Introduction
Emerging technologies has had a great impact on the society. Within the education sector, students with special needs are the most affected. Before these inventions, it was very difficult to handle children with special needs in classroom. Teachers were not equipped with relevant materials that could aid the learning process. They had to handle such students in a similar manner as other normal students.
This was not very easy. In Ferguson (1999) words, learning was very difficult for this group of students as they could not cope with the normal materials that were available. Emerging technologies has come out as the answer to this problem.
It has come at the right time when everyone was concerned about the recent rise of the number of students with special needs. The invention of hand held computer devices like the iPad and personal digital assistants have had a great effect not only on the students education but also on the society where such students live (Garvin, 1998). The affected society would then affect these children.
The society as a whole has changed due to introduction of computer technology. It is much easier to move from one geographical area to another, irrespective whether or not an individual suffers any physical or mental disabilities. There are special gadgets designed to help such individuals come with the need to move from one location to the other. The geographical barrier has completely been eliminated.
Information flows freely from one end of the world to the other. Computer technology has made life very easy. Computer-controlled machines currently do many duties that were previously done by men (Kimmel, 2007). With invention of social media like YouTube, Face book, and Tweeter amongst others, and the hand held computer in form of I Pad, communication has gotten much cheaper and easier.
To the education sector, a lot has changed. Learning methods have changed and the role of a teacher and that of a student has completely been redefined. In Harris (2009) words, life has never been so easy than it is today with the invention of computer technology.
This essay seeks to address the impact of emerging technologies, specifically the invention of I Pads and iPods on education and society in general. It seeks to confirm the following null hypothesis. Invention of I Pad technology has had positive impact on education and society
Impact of Emerging Technologies on Special Education
Positive Impact
Relevant Materials
According to Giddens (2009), learning is a very difficult process and may not be a success without some induced cheer-ups. This can be even more complicated if the concerned. He asserts that in the current world, the best way to encourage a learner is to provide relevant materials, both motivational and relevant course work. Computer technology provides for this.
Internet enabled I Pads exposes an individual to a world of mass knowledge. A student can access the required piece of information by a touch on the screen. Most of the current books are also available in the internet. A student can easily access this information through the internet at any moment that need be.
This reduces frustration that would have been experienced were it that the book was to be looked for manually. It saves time and is very efficient. As the author notes, this is the right technology for children with special needs like autism. It spares them the need to look for such books.
To the teacher, life has also been made easier. Instead of manually writing the notes, or dictating while in class, it is now possible to send notes of the next classes to the students beforehand. This would enable this particular teacher take lesser time explaining the same as the student shall have gone through the notes.
Knowledge Sharing
Learning is not self-centered. Neither is it teacher centered. Learning is a complex process that brings together teachers, student, parents, and other stakeholders, with the center of interest being the student. In every learning institution, information sharing is very important.
Knowledge develops when it is shared. Cunningham (2000) explains that when students share knowledge gained from the classroom or from any other source, it is like putting it into practice. Knowledge sharing has been to be the best way to advance one’s knowledge.
Students with special needs may require technology in order to make this process a success. The recent invention of the I Pad has been a great milestone in ensuring that this is made successful. Through this technology, children suffering from such complications as autism are able to learn much easily.
They are able to use this gadget to share knowledge learned in classrooms. As Xenos and Moy (2007) said, information is power and if well shared, can be turned into a very important assert to the individuals sharing it.
Communication
In a learning institution, communication is very important. Communication is the wheel that drives any given organization, learning institutions included. If properly handled, communication can enable a firm achieve its dreams with ease. However, mishandling of information may lead to misinterpretation in the process of communication, a fact that can result in outcomes that were not planned for.
It is therefore essential that an individual and organizations devise proper means through which communication can be made a success. In learning institutions that handle children with special needs, communication must closely be monitored by the concerned teachers. They ought to know the steps taken by the learners in gaining knowledge and their ability to interact normally.
Invention of the I Pad has brought a solution, in part, to this. With this hand held computer, a teacher can monitor the progress of a child suffering from autism by following up its conversation with fellow students.
The concerned teacher can also design a teaching program where he or she can communicate with the student while out of classroom using this device (Seglin, 2003). The parent-student communication has also been made easier though this technology. Using internet enabled I Pad, a parent can easily communicate with the child while several miles away.
Distant Learning
Leaning has taken a completely new dimension due to inventions and innovations in the field of technology. A student in Georgia can comfortable follow lectures in Washington with the help of video conferencing. At an advanced level of learning, a student can get recorded lectures, with appropriate notes attached of a lesson he or she was not able to attend. This has resulted in what is referred to as distant learning.
For a long time since its inception, distant learning has remained a dream to many learners suffering from autism. To them, it has been necessary that they have a teacher close by. However, the introduction of I Pad has shown that even such learners can advance their education via distance learning.
Research Development
Research is very important in every field. It has always been used to advance knowledge in various disciplines. Children with autism are still raising concern in many societies. There is need to have proper medication for this complication that would ensure that such children can get proper treatment that would make them become normal.
This has seen a lot of scientific research done by various scientists in a bid to discover an appropriate medication for this complication (Stewart, & Allhusen, 2005). Computer technology plays a very important role in this. With the invention of I Pads, researchers are able to conduct advanced research, as the computers would help them in doing the complicated calculations.
Such hand-held computers would also help them in storage of large mass of data. An I Pads would also encourage sharing of knowledge among the researchers. This would enhance the possibility of coming up with credible solutions to the problems at hand.
Social scientists are also involved in serious research on how the society in general, and affected families in specific, can deal with issues about autism. Although the society has come to appreciate this condition, many people still see it as being abnormal. Such children are still hidden by some families for fear of public ridicule (Warren, 2005).
As physicians look for biological solution to this condition, social scientists look for the best ways in which the society can learn to live with such individuals and view them as being normal. In such undertakings, the social scientists need to share information. I Pad technology have facilitated the process of research process.
Negative Impact
Time Wastage
Computer technology can turn out to be a serious means of time wastage for children. Irrespective of whether or not the child is suffering from autism, computer games are very addictive. Technological advancements have brought various computer games that capture the attention of the child, making them unable to respond to other duties.
Warren (2005) asserts that games of whichever type are very important to children, especially those suffering from any form of disability. If such children are able to win against their normal counterparts, it would boost their morale and this would go a long way in ensuring that they gain self-esteem in most of their actions.
They realize that they are normal, just like their counterparts. However, computer games, though also important because they actively engage the brain, does not engage other body parts.
The problem becomes even more complicated with invention of hand-held computers. Children addicted to computer games would not consider other forms of plays that are equally important. Worse still, such games always make such children shelve part of the time they would have used to study on their own.
Wedding, Boyd and Niemiec (2005) observes that it can be very disheartening to note that a child who should be taking time in meaningful studies spend most of their time playing computer games. This scholar advises that parent should be very keen on the time they allow their children to engage in computer games
Irrelevant information
Computer technology brings with it a lot of benefit to the society. However, it is so liberal on information that should otherwise be a preserve for the adults. Giddens (2009) points out at those sites that offer adult content information. There are all forms of adult images and information. A child is introduced to content that would completely erode its morality, for they would be tempted to practice what they see.
In case the child is suffering from autism, this can be worse. Because of their inability to reason rationally, they may try to imitate what they observed from the internet before other people. This can be very shameful to the parent and even the teacher.
To those who are normal, they may hide from the public, but the urge to try to practice what they saw would see them develop some funny characters that were not witnessed before. With I Pad at their disposal, parent and teachers may not be in a position to control this habit.
Impact of Emerging Technologies on Society
Positive Impact
Communication
Communication has been made easier with computer technology in our homes. Children suffering from autism are not able to respond to some stimuli as those children who are normal. Computer comes with graphics. It is easier for a parent to use these graphics to make such a child be aware of his environment.
In such a case, a parent can design or download attractive pictures and other graphics that are likely to draw their attention. With this, the parent can then ensure that such children are able to relate such pictures and graphics to real life phenomenon.
With this, they are able to enhance their communication capabilities. Giddens (2009) notes that children with impairment problems are able to overcome their conditions if they are exposed to objects or images that are reflection of what they are expected to know. With I Pads, this can be done with much ease. It is simpler to use and has more advanced applications.
Improved Services at Public Facilities
Technology has seen improved services at various public forums. Hospitals have embraced the use of computer technology in their operations. The services are more efficient. There have been cases where children suffering from autism and are under medication find themselves in awkward position when their files are mixed up or disappears.
In such situations where proper records of the child progress cannot be traced, it may force the health practitioner to start the process anew. This is not only traumatizing to the parent, the doctor and the child itself, but also expensive as stages that had been passed will have to be redone.
However, Ferguson (1999) observes that computer technology has made things much easier as the records are kept in various storage units, and retrieving the required. With the help of I Pads, both the doctor and the patient would keep such records. This makes the whole experience less traumatizing.
Negative Impact
Violence
Children learn from what they see or hear. They easily form admiration towards people they consider heroic for their actions or their way of life. The hand-held computer brings with it numerous Hollywood movies.
Although such movies are good for consumption by children because they advocate for courage and intelligence when faced with difficult situations in life, Ferguson (1999) says that they equally foster violence. Watching such movies make children believe that engaging in fights and winning them is cool. Therefore, in their attempt to be cool, they embrace fights as the best way to sought out most of their issues.
As they develop, this turns into a habit. They get absorbed into it and they grow up to be violent individuals in the society. For children with autism, this habit can be dangerous. When they watch such movies for a long time, they develop the notion that this is the way to relate with other members of the society.
They are not able to reason right and therefore taking a weapon against another member of the family can be very easy. Such a child may now be not only a burden to their families but also a serious danger for no one would be able to determine their next move.
Conclusion
Computer technology has completely changed the approach to the life of humanity. This technology has affected several spheres of life in different ways. In education system, the invention of the I Pads has enhanced communication thereby making it easy to share knowledge. It has also enhanced research.
However, this technology has also eroded culture among school going children because of irrelevant information easily accessible through I Pads. To the society, this technology has had both negative and positive effects, and has it to the education sector. However, analysis of both effects of this technology shows positive impacts on both education and the society.
References
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