist Users with Disabilities

  • Computers in everyone’s lives has generated an awareness of the need to address computing requirements for those with limitations, such as learning disabilities, mobility issues, and hearing and visual disabilities.
  • The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires any company with 15 or more employees to make reasonable attempts to accommodate the needs of physically-challenged workers.
  • The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that public schools purchase or acquire funding for adaptive technologies.
  • These laws were put in place to ensure that people with disabilities can access resources, information, and services using the appropriate technology.
  • Assistive Technologies:
    • Visual disabilities: Screen settings (size, color), voice output, Braille printers.
    • Screen readers: Audio output to describe screen contents, reading aloud webpages and documents.
    • Alternative text (alt text): Descriptive text added to objects, read aloud by screen readers.
    • Hearing disability: Visual clues instead of sounds, captioning software, cameras interpreting sign language.
    • Mobility issues: On-screen keyboards, larger keys, hand-mounted pointers, hand pads, foot pedals, facial motion detectors, pneumatic instruments. Devices less sensitive to involuntary movements.
    • Learning disabilities: Speech recognition programs, graphic organizers, audio books.
  • Basic premise: Improve accessibility for all users and provide equal opportunities to learn, work, and play.

Green Computing

  • Green computing: Reducing electricity consumption and environmental waste generated by using computers, mobile devices, and related technologies.
  • ENERGY STAR program: Developed by the DOE and EPA to reduce electricity use by computers and related devices.
  • Avoiding electronic waste: Don't replace devices unnecessarily and recycle devices and products such as ink and toner when they no longer provide value.
  • Personal Green Computing Efforts:
    • Purchasing and using products with an ENERGY STAR label.
    • Shutting down computers and devices when not in use.
    • Donating computer equipment.
    • Using paperless communication.
    • Recycling paper, toner and ink cartridges, computers, mobile devices and printers.
    • Telecommuting and using video conferencing for meetings.
  • Organizational Measures:
    • Consolidating servers.
    • Purchasing high-efficiency equipment.
    • Using sleep modes and power management features.
    • Buying computers with lower power consumption processors.
    • Using outside air to cool data centers.
    • Allowing employees to telecommute.
  • Impact: Green computing practices are easy to implement and have a huge impact.

Enterprise Computing

  • Enterprise computing: Use of technology by a company’s employees to meet the needs of a large business.

Professionals Use Technology

  • Nearly every job requires interaction with technology to complete projects, exchange information with coworkers, and meet customers’ needs.
  • Technology used to prepare/search for a job.
  • Technology in the Workplace
    • Workers use smartphones, the Internet, and the cloud to work remotely (telecommuting).
    • Intelligent workplace: Technology enables connection to company network, communication, productivity software usage, and web conferencing.
    • BYOD (bring your own device) policy enables employees to use personal devices for business.
    • Online collaborative productivity software enables document sharing, editing, and commenting.

Technology in Education and Healthcare

  • Technology in K-12 Education
    • Social networking tools promote school events and teach concepts.
    • Online productivity software enables collaborative student projects.
    • Intelligent classroom: Technology facilitates learning and communication.
  • Technology in Higher Education
    • Learning management systems (LMS): Web-based training sites for progress checks, practice tests, and communication.
    • Online access: Instructor lectures, classes, and degree programs.
    • Ebooks: Access content and digital assets from devices.
  • Technology in Healthcare
    • Physicians: Use computers to monitor vital signs and research symptoms/diagnoses.
    • Mobile health (mHealth): Professionals use devices to access records; patients use devices to monitor conditions/treatments.
    • mHealth apps: Track prescriptions and send reminders.
    • Medical monitoring devices: Electronic bracelets collect vital signs.
    • Smart pills: Sensors to monitor medication or tiny cameras for internal organ viewing.
    • 3-D printers: Manufacture skin for burn patients and prosthetic devices.

Technology in Transportation and Manufacturing

  • Technology in the Transportation Industry
    • Workers scan codes on packages.
    • Computers find efficient routes and track progress.
    • GPS navigation.
    • Self-driving trucks use robotics.
    • Automated vehicles increase transportation options for people with disabilities.
  • Technology in Manufacturing
    • Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) streamlines production.
    • Robots perform dangerous, detailed, or monotonous work (automotive manufacturing).
    • Pairing robotic systems with human workers improves quality, cost efficiency, and competitiveness.
    • Computers make it possible to order parts from the warehouse to assemble custom products.
    • A company’s computers monitor assembly lines and equipment using machine-to-machine (M2M) communications.

Technology Careers

  • Software and Apps
    • Consists of companies that develop, manufacture, and support programs for computers, the web, and mobile devices.
  • Technology Equipment
    • Consists of manufacturers and distributors of computers, mobile devices, and other hardware.
  • IT Departments
    • Responsible for ensuring that all the computer operations, mobile devices, and networks run smoothly and determining when the organization requires new hardware, mobile devices, or software.
    • Management: Directs the planning, research, development, evaluation, and integration of technology.
    • Research and software development: Analyzes, designs, develops, and implements new information technology and maintains existing systems.
    • Technical support: Evaluates and integrates new technologies, administers the organization’s data resources, and supports the centralized computer operating system and servers.
    • Operations: Oversees the centralized computer equipment and administers the network.
    • Training and support: Teaches employees how to use the information system and answers user questions.
    • Information security: Develops and enforces policies that are designed to safeguard an organization’s data and information from unauthorized users.
  • Technology Service and Repair
    • Provides preventative maintenance, component installations, and repair services to customers.
  • Technology Sales
    • Possesses a general understanding of technology, as well as specific knowledge of the product they are selling.
  • Technology Education, Training, and Support
    • Provide technology-related education and training.
  • IT Consulting
    • Provide IT services to clients based on their specific areas of expertise.
  • System Development
    • Analyze and create: Software, apps, databases, websites and web-based development platforms, cloud services, and networks.
  • Web Marketing and Social Media
    • Web marketers create social media plans, including the content and timing of marketing campaigns, posts, and emails.
  • Data Storage, Retrieval, and Analysis
    • Employees in this field must be knowledgeable about collecting, analyzing, storing, and reporting data from databases or the web.
  • Information and Systems Security
    • Require you to be knowledgeable about potential threats to a device or network, including viruses and hacking.

Preparing for a Career in Technology

  • Social media and job search websites.
  • Professional Online Presence
    • Do not use humorous or informal names for your account profiles, blog, or domain name.
    • Include a photo that shows your best self.
    • Upload a PDF of your resume.
    • Include links to videos, publications, or digital content you have created.
    • Proofread your resume, blog, website, or profile carefully to avoid spelling and grammar mistakes.
    • Enable privacy settings on your personal social media accounts, and never post anything online that you would not want a potential employer to see.
  • Certifications
    • Demonstrates your knowledge in a specific area.
    • Areas that offer certifications: Application software, data analytics, database, and web design , hardware, networking, operating systems, programming, cybersecurity.
    • Demonstrate your commitment to your chosen area and can help you land a job.