📘 GCE A/L ICT – Unit 1 (Competency 1.1)
Topic: Investigates the basic building blocks of information and their characteristics
🔹 1. Data Life Cycle
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Definition: The sequence of stages that data goes through from creation to deletion.
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Stages:
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Data Creation
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Collection of raw facts (numbers, text, images, sounds, etc.).
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Sources: manual entry, sensors, IoT devices, transactions, surveys.
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Example: Entering marks into a computer, scanning barcodes.
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Data Management
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Organizing, storing, and maintaining data for effective use.
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Includes: validation, updating, securing, and backup.
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Ensures data quality (accuracy, consistency, availability).
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Removal of Obsolete Data
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Discarding outdated, redundant, or irrelevant data.
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Improves storage efficiency and system performance.
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Ensures compliance with data protection/privacy laws.
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🔹 2. Data vs. Information
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Data
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Raw, unprocessed facts and figures.
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Has no meaning on its own.
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Examples:
45,Apple,2025-09-16.
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Information
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Processed, organized, or structured data with meaning.
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Helps decision-making.
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Example: “The student scored 45 marks in ICT on 16th Sept 2025.”
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Key Difference
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Data = raw input
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Information = meaningful output
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🔹 3. Definition of Information
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Information is processed data presented in a meaningful context that reduces uncertainty and supports decision-making.
🔹 4. Characteristics of Valuable Information
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Timeliness
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Information should be available when required.
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Late information loses value.
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Example: Weather forecast before travel.
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Accuracy
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Free from errors, reliable.
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Incorrect data leads to wrong decisions.
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Presented within Context
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Information must relate to the purpose.
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Example: Marks shown with subject and student name.
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Enhanced Understandability
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Easy to interpret and use.
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Example: Graphs, tables, charts for clarity.
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Less Uncertainty
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Should help in making confident decisions.
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Example: Sales report reducing doubts about performance.
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🔹 5. The Need to Handle Large Volumes & Complexities of Data
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Modern society generates massive amounts of data (emails, social media, business transactions, IoT sensors).
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Challenges:
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Storage management
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Speed of processing
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Data security & privacy
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Extracting useful insights
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Solution: Big Data technologies and analytics (Hadoop, Spark, AI, Cloud computing).
🔹 6. Data, Process, and Information Relationship
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Data → Process → Information
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Data: raw input
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Process: actions applied (sorting, calculating, analyzing)
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Information: useful output
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Example:
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Data: Marks of students
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Process: Calculating averages
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Information: “Class average is 72 marks.”
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🔹 7. Various Forms of Data & Their Characteristics
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Types of Data:
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Text – words, documents.
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Numeric – numbers, measurements.
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Audio – sounds, music, voice.
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Video – moving images.
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Image/Graphics – pictures, diagrams.
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Symbols/Codes – barcodes, QR codes, binary.
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Characteristics of Quality Data
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Accuracy
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Completeness
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Consistency
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Relevance
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Reliability
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Timeliness
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🔹 8. Big Data, Its Need & Analysis
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Big Data: Extremely large datasets that cannot be handled by traditional databases.
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Characteristics (5Vs):
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Volume – huge amounts of data.
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Velocity – speed of data generation.
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Variety – different formats (structured, unstructured, semi-structured).
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Veracity – accuracy and reliability.
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Value – usefulness of data.
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Need:
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To identify patterns, trends, predictions.
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Used in healthcare, business, government, education.
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Analysis Tools: Data mining, Machine Learning, AI analytics, Cloud platforms.
✅ Summary (Quick Revision Points)
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Data life cycle → creation, management, removal.
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Data = raw facts; Information = processed meaningful data.
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Valuable info → timely, accurate, contextual, understandable, reduces uncertainty.
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Data, process, information are interconnected.
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Data forms → text, numbers, images, audio, video.
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Quality data → accurate, complete, consistent, relevant.
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Big Data → huge, complex datasets requiring advanced analysis.
📚 Flashcards – GCE A/L ICT Unit 1 (Basic Concepts of ICT)
Life Cycle of Data
Q: What are the stages of the data life cycle?
A: Data creation, data management, and removal of obsolete data.
Data vs Information
Q: Define information.
A: Information is processed, organized data that is meaningful and useful.
Q: What are the characteristics of valuable information?
A: Timeliness, accuracy, context, understandability, and less uncertainty.
Applicability of Information
Q: How is information applied in daily life?
A: For decision making, policymaking, predictions, planning, scheduling, and monitoring.
Drawbacks of Manual Methods
Q: What are the drawbacks of manual methods in data handling?
A: Inconsistency and duplication, errors, lack of sharing, inefficiency in harmful/risky situations.
Emergence of ICT Era
Q: Why did the ICT era emerge?
A: To overcome drawbacks of manual methods using IT.
Q: Where is ICT information used?
A: Education, healthcare, agriculture, business, engineering, tourism, media, journalism, and law enforcement.
Development of Technologies
Q: What are key ICT technologies?
A: Information retrieval and sharing systems, computer networks, Internet & WWW, mobile computing, cloud computing.
Abstract Model of Information Creation
Q: What is the abstract model of information creation?
A: Input → Process → Output.
Q: How does it apply to ICT?
A: Computers use hardware, software, and human operators to perform these stages.
Hardware, Software, Human Operators
Q: How is hardware classified?
A: Input devices, output devices, processing devices, storage devices.
Q: How is software classified?
A: System software and application software.
Q: Why are human operators important in ICT systems?
A: To manage, supervise, and control ICT operations.
Steps in Data Processing
Q: What are the steps in data processing?
A: Data gathering, data validation, data processing, data output, data storage.
Data Gathering
Q: What are methods of data gathering?
A: Manual, semi-automated, and automated.
Q: What are tools for automated data gathering?
A: OMR, OCR, MICR, card/tape readers, magnetic strip readers, bar code readers, sensors, loggers.
Data Validation
Q: What are data validation methods?
A: Data type check, presence check, range check.
Data Input
Q: What are the modes of data input?
A: Direct vs. remote, online vs. offline.
Data Processing Types
Q: What are the two main data processing types?
A: Batch processing and real-time processing.
Output Methods
Q: What are output methods?
A: Direct presentation to the user, or storing for further processing.
Storage Methods
Q: What are types of storage?
A: Local vs. remote (cloud); short-term vs. long-term storage.
Application of ICT in Various Sectors
Q: List some sectors where ICT is applied.
A: Education, healthcare, agriculture, business & finance, engineering, tourism, media/journalism, law enforcement.
Benefits of ICT
Q: What are benefits of ICT?
A: Social benefits (connectivity, communication), economic benefits (growth, jobs, productivity).
Issues of ICT
Q: What issues arise from ICT?
A: Social, economic, environmental, ethical, legal, privacy, and digital divide.
Security Concerns
Q: What are main ICT security concerns?
A: Confidentiality, stealing/phishing, piracy, copyright/IP laws, plagiarism, licensed vs unlicensed software.
