Sub Unit 1.1 considers five aspects of  the ICT revolution as an introduction to the course on ICT and Education. These are: 

1. The transformation of the way in which humanity captures, stores, manipulates and delivers data in its various forms; with the invention of the microprocessor. The microprocessor has been able to find a use in almost all of the inventions of the latter part of the twentieth century  - whether it is in entertainment, medicine, domestic appliances, transportation, government, business and of course education.
2. The unit also looks at the nature of ICT and the way governments promote and use ICT's through policies and investments. Malaysia's Strategic Plan for the transformation of the country, through the use of ICT is one example. Though it is relatively easy to create policies its implementation has proved to be challenging in the absence of other supportive infrastructure such as a reliable national electricity grid. This has frequently led to situations where there are those who benefit from the digital revolution and those they who have not - the digital divide is not just a poor country phenomenon It is a challenge faced by all nations.
3. In the last forty years ICTs have penetrated all aspects of our lives and this will continue even more so. This has profound implications for the global community in all aspects.
4. Our dependence on ICT has increased even more with innovations like the Internet and the Worldwide Web which has opened up the whole world to the whole world without boundaries. Where these twin innovations will take humanity to in the next 50 years is anybody's guess but  the idea that we are  all part of a global village has found a meaning in the borderless world of the internet.
5. While ICTs are powerful technologies for good there are some downsides as well and these have to be addressed. The study of the impact of technologies is a study that is continuously in progress just as technology itself is continuously transforming itself.