In this section of the unit you will mostly work through Chapter 7 (pp 179 to 206) of the text by Poole and E. Sky Mclivan. This unit consists of 3 sections. Synopses of the various sections are found on page 180.

In Chapter 7 are introduced to the idea of communication. An understanding of what communication means is essential to how computers began to be used for purposes of communication. This would mean getting computers to ‘talk' with each other.  The proposition that machines communicate with each other is interesting; even more interesting is the distances over which this communication can travel. The chapter is separated into three parts. These are:

As you are reading this unit you are probably alone in your room sitting at your table. But if you are reading this in the staff room or the school library, pause for a moment and look around you.  While many, like you would be absorbed in their own work, others may be in conversation. Observe the individuals in conversation. Besides just talking there are also hand gestures, laughter and physical contact like holding hands. People are communicating all the time. It is a very human trait. Most animals in the animal kingdom communicate - some, like Homo sapiens use language, others motor behaviour (bees, birds, mammals), and yet others chemical signals (termites and ants).  In the digital era the ability to communicate seems to have been bestowed by human beings through digital technology.

In the early days of computing, machines worked in isolation. With rapid digitization of communication technologies the transfer of data from one appliance to another became possible. Since there are literally millions of computers with enormous amounts of data in them, the most efficient way to move the data from one computer to another, from one to many, or from many to many is to simply get the machines to "talk" to each other. We have done this through creating various machine languages (the binaries of 0s and 1s), codes (protocols) and pathways (the networks).

In Chapter 7 the section on "Technology Transfer and the Challenge Posed by User Demand" (pp. 182-183) describes this development elegantly. Take note of the following as you read this section:

a. The move from analogue (copper) based technology to digital (fibber) technology. This single evolution of the technology instantly made possible all the communication activities we undertake both in volume and speed.

b. Educational services are among the major beneficiaries. The new tools of communication permitted interesting innovations in pedagogy.

c. How technology facilitated creative ways in which services in education could be developed to make learning available for all in an exciting, rewarding and fascinating way.