The impact of ICT on employment

ICT has had a major impact on emplyement in many ways. The tables below names of some jobs and the things that have been changed as a result in the develoments in technology.

The impact of ICT has meant that people have become more reliant on computers. There have also been changes in the way that people communicate at work. A good example would be the job of a sales assistant who can look at a database to see whether an item is in stock saving time and in some cases money if one less person was emplyed to do this job. People can now communicate at work by using digital switchboards email and m0bile phones meaning that it is easier to contact people saving lots of time. One feature of emplyment which is now possible is being able to use video conferencing. This allows people to have interactive meetings that can be watched by others no matter how far apart they are.

People doing any form of work are able to contact other emplyees by mobile if any problems or situations accure that they should be made aware of. Someone in particular that may find the use of mobile phones useful are taxi drivers or someone that it isn't based in one place of whom is constentally moving around for there work.

ICT allows employers to control more flexible work patterns and work whilst on the move working in different ways in different places.

The impact of ICT on banking and shopping

The impact that ICT has had on banking and shopping is that it has made shopping online possible and easy to use by anyone with a computer. Now you are able to shop online on many different sites and you can even have delivery for a small price. You don't even have to leave home to go shopping these days as it all can be done safely online.

The benefits of having the use of computers is that people who are unable to leave the house (house bound) can still do there shopping online. It is particularly good for busy working people and parents of young children that find little time to shop. You are able to view things online in detail and don't have to commit to buy until you are sure. Without ICT 25 years ago people wouldn't have been able to buy things over the computer it would have to have been done by hand and would have been difficult for many. ICT as makes it possible for customers to scan their own purchases at the checkout as well as allowing people to shop around for the best deals for example in travel there are many different levels of travel with added extras which force the price up. To allow people to get the most out of internet shopping in the travel industry it is necessary to shop around for the best deals.

In many cases buying online is cheaper although in many areas such as travel,books,CD's and DVD's competitive sales have forced prices up meaning that the low prices you may have seen in the earlier days of internet shopping are one. The convenience of online shopping is also useful. You are able to access hundreds of shops or outlets in a short space of time and most importantly without leaving home. You have none of the issues like queuing, paying,stacking example.

The disadvantages of online shopping may include things such as delivery problems. You are having to rely on someone else to bring your goods to you. This means that the chance of damage or loss occurring will increase and could case problems. It is also quite common for people having to arrange to stay in all day just to wait for there goods to be delivered disadvantage would also be the hidden costs that come with some online shopping websites. Especially if this isn't made clear to you before you buy. On top of many of the prices that you pay for your goods you having to pay a postage and packaging charge which can make the cost of the goods a lot more expensive. Returning of unsuitable goods may also make shopping online less successful. It may require an additional charge or may even be impossible. it would also be an inconvenience.

In my opinion the largest disadvantage of online shopping is security. I also believe my family would agree with this as we have used online services before for shopping and found that giving out personal information is a disadvantage. Some people may have bought goods and never received them for example or received them late or damaged; others may have given money or credit card or bank account details which people may have accessed without their knowledge.

The impact of ICT on entertainment and leisure

In the past 25years ICt has changed and inhanced leisure and entertainment making it much more popular, easy, convienent and enjoyable. Virtually every area of entertainment has been changed bydigital technology enabling more personal creativity and choic. One aspect that has been dramitically inhanced is the accessibility of music and musical software. For example music can now be purchased online free of charge or at a low cost simply. It is now possible to record and mix music on a home computer which almost anyone can do. You can store music on your computer without having to insert CD's e.t.c

Computer users have experienced a boom in the choice of entertainment they can have. Entertainment is no longer restricted to jsut the computer as software can be taken off the computer and used anywhere. This is with things like MP3 palyers, multimedia players and CD's.

The disadvantages of using the internet for entertainmetn and leisure is that it is addictive and many people do find themselves spending alot of there time on it. For example msn messenger is one service available and using obsesively it can mean you begin to lack vitual social skills. Like using the interent for any other services it can be expensive and not cost effective if you dnt ake out the best deals. Also if you are unsure of what you are doing when using services that alllow you to download software like music and videos you must be careul to watch out for any illegal sites that could cause more trouble than it's worth.

The impact of ICT on education

ICT has helped learning immensly in many ways. Today all students are taught the basic skills on the computer. Then as the progress through there education ICT is used to aid there learning making it more interesting for them. Using computers students are able to have access to a wide range of material to help them progress. These are a few examples of what sites and programs have been made available to students to help them progress and study.

ICT has meant that learning for students is much easier and they can explore further if they want to find out more information about a subject. Without ICT education would be very different as many things in everyday student life revolves around it. All schools and colleges have some connection to the interent , most of these are high speed connection. Many students now have access to a personal space where documents can be saved and emails can be send and recieved.

It is believed that education can be used particularly for higher education and that is possibley where larger benefits have been seen. An example would be for lectures to use video and presentation that can be watched by large numbers of students.

Education is one area where the impact of ICT still could have a greater impact in the future. In theory is it believed that in the future students should be able to pick and mix what they want to create a learning curriculm that they will be able to gain the most from and that will match there needs. This could include things like online videos, exercises, online tests and quizzes that can track there processes. In the future classroom conversations could be held online with far more people world wide if necessary this could be a huge advantage to students studies in specic areas.

The disadvantages of using online services include the unreliability of the internet and when it is needed accessing specific sites may be difficult. Buying computers is expensive and schools may not have enough money to buy the new technological equipment needed. Students can also easily copy huge paragraphs of text off the interent and claim it is there own work. This can be part of a serious crime, plagiarism. Particularly in higher education this is seen as a massive problem and vast amounts of money are being spent on buying equipment that can help stop it.