Select a current event that relates to Communities and Social Change. Describe the current event and give your opinions about it
Changes in the community are inevitable given the rapid rate of globalization. Almost every country in the world has contributed to the invention of new technologies and ideas that put them on the same level as the rest of the world. Among the noble ideas brought up are those that aid in community and social changes. These help in solving problems in the community that were a hindrance to development. For instance, the field of education has had tough problems that have barred developments in most nations. Thus, most of the technological advancements in the 21st century have been geared towards education. In this paper, one of the most recent events relating to communities and social change in the education sector will be looked at. This is the innovation of K-12 learning. The increasing unprecedented challenges in the education system are what lead to the need for an efficient learning system that will shape the future of global education.
K-12 learning innovation is a form of virtual learning that is bound to bring technological advancements to the education system. For instance, under this mode of learning, students are tutored in groups of few students to enable increase efficiency in learning. The chance of having one-on-one interaction between the tutor and the student is increased. As such, tutors are able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each student thus working on the weaknesses to come up with an excellent performing student.
In addition to this, K-12 learning innovation entails working with goal-based instructions to the students. This makes it easy for the tutors to track the progress of the students hence intervene in cases of deviation from the expected trend. Parents of the students are also able to get the progress of their children and help in areas they can. Another major characteristic of the K-12 learning innovation program is that it offers online learning especially to students outside America. This is in fact the greatest achievement of K-12 learning in the field of education. Virtual learning is a new option for people who are committed in regions where they cannot access valuable education. The only requirement for this is a computer connected to the internet. Thus, the students get notes and access classes online. In some cases, exams are also conducted online through video connections such as Skype.
In my opinion, the invention of the K-12 learning innovation brings about community and social change as it transforms the lives of students in a positive way. Additionally, it simplifies the learning curriculum, which has been deemed difficult by most students in the past years.
What three technological innovations during the past fifty years or so have most influenced changing social patterns, in your opinion?
As technological innovations emerge in various fields like computing, energy, communication, infrastructure, and medicine, it is difficult to determine which one of them will have a transformative effect on its respective field. It is, however, possible to predict which one is likely to make human life better, and which one is likely to be successfully implemented on large scale. A single technological advancement may have the capacity to grow the world’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) significantly and bridge the material deficit created by an ever-growing global population. New technologies can also reduce the pressure that the production of goods exerts on the environment, and consequently help in conserving the environment. Human society, therefore, needs to be constantly evolved to make it more rewarding, more productive, and more responsive to the conservation requirements of the natural environment. Most of the technological innovations influence the social patterns of people in the community. Some of the three key technological innovations that I think have influenced social patterns to include the following:
- The invention of social media
- Universal translation
- Remote sensing
Social media invention
Social media is a group of web-based and mobile communication technologies that are interactive between the clients. Commonly used social networks around the world include My Space, Twitter, Facebook, and Wikipedia among many more social sites. With the help of social networks such as Facebook with over 750 million users spending 22 percent of their time on the site, it makes it easy to make known to the world new products, events, and services within a short time at a minimal cost. The radio back in the 1990s was commonly used, unlike today where the coming generation has no interest in the radio anymore making business people and the community switch to other media which are increasingly becoming popular such as the social networks. Traditional media is slowly being phased out while the internet and social media quickly taking over the communication industry. Print media still exists, though only a small percentage read their newspaper online while the rest depends on the print. For those who read newspapers, they read pages with articles they are interested in and tend to ignore the rest.
Universal translation
The language was for a long time a common hindrance in the communication sector acting as a barrier to communication. This was overcome by the invention of the universal translation software, which has the capability of translating different languages of the world to the common ones such as English thus making communication easy.
The software is capable of gleaning meaning from words spoken in any language and conveying the message in any other language that the user desires. It has therefore enabled people from various cultures to communicate effectively. A Chinese scientist, who developed software capable of understanding spoken Mandarin Chinese, and replying in spoken English language, started the project. Universal translation software has influenced social patterns as it has increased the rate of interaction in the social, business, and economic world. For instance, it has significantly revolutionized the tourism industry by enabling all people to communicate with each other regardless of their languages.
Remote sensing
The use of sensors, which allow responses to certain stimuli, is likely to change human responses to the environment. This technological innovation may have a widespread application in health because such sensors can be used to monitor the function of the body and initiate corrective measures if necessary. For instance, sensors could be used to check blood sugar levels and initiate insulin provision if the sugar levels are not normal. The aforementioned emerging technology depends on communication between devices using wireless technology, sensing technologies that do not consume high amounts of power, or active harvesting of energy. Another possible application of the emerging remote sensing technology is the installation of a remote sensor system in vehicles, aimed at enabling vehicles to sense each other. The latter application can potentially lead to a substantial reduction in the number of traffic accidents, thereby saving human lives in the community.