THE ESSENSE OF THE CONCEPT "INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES"

Abstract

The genesis of the main scientific concepts that have appeared in the educational field due to its informatization is analysed in the article. Various definitions of such concepts as "information", "technology", "information technologies" and "information and communication technology" are described. It is defined that the term "information technologies" (IT) in its modern understanding appeared for the first time in the article of Harold J. Leavitt and Thomas L. Whisler published in Harvard Business Review in 1958. Six periods of information technologies development were defined. They are considered through the instruments assisting the information processing (technology tools). The following periods of development can be distinguished: 1) manual technology (pre-mechanical) (till the second half of the XIX century); 2) mechanical technology (since the end of the XIX century); 3) electrical technology (40s – 60s of the XX century); 4) electronic technology (since the beginning of 70s of the XX century); 5) computer ("modern") technology (since mid-80s of the XX century); 6) network technology. It is studied that the concept "information and communication technologies (ICT)" is an extended term for information technologies (IT), the components of which are hardware (personal computers, servers, etc.) and software (operating systems, network protocols, search and expert systems, etc.). In contemporary world information and communication technologies are a global tool for providing effective services in the educational system, and are also one of the most important factors influencing the formation of humanity in the 21st century.
It is established that information and communication technologies can be understood as those that, with the help of computers (or other gadgets), computer networks and means of communication, provide search, reception, storage, reproduction, processing, systematization, transmission, processing and application of certain information about the object that is the focus of this or that research.