Week 5: Mobile Computing and Information Access

From a sociological perspective, how might we interpret the value of a mobile device and the access to information that it provides?

The artifact I chose to research this week is about the use of technology for educational purposes in developing countries.  It notes that technology can be empowering for students who may not normally have access to such modern conveniences in their everyday lives.  This article can be found here.

In the United States, we are used to having technology available at our fingertips at any moment.  We communicate through telephones, text messaging, email, social media websites, and through the various other avenues the internet has to offer.  We also use technology to gain knowledge on any topic of our choosing.  Having the internet at our fingertips allows us to look up answers to our questions, map directions to a certain place, or even read a library of books with the click of a mouse.  Unfortunately many other countries around the world do not have access to the technologies that we take advantage of daily.  So when technology is introduced to developing countries, amazing things can be done, only if it is introduced correctly.

This article addresses the introduction of technology as educational resources for children and young adults in economically struggling countries.  Big technological companies such as Dell are providing computers and mobile devices to students in various developing countries in order to provide them with the ability to both broaden their knowledge base and learn how to use these mechanisms so that they can be better prepared for the world's employment opportunities in the future. "Duncan Clark, a British tech investor and founder of e-learning company Epic Group, goes further when he says he believes that mobile technology has produced a "renaissance of reading and writing" among young people across the world. "[Mobile phones] will, I think, be the single most important factor in increasing literacy on the planet. Why? Every child is massively motivated to learn to text, post and message on mobiles. The evidence shows that they become obsessive readers and writers through mobile devices," he says" (Kelly, 2013).  It is easy to see that the introduction of technology to people who have never been exposed to it will create an overwhelming driving force for the people to learn as much as possible from the device, whether mobile or stationary. This is an amazing side affect of technology, but as we may know to well, technology can also have dangerous side affects.

Internet safety in developing countries is a huge concern as those kids being exposed to computers in their classroom are proceeding to go out into the world and use computers with no guidance or knowledge of the dangers of the internet. These people are being taught how to use computers to better their lives and to increase employment opportunities, but if these people succumb to their naïvety of the internet, it could be a great danger to them. These technologies must not only be made available for students, but these students and their teachers must be trained to use the computers or mobile devices for safe use. This training will allow these students to be mindful of the positives and negatives of technology use, and they will be ready for the workforce when the time comes. 

References:

Kelly, A. (2013, June 17). Technology Can Empower Children in Developing Countries - If It's Done Right. Retrieved June 5, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/technology-empower-children-developing-countries