General aspects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Information and Communication Technology, or ‘ICT’, is a widely used term. According to Haddon (2004), the term ‘ICT’ stems back to the mid-1980s, and encompasses any kind of technology used by individuals and organizations to manage information and/or to communicate (i.e.

broadcasting, telecommunications, computer-mediated communication, etc.). In this sense, ICT is regarded as “both service and product”

developed to assist with the organization and flow of information (Kompf, 2005, p. 220). Information and Communication Technology is today widely used across all areas of knowledge and activity, facilitating information management and communication of information (Aivazidis et al., 2006;

Somekh, 2007; Vrasidas et al., 2007). In this context, the most common and popular ICT technologies and tools used for information communication are: radio, TV, communication technologies (e.g.

antennas, radars, satellites), computers, the Internet, and mobile and wireless technology (Becta, 2008, 2009; ITU, 2013; Sanger, 2001).

In relation to the present study, the ICT tools being considered here are principally computers, the Internet and websites. These types of tools can be differentiated into two categories: hardware and software. As defined by the Hutchinson Encyclopedia of Science (Helicon, 2006), hardware is the “mechanical, electrical, and electronic components of a computer system” (p. 154), whereas software is defined as “a collection of programs and procedures for making a computer perform a specific task” (p. 949).

Concerning the Internet, it is a network of interconnected computers using a common transmission language (i.e. TCP/IP) (Jacobson, Mcduff &

Monroe, 2006). The most common system that accesses the Internet is called the World Wide Web or just the Web, a global and public interconnected network that uses common communication protocols to transmit information and data from one computer to another, principally in the form of Web sites (also called websites) (Anderson, 2006; Jacobson et al., 2006). In the words of Owston (1997), “the World Wide Web is a unique way of linking text, images, sound, and video resources on computers connected to the Internet” (p. 33). The impact of the development and implementation of the Internet has been enormous: “in 2002, Internet-related activities accounted for nearly 10 million jobs. By 2006, it was estimated that there were more than 1 billion Internet users worldwide” (Helicon, 2006, p. 259). More recent figures indicate that by the year 2009, 25% of the world’s population had access to the Internet, and in 2013 it is estimated that this percentage increased to almost 40% of the world’s population (International Telecommunication Union, 2013).

Moreover, the development of new technology, hardware and software, as well as the penetration of Internet connectivity are in constant increase (Clark, Logan, Luckin, Mee, & Oliver, 2009; ITU, 2013; Somekh, 2007).

The World Wide Web is composed of many different websites. Every website has a unique Internet address that identifies it, called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), which are in the form of ‘http://…’ (e.g.

http://www.waikato.ac.nz) (Owston, 1997). Owston (1997) defines a website as information formatted in forms of “pages” (p. 33). Thus, a

website may consist of one or many integrated pages with information on it. Websites may have different types of information, i.e. text, images, sound, video, as well as multimedia representations of information (Jacobson et al., 2006; Owston, 1997). Websites can passively present information, like simple text or pictures, or include more dynamic types of information, such as videos or animations, or even offer virtual tours to distant places, where a combination of types of information result in such experience (Becta, 2008; Jacobson et al., 2006).

2.4.1.1 The concept of affordance in ICT

At this point the concept of ‘affordance’ needs to be introduced. In the context of ecology, Gibson (1979) coined the term affordance in reference to what a particular environment has to offer to an organism. In Gibson’s words, “affordance implies the complementarity of the animal and the environment” (Gibson, 1979, p. 127). In the field of ICT, the term affordance is used in the context of the possibilities that technology can offer to users (Wallace, 2004). An affordance not only depends on what technology can offer to users, but also on the possible actions that users can carry out with such technology (Webb, 2005). Therefore, the affordance exists in the domain of the interaction between ICT and users.

Woo (2009) states that the opportunities offered to users through technology do not necessarily imply that it will result in an action by the user, and thus, “it is the user, not the technology per se, who determines if the technology is useful” (p. 214). This calls for great emphasis on the understanding of users’ characteristics and needs in order to design meaningful ICT-based affordances (Dohn, 2009; Webb, 2005; Woo, 2009). Hence, the affordances provided by ICT, the Internet and websites are varied, and depend greatly on the ways, and purposes for which, the affordances of such technologies were designed, on the needs and characteristics of users (e.g. ICT skills and knowledge), and on the particular type of interaction with users (i.e. including the context of interactions) (Wallace, 2004; Woo, 2009).

It is evident from this discussion that ICT involves many different perspectives and potential types of use. In the context of the present study, the focus of the use of ICT relates to its potential to assist community education related to socio-ecological sustainability. From an EfS perspective, an ICT-based educational process should be aimed at promoting both understanding of sustainability issues and action towards sustainable living. With this in mind, the next section reviews some key issues and concepts present in the literature related to the use of ICT in