Take a look at this video and comment on some aspect of it. If you are not sure where to start, think about what statistic was most surprising or interesting, or what impact these changes might have on your future career or educational plans.
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16 Responses to “Discussion Post 1: Shift Happens”
One of the statistics that stunned me (but probably shouldn’t have) was that about 70% of all 4-year-olds in America have used the computer. I have a 4-year-old little brother who is already playing games and attempting to use Word on our home desktop which blows my mind because when I was 4, I barely knew what a computer was! To think that the majority of his peers are already playing on and testing out computers is really strange in my opinion. I’m not sure whether to be excited for how much further they will be by the time they are 20 because they utilized these tools at a young age or concerned for their innocence being destroyed much earlier due to the terrible things one can discover on the internet.
I also found it interesting that China will be the #1 English speaking country in the world in ten years. I wonder, how long it will take for one language to dominate the world and become the primary tongue of every nation? If everything is growing as much as this video is saying, it shouldn’t be too long before we all speak the same language.
There were a lot of statistics that caught me off guard. First, when it asked which country was the best at all these things like education, finances and such and it said Great Britain (and not the US- maybe I think we are greater than we really are). Another was that people around the world are learning the English language. 100% of graduate students in India know the English language. I barely know it and I only know our language and I am about to graduate! The 4-year old and computers fact surprised me too. I really didnt use a computer on a daily basis until I got to Wake Forest!
The preparation for the 21 century, for children today and children to come is going to be essential. I realize that now more than ever (myspace would be the 8th largest country!). I wish I was more computer literate before I came to college. Understanding current technology is very beneficial to the individual and can help in numerous ways. I guess children should start asap! I am excited to see what technology has for the world next.
Some of the figures were surprising, but the overall theme of the world becoming increasingly connected shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Technology has greatly improved efficiency and has created several new avenues for businesses.
The part that stood out to me the most was when the presentation asked if students were being adequately prepared for the 21st century. There are definitely some positive efforts being made in grade schools, but I think they are still pretty behind. They definitely play an integral role in preparing kids to use available technology as well as in shaping the technology of the future.
In thinking about the presentation, I was most impressed by the idea of exponential change. Because a lot of the figures given were from 2006, I figured the presentation was a little dated (I think it was compiled in June 2007?), so I tried to find a statistic that was cited that has grown dramatically in just these past months. At 3:52, the number given for Google searches performed in a month is 2.7 billion, taken from a March 2006 study (http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2156461). By September 2007, that number had risen to 6.6 billion (http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3627654), more than doubling in little more than a year. This growth rate is amazing, but it is also interesting how difficult it can be to keep up with the changes in statistics, requiring a continual evaluation and updating of information.
I think the presentation reminded me of how competitive the world is becoming. I too didn’t really have alot of computer access before I came to college. In fact, at my house, our family computer is now 8 years old. My dad is a computer programmer, so he made an effort to get us on computers at a young age, but at that age we were just making birthday cards and playing games. I think that technology will continue to play a huge role in the future and that we must be prepared for it as a nation.
I also found it really interesting that the average person will have 10-14 jobs before the age of 38. I didn’t plan on having one job my entire life, but I only expected to have 4 or 5. Also, I thought it was interesting that 1 out of 8 married couples this year met online. I think I used to secretly think of people who went to online sites as being desperate and anti-social. I also was surprised that 100% of all college graduates in India speak English. To some extent, I think that this is good because we will all understand the same language, but I feel at a disadvantage because I do not speak their language. I think that in the future, the United States will be an equal among these countries, not a superpower over them anymore.
I found this video to be very interesting. Some of the statistics caught me by surprise. I was really astonished by the statistic that stated that in a few years a $1,000 laptop will be able to out compute the human brain. I always knew that our society was being more dependent on technology than ever before, but I never really put the whole situation into perspective until I saw that particular statistic in the video.
I am very excited that today’s society and the society of the future will have remarkable modes of technology. However, I do get afraid that the new technologies will eliminate a lot of jobs for people in the future. I also fear that in the future, if America does not improve its education system soon that it will to be left behind among all of the other country’s yearning to be the next world power.
The exponential growth of technology presented in this video within a small period of time is something that is apparent to many people, but the statistics given really drive the point home in my mind. The impact of this exponential growth presented is really amazing.
The statistics having to do with the US were very interesting, such as more then 70% of our 4-year-olds have used a computer. This fact really helped me to comprehend the huge growth of technology within my lifetime. But, what were even more surprising were those pieces of information that dealt with countries other then the US. The facts I found most interesting were that 100% of college graduates in India speak English, and China will be the number one English speaking country in ten years!
While the video seems shocking at first, many of the statistics are hardly surprising. After all, it seems amazing that India would produce students proficient in English or that Britain would fall from a position as dominant as that of the United States of today in less than a hundred years. Yet, on the whole, as much as the world has changed, it is important to remember that much remains constant. Although places such as India are home to hundreds of indigenous languages, the legacy of empire and colonialism has contributed to the rise of English, French, Arabic, Spanish, and Russian as international languages across the world. For Indian students, learning English then becomes not as much a tool for international business, although certainly valuable in that construct, but necessary for daily life. To a similar extent, the loss of colonies certainly makes Britain appear far weaker than in the past. Yet, on the whole, economic and political power remains concentrated in many of the same circles as in 1900. Europe remains the world’s most powerful economy, even after the loss of vast overseas resources, and the Western world continues to hold advantages in quality of life, health care, military power, and technological advancement.
Yet, even if the changes aren’t as sudden or awe-inspiring as they might originally seem, they still should evoke important consideration. We now live in an interconnected world were seemingly small decisions can have massive consequences. A small trade dispute in southern Africa can shift the markets in New York, and a series of computer crashes in Cairo can create chaos in the Silicon Valley. On the whole, as we move forward, we as students of the twenty-first century need to embrace the changes taking place rather than reject them. Learning foreign languages, using new technology, and exploring unknown cultures might be as valuable in the business world of tomorrow as the advent of email and the internet has been for the business world of today. Certainly, the world is never static, and while this video should prove to us that life is never a sure thing, there remains a vast array of unexplored opportunities available to us in the future.
It is no mystery that we live in an age where people are connected at an unprecedented level. Interacting and communicating with people from all over the world at just the push of a button has allowed our world to becoming infinitely smaller. However, despite knowing this fact, it can be hard to comprehend just how fast technology has grown/is growing and how connected our world is. That is why I found this video interesting. It presented statistics that not only demonstrated how fast technological advancements are happening, but also statistics that show how fast they will continue to happen in the future, as well as data which shows how our world will continue to become more and more connected. Figures such as China leading the world in the number of college graduates in 2006, and the fact that 100% of all Indian college graduates spoke English are indicative of our shifting world and the increased connectedness we are experiencing. The fact that I found most interesting was that the number of text messages sent worldwide in a day exceed the population of the world. The fact that people can communicate that easily and that frequently is incredible when just 50 years ago, the only readily available means of communication was telephone and mail.
The fact that 100% of college graduates from India speak English was the most shocking statistic for me. I think that many of the points in this video show that the United States needs to work on reforming our education system. Although many American children have access to computers, they do not use them for educational purposes. I myself waste alot of time on the computer that I could be using to study. Parents need to stress the importance of literacy and education to their kids. As long as others countries such as China and India keep progressing, other issues such as outsourcing American jobs are going to continue to be an issue.
Overall, I think that it is important to keep reflecting on the influence technology has had on the world. Computer technology has had both a positive and negative impact on society.
The presentation made me think about how much technology has changed in my lifetime. I remember back in elementary school playing Oregon Trail on the huge floppy disks. Now you can not buy a computer with a floppy drive. It seems like CDs and DVD are on their way out to as USB hubs and online storage become more popular.
The changing speed of technology is exciting. However, I feel that we need to continue to embrace technology but also make sure it does not come to control us. You hear about people who go on vacation but take their laptop with them so they can do work. You have other people that live and die by their Blackberry. These people suffer great anxiety when they have to go long periods of time without their devices. The world is getting smaller and there are fewer ways to escape. We need to find a balance between technology and freedom.
I was very surprised by many of the statistics used in the video. For example, the prediction that a $1000 computer would exceed the computing capacities of the human race is amazing. I was also intrigued by the statistics showing the growth of India and China not only in terms of population but in their abilities to speak the English. It made me wonder how a career in business would drastically change in my life time do to more international business with emerging countries such as India or China.
I’m glad the video succeeded in asking myself if future generations of Americans will be technology literate in the 21st century. I also find myself wondering how people of my parents generations can find the time to learn the vast and ever changing ways of internet capabilities and communication. My mom still has troubles writing emails, I can only imagine that by the time she has grand children the world of technology will look so different to her.
I think that this video has some suprising data about technology and its advancement over a short period of time. While many of these numbers were higher than I expected I can also accept them with great ease. The message of training people for future jobs and beginning to prepare students for the unknown is also a very interesting thought. However I do not agree with the presentations predictions about the future. I believe that it is very dificult to predict the future and we do not know what will actually come next. With the way our technology is rapidly advancing in a short time the laptop, ipod, and other gadgets which are so highly praised may be come obsolete. In its entirety the video was very interesting and without a doubt noteworthy for many of the claims that are professed are ideas that deserve consideration.
I was initially surprised after reading several of the statistics in the video. The more I thought about each of them, it seemed to make more sense. One particular statistic that was interesting was that a $1000 computer would exceed the computing capabilities of the human race. It was really an amazing prediction. I was also left wondering about the impact that India and China will have in the upcoming years. It is being made clear that both states will become world players, and definitely become more important within our lifetime.
I think it is hugely important to become literate for the 21st century. It’s amazing how easy it is to be left behind. Our generation is supposed to be the most computer savvy, but I find myself wishing that I understood more. Everything is rapidly changing, and everyone has to evolve with it.
For me, the video was simultaneously encouraging and startling. The technological advancements depicted in the clip are truly evidence of large amounts of thought, imagination, and work by many people. We are truly moving towards being a connected, global community, and that is encouraging because technology such as the internet and the widespread use of computers may help expedite the solutions of global problems such as poverty and climate change. While I think that technological advances in general are necessary for the growth and development of our society, the exponential rate at which these advances are being made truly scares me. The fact that the next five years will be so different from the previous five is truly startling. I am not sure that we completely understand all the ramifications of our rapidly increasing dependence on technology. Maybe I am just too old-fashioned, but the thought that by 2013 a supercomputer’s intellectual ability will exceed that of a human being is utterly frightening. I agree that, as a future teacher, I need to utilize technology to prepare my students to be effective in the 21st century, but I believe we need to find some way to wed technology with pens, papers, and books. After all, when some archaeologist finds the remains of our society 10,000 years from now, he or she will most likely not be able to access any of the information stored in our “little plastic boxes,” but he will be able to collect and analyze our art, our physical implements, and our written records. These will be the only traces that characterize our intellectual achievement.
I think the video brings to light a very important issue; the digital divide. With respect to countries that are computer-literate versus developing countries that are not, this video demonstrated how rapid the gap is growing. While the program to give every child a laptop is a positive, idealogical solution it is not a realistic solution. Even if every child in developing countries had a computer (which I assume is not possible), the computers they’re receiving will be outdated. Also, how will they access the internet? Additionally, it is not taking into account limitations and restrictions of worldwide governments. Realistically, in 10 years, I see the computer-literate getting more advanced the computer-handicap falling further behind the technological power curve.