How Technology and Education Can Save the World

By : Edutech

There is no denying about technology empowering the world in every way possible. Ranging from a little
child to a grown up adult, everybody is dependent on science and technology one way or another. According
to some people, it’s a bad thing to depend too much on gadgets and computers but in spite of that, we
choose to rely on the conveniences of science on a daily basis. On the whole, all minor and major
technological up-gradations have helped individuals and offices do multi-tasking with ease. When it comes
to the education sector, something of the smilar nature can be seen happening.

Schools and colleges across the world have embraced technology by bringing online school software into
the system. Today, technology and education are going hand in hand by providing academic institutes with
an easy way to manage and control the system. The traditional methods have started to vanish from the
face of earth providing academic institutes with an easy way to not just manage and control schools, but
also provide students with interactive technological amenities.

How Have The Methods Of Administration Transformed?

There was a time when principals used to maintain manual book keeping for all kinds of financial
transactions and academic records. Admins and teachers had to prepare all important information via the
pen and paper approach. School staff had to go through every little detail in order to locate important
information on a daily basis. That is not the case anymore because school admins have shifted all important
information on the cloud.

Teachers that used to mark attendance through registers are now seen using smartphones for that purpose.
Principals who used to print hundreds of handouts and brochures on a daily or weekly basis, can easily
circulate important information via the internet portal or the SMS communicator service. Most of the financial
records have been automated providing academic institutes with a safe and secure accounts management
system.

The digital student archiving system has also made it much easier for admins to locate students in groups
or individually via the student ID system. They don’t have to go through stacks of papers or hundreds of
excel sheets in order to keep track of a few pupils. Finance department, education department and student
enrolment and attendance can all be managed and maintained via cloud-based technology.

How Have The Methods Of Education Changed?

Students of today want easy access to knowledge and for that, schools and colleges have started to use
internet, ebooks, tablet computers, projector screens and so on. Teachers that used to give lectures in
class are showing children interactive presentations on projector screens. Children that used to carry heavy
textbooks have started to read from tablet computers.

Instead of distributing schedule handouts, teachers are posting timetables and date sheets on the internet
portal. Students on the other hand, also find it easy to view appraisal reports; result cards and all sorts of
information via the internet portal improving the overall methods of education. Students that used to visit
shops to buy books have started to download ebooks from the internet.
Because of technology, students have become more productive providing schools and college with greater
margin to flourish in the education industry. There is absolutely no problem in admitting that technology and
education go hand in hand providing the world of education a chance to be more creative and innovative.

Okay, let's see some magic education can do the world and its people.

Disturbing social, environmental and economic challenges have today placed the global
community on the brink of total collapse. These range from unemployment and poverty to global
warming, insecurity, terrorism, corruption and human rights abuses. Unless ignorance which is at
the root of the problems is first addressed through proactive, sustainable education, these
problems would only escalate and not abate.

For instance, the U.S. owns 13 of the 20 best universities in the world, according to QS World
University Rankings and, in 2009, has 10% of her population in the university system. By
contrast, Nigeria has just 0.35% of her population in the university system in 2009. Hence, the
U.S. has minimal share of the identified global problems while Nigeria has a huge share.

Education has the potency to address the world's problems and engender positive changes as in
many folds.

First, reduces unemployment and poverty. Aptly described as a behavioural disease by the World
Health Organization, poverty is the greatest social burden in the world today. Lying at the root of
poverty is endemic ignorance.

Education empowers individuals to be employable, and more poised to be job creators rather
than job seekers. Hence, they earn more, employ others and enhance better livelihoods for
subsequent generations. Education facilitates mechanized agriculture to enhance the availability
and affordability of food crops, cotton and timber. These in turn abate hunger and boost clothing
and shelter.
Second, education improves the security situation. Ignorance makes people susceptible to
criminal activities. Lamenting this problem, Omojuwa said, “Nigeria has some 10.5 million
children out of school today, where do you think tomorrow's terrorists are today?” Education
engenders reduction in crime wave as it enlightens and engages the youth who would otherwise
be gullible and used to brew violence.

Also, education checks corruption and electoral frauds. It is prevalent for uneducated persons to
sell their votes for packs of noodles. Quality education (which includes religious teachings and
acceptable social norms) instills ethics and discipline in individuals, making them able to shun
bribes, resist corrupt practices and lead upright lives.

I’ve spent lots of time trying to determine the most effective and strategic approach to
creating a healthy, just and humane world for all people, animals and the environment.
Given limited time and resources and the enormous challenges we face, what is the
very best way to create positive change in the world? Legislation and politics?
Entrepreneurship and innovative technologies? Investigative reporting? Protest? Direct
action and rescue? Making personal choices that are humane and sustainable?

I was so excited to watch The Story of Stuff’s new animated video “The Story of
Change,” which echoed much of what I’ve been teaching and writing about (including in
my recent TEDx talk, Solutionaries). Annie Leonard, whose “Story of Stuff” video
introduced millions of people to the underlying effects of our products and consumerist
culture, points out that we can’t buy our way out of looming catastrophes and dangerous
systems of production by choosing the greener and more humane products – although
choosing such products over those that are inhumane and toxic is a first step.

We must take action and get involved in changemaking. She invites us to consider what
kind of changemaker we want to be, urging us each to get involved in the ways that
matter most to us and best use our talents and skills. And because her work has
become so well known, her new video will reach millions of people, igniting an even
bigger changemaking movement. This is great news.

Imagine what would happen if these ideas spread, not just through the changemaking
community via the Internet, but also becoming integral to the education we provide for
our children. Imagine if youth grew up understanding the impacts of their choices,
realized that they have the capacity to participate in changemaking, and graduated
prepared to embrace their roles as solutionaries for a just, peaceful and sustainable
world.

That is the goal and the work of humane education.

How do humane educators change the world? Here are the top 5 ways:

1. Humane educators provide accurate, relevant information about the challenges of our
time, so that students have the knowledge to address systemic problems.

2. Humane educators foster the 3 Cs of curiosity, creativity and critical thinking, so that
students have the skills necessary to generate wise and effective solutions to
entrenched problems.

3. Humane educators instill the 3 Rs of reverence, respect and responsibility, so that

students have the will to put their talents and passions into practice no matter what
professions they pursue.

4. Humane educators offer positive choices and tools for problem-solving, so that
students can enthusiastically and effectively use their knowledge, coupled with their
concerns, to solve our pressing problems.

5. Humane educators foster a commitment to the 3 Is of inquiry, introspection and

integrity, so that students are dedicated to lifelong learning, self-reflection and putting
their values into practice in concrete and far-reaching ways that contribute to a better
world for all.

There are many systems to change, as Annie Leonard and the Story of Stuff videos
reveal. Our planet faces global, unprecedented and potentially catastrophic challenges.
Preparing our children to be system-changers who can solve the problems of our time
simply must become the goal of schooling. I believe that humane education offers the
greatest hope for preventing future catastrophes and the most important root solution to
solving existing challenges.

Amidst all the possibilities for being a changemaker, and as you seek to discover the
best ways to put your passions and skills into practice, consider becoming a humane
educator and providing others, especially youth, with the knowledge, tools, and
inspiration to also become changemakers for a better world.

Every year, 2,500 or so global political leaders, businessmen and thinkers

descend on Davos, Switzerland, for an annual meeting to discuss the world’s
big issues. This year’s overarching theme is the disruptive nature of
technology—these five facts explain how digital-age technologies have already
transformed our world, for better and for worse.

1. Wealth boosted by technology has not been equally distributed

Technology has made the world richer overall, but not everyone has benefited.
In 2009, the world’s top 1 percent held 44 percent of the world’s wealth; by
2014, they had 48 percent. By 2020, it is estimated that the 1 percent will
own 54 percent of global wealth. That is not the direction the other 99 percent
wants those numbers moving. And now thanks to technology, they can vent
their frustration in increasingly visible ways.

At heart, what’s transpired is that technology has hollowed out the demand
for low-skilled workers, who have been the first ones replaced by automation.
But they’re not the only ones who should be worried. A 2013 study from
Oxford University predicts that up to 47 percent of U.S. jobs will be
computerized in the next 10-20 years. And with the rise of websites like
WebMD, LegalZoom and E*Trade, even white-collar professionals like
lawyers, doctors and financial middlemen are under threat from technology.
Are any jobs safe? For the time being, positions that require empathy—say,
nurses over doctors—are better positioned to withstand the technological
blow.

2. Doctors and scientists have used technology to tackle problems

that once seemed insurmountable

Doctors have played a role too of course. HIV has been transformed from a
death sentence to a manageable disease in just thirty years. Bigger things are
still on the horizon. According to the most recent data, venture capital
firms poured $11 billion into healthcare companies in 2014, a 30 percent jump
over the previous year. These funds are being used to develop supercomputers
that crunch mountains of data to offer better diagnosis and treatment, and to
better understand our genetic building blocks and how to use them to fight off
disease. To put our progress in perspective, a full human genome sequence
cost $100 million in 2002. Today, it can be done for $1,000; by 2020 it may
cost less than a cup of coffee. Technology can be a double-edged sword, but at
least when it comes to our health (if not necessarily our medical
professionals), it has largely been a force for good.

3. Better technology doesn’t automatically mean better education

Today, there are more than 80,000 education apps available for
download through Apple’s App Store; 72 percent of those are aimed at
toddlers and preschoolers. But while parents and app developers have
obviously embraced the tech education revolution, a recent report by the
OECD shows that the link between technology and educational performance is
murky at best. The OECD found that across more than 40 countries, students
who use computers for schoolwork—but for a slightly below average amount
of time—tend to do better than average on reading exams. Students who
spend an above-average amount of time on a computer at school performed
worse on the same test, scoring lower than students who don’t use computers
at all. Technology is not a silver bullet. How helpful it is depends on how you
use it.

4. Technology can help save the planet…

The World Economic Forum just released its annual 2016 Global Risks
Report, ranking climate change as No. 1 in terms of impact. That makes
sense—the World Bank estimates that climate change may push more than
100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030. Of course, technology has
played a role in our current predicament. The shale revolution—which at its
core is a technological revolution—has given a new lease on life to the oil and
gas era. That may be good for falling oil prices, but it’s horrible for our
environment.

But now the good news. Since Barack Obama was elected in 2008, the price of
solar energy has fallen 78 percent, and the cost of wind energy has also fallen
by 58 percent, thanks largely to technological advancements and economies of
scale. In isolation, these numbers are not impressive. But what makes the
difference is that the global economy grew by 3 percent in 2014 while world
emissions remained flat. Cheaper alternative energy is the best hope the world
has left. People are not willing to fundamentally change their lives for
problems far off in the future, even ones as potentially catastrophic as climate
change. To avoid the worst effects of climate change, alternative energies need
to become as cheap and reliable as their carbon-emitting counterparts, and
quickly.

5, …And also help destroy it if we’re not careful

Technology has also created a whole new set of global security concerns. The
thoroughly modern phenomenon of cybercrime and economic espionage is
estimated to cost the world more than $445 billion every year. That’s roughly
1 percent of global income. And while it hasn’t happened yet, the fear that
cyberattacks can spill over and trigger real-world conflicts remains an
ongoing concern.

Technology has also changed the face of modern warfare. A decade ago, the
Pentagon had a stockpile of fewer than 50 drones; today it has an arsenal of
about 7,000. The Pentagon estimates that China will build nearly 42,000
drones by 2023. Others will follow suit. Yet another possible complication.