ICT in various fields

* ICT IN EDUCATION

What does it mean to learn about computers and the Internet?

Learning about computers and the Internet focuses on developing technological literacy. It typically includes:

• Fundamentals: basic terms, concepts and operations

• Use of the keyboard and mouse

• Use of productivity tools such as word processing, spreadsheets, data base and graphics programs

• Use of research and collaboration tools such as search engines and email

• Basic skills in using programming and authoring applications such as Logo.

• Developing an awareness of the social impact of technological change.

What does learning through computers and the Internet mean?

Learning through computers and the Internet combines learning about them with learning with them. It involves learning the technological skills “just-in-time” or when the learner needs to learn them as he or she engages in a curriculum-related activity. For example, secondary school students who must present a report on the impact on their community of an increase in the price of oil for an Economics class may start doing research online, using spreadsheet and database programs to help organize and analyze the data they have collected, as well using word processing application to prepare their written report.

How are computers and the Internet used in distance education?

              Many higher educational institutions offering distance education courses have started to leverage the Internet to improve their programme’s reach and quality. The Virtual University of the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Mexico uses a combination of print, live and recorded broadcasts, and the Internet to deliver courses to students throughout Mexico and in several Latin American countries. Similarly, the African Virtual University, initiated in 1997 with funding support from the World Bank, uses satellite and Internet technologies to provide distance learning opportunities to individuals in various English-speaking and French-speaking countries throughout Africa.

              At the University of the Philippines Open University, course materials are still predominantly print-based but online tutorials are becoming a convenient alternative to face-to-face tutorials especially for students unwilling or unable to go to UPOU’s various physical learning centres. About 70-90% of UPOU’s degree courses offer online tutorials as an option, while in several of its non-degree courses tutorials are conducted only online.

            But even in Korea, where infrastructure is among the best in the world, and government has put considerable financial and other resources behind an ambitious ICT-based re-tooling of its educational system, challenges to online education persist. 

                Internet- and Web-based initiatives have also been developed at the secondary education level. The Virtual High School is a result of efforts of a nationwide consortium of school districts in the United States to promote the development and sharing of Web-based courses. In Canada, Open School offers a wide range of courses and resources to grades K-12 teachers and students that meet the requirements of the British Columbia curriculum. Course delivery is done through a mix of broadcast and video, while some courses are delivered totally online.

*ICT IN DAIRY FARM

Using ICT technology on dairy farm for precision management

                Using online automatic milk analyzer on milking machine record milk yield and protein%, fat%, lactose %, somatic cell count and residual blood in milk of all individual milking cows. After finishing milking of the whole herd individual cows, milk composition and quality reports are available for warning with red font immediate for herdsman to review of the herd feeding practices and nutrient disorders, sub-clinic ketosis and sub-clinic mastitis. Also using infrared thermometer to measure and to collect the cow’s body surface temperature. Comparing with actual rectal temperature of cows’, exploring the regression with various parts of the cow’s surface temperature to predict the actual cow’s body temperature and then judge the cow’s body temperature if it is normal, or high with inflammation or in fever symptoms. Gradually collecting the data and establishing data base to develop the automatic monitoring and analysis system for dairy farmers. It would be very prompted and convenient to collect cow’s milk composition and quality, body weight, body temperature, and other relevant information. Using real-time information for precise feeding and management of individual cows in the dairy herd to early detect the problem individual cow and immediately take the necessary practices for improvement.

Developing a paperless electronic logbook for animal management events

                  The paperless electronic logbook is a software system joining the radio frequency identification technology (RFID) with the traditional barcode to provide a simple and accurate the paperless recording method for animal routine management events. The main tool of the logbook is a multi-frequency RFID handheld reader which has a barcode reader included. Event information, the "who", "what", "when", "where", and "which", is recorded in RFID reader as the events going on and data can be transferred into a computer later. Duplicated data can be deleted and the program provides sorting and searching functions of "who", "what", "when", "where", and "which" categories. The results showed that the use of multi-frequency RFID handheld, RFID tags and barcodes which had the opportunity to save time and cost, and to improve the accuracy of event recording, if compared with traditional manual entry. The goal of using low-cost devices to recording event information of animal management, the "who", "what", "when", "where", and "which" information can be reached, and the experimental data, medication data and routine management recordings can be driven into a paperless automated workflows.