Information and Communication technology (ICT) has become increasingly vital in education. In this chapter, you will learn about the importance of ICT, how to use different methods to search for academic information from physical and online sources, ethical concerns related to information searches and how to assess the importance of different basic databases in learning. The competence developed in this chapter will enable you to make appropriate use of different databases for academic and non-academic pursuits.
Using ICT to search for academic information
ICT provides students with options to search for academic information. It also gives students access to various academic information sources and addresses the shortage of textbooks. Hence, ICT connects users to local and international information sources. It also complements many traditional learning tools in the advanced world of education, which has a major influence on students’ learning processes.
Furthermore, it encompasses many modern devices, including radios, computers, desktops, projectors, printers, scanners, interactiye whiteboards and mobile phones. These are continually updated in tandem with the innovation of new ICT tools.
We are using the terms “information and communication technology” in their broadest sense to refer to technological innovations, data and data movement from one source to another. “Information” refers to data that has been processed, involving facts, theories, pictures, numbers, etc. “Communication” is the transfer of information from one location to another. The word “technology” highlights that the subject is new and dynamic.
Important observations about ICT in academic communication
ICT has made academic materials available in more accessible formats to millions of people who can use them whenever convenient. Students can use ICT to improve their skills such as by using worksheets and fubrics available through ICT for self-assessment.
Through ICT, students can choose materials of interest when researching specific subjects. For this reason, ICT is embraced by countries and educational institutions all over the world to create, access, share and use information.
The rapid advancement of ICT and its storage capacities help to manage academic information. The information obtained from digital resources could be more updated and helpful than traditional physical resources. ICT also provides various ways of searching information. For example, digital resources provide hypertexts to allow branching to related topics, which is more convenient.
Digital/online resources of information
These resources are a product of the advancement of science and technology. They refer to all the documents or materials and other forms of information available on the internet.
They are also known as web or digital resources or e-resources. Online resources have impacted the way knowledge is accessed and disseminated. They have also provided improved solutions to complex challenges. Students and teachers are provided with vast amounts of information in various domains such as education, natural science, politics, social science and humanities. It is with no doubt that ICT has revolutionized how we access, process, and disseminate information, but it doesn’t eliminate the importance of physical resources entirely.
Physical resources of information
Physical resources of information refer to tangible or physical items that are available for use. They include books, magazines, letters, diaries, journals and other printed materials. They are found in libraries and archives. Physical resources are still essential, even with the advancement of ICT.
Certain types of information may only be available in physical libraries. They also serve as platforms for social gatherings. You can access physical libraries for free or at a minimal cost. More importantly, resources such as libraries, museums and archives now host a range of learning materials ranging from physical books and journals to e-journals, e-books and internet gateways. ICT has come to widen access to different types of resources in the physical library. For instance, library catalogues, which used to be available in mere CD-ROM format in the past alongside physical indexes, are now heavily web-based, This means access to the catalogues can be done anywhere and anytime as long as there is internet.
Furthermore, large-scale projects have been implemented, aiming to digitise the contents of library special collections and make them not only more accessible to the public but also preserve the items by reducing the need to handle fragile physical copies.
Such projects share the same ambitions as the development of e-journals and e-books. Storing books, journals and other publications online can save substantive physical storage space in physical libraries. This process permits a shift in the use of library space and extends the life of the physical collections since it reduces the frequency of the manual retrieval processes, which can affect the collections.
Accessing physical and digital resources
Accessing both resources of information is possible through the following library management system catalogues:
(a) Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC)
Access to a library’s physical and digital resources is typically managed using an integrated library management system, which maintains the library collection, allows users to search and locate resources and provides a range of other services such as account management, resource reservations and resource recommendations.
For example, users can often search for resources using personal computers in the library or their own devices if remote access is available. They can also use desktop or online services to suggest new material purchases or report lost items. This is usually facilitated by providing online access to a digital version of the resource catalogue, sometimes called the library OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue), where details of all resources are recorded.
In addition, academic libraries may also offer a range of digital and online resources, including access to academic databases, electronic journals and articles, e-books and multimedia and archive materials. For example, university libraries commonly provide students and staff with remote, off-campus access to a wide range of digital academic resources, allowing them to search and retrieve information without being physically present in the library.
(b) Dewey Decimal Classification
Most libraries organise and store physical resources using a classification system calledthe Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) or the Library of Congress Classification. These systems group related topics together, assigning a unique number to each topic in a way conducive to the physical arrangement of materials on the shelves.
Then, it becomes possible to browse the collection by topic. Further information about the use of DDC can be accessed through online sources.