Technology has become a necessity in today’s society; a necessity that for most people is extremely difficult to come by. For example, a new device called the Apple iPad recently came out on the market. Apple said on its first day that over 300,000 iPads were sold; this figure also included pre-orders.
I must admit, I had to ask myself what is an iPad? I had to ask this question because I have almost no knowledge of today’s technology. The Apple iPad is a new computing device, one that combines elements of a laptop and a smartphone. Again I had to ask what a smartphone was as well. I know what a laptop is, I have one.
My laptop doesn’t get a lot of use unless I am playing solitaire, or looking at family pictures I have saved on it, because I am still unfamiliar with it and don’t feel comfortable using it most of the time. My husband bought my laptop about five months ago for me during my first semester of college. The only reason that we got one was to try and help me from having to stay at the library all of the time. Come to find out, the computer doesn’t do a whole lot of good if you don’t have the necessary software to go with it. Microsoft Word, the Internet, these are just two things that I have found out that you need to have to be able to get research and type papers; without these things having a computer almost resembles having it for decoration. These things cost money; money that my family and I aren’t able to just go out and spend.
Microsoft Word is the software that is required to have to be able to type and format papers; its not like we can just hand write anything anymore, I guess we have gotten “sloppy” with our penmanship. In today’s society pen and paper is almost like chisel and stone; you just don’t use it anymore. Most teachers and professors will not accept a paper that is not typed. Then there is the cost factor. I contacted Microsoft Word to see exactly how much it was going to cost me to install the software onto my computer, $150.00 was the amount given to me. That’s a lot of money to just drop after spending so much just to buy the computer.
Just the same as having to have Microsoft Word, the Internet is another necessity for computers. After realizing how much it was going to cost me to get Microsoft Word on my computer, I was skeptical about finding out how much the Internet would cost me as well. Although the Internet doesn’t quite cost as much as Microsoft Word, depending on how you look at it, it still isn’t cheap. Even though you don’t pay as much at one time, the Internet is paid for on a monthly basis, so I guess it is more expensive the Microsoft Word. Needless to say it is going to be a while before I have either of these things on my computer; there are more important things in life for my money to go to.
On the other hand the smartphone is a handheld device that is much like a computer; similar yet different at the same time. The smartphone is what I have been told, a connective device to the rest of the world. The smartphone not only allows you to make calls and text message, but it also has applications that you can have. Applications are links to sites on the internet; you have the internet literally at the touch of a button!
Furthermore, computers and smartphones are there to make things easier for you. Does this mean that without these things you are less educated, or poor? The Apple iPad is a combination of the two, does this mean if you have one or the other devices you’re not “cool”? I know that before I got my laptop, when people would ask me why I didn’t just go home and look something up, I had to tell them that I didn’t have a computer; I remember the feeling that I would get when those people would look at me and just say oh? I also remember last semester, in my English class, I had to explain to the teacher and the class why I didn’t know about computers, and that I wasn’t familiar with typing and couldn’t type well, they laughed. That was a heart wrenching feeling; it made me feel less, or not worthy of being there. This not only made me feel stupid, but it also put me out of the loop when people would be talking about something. Even though I have a computer, I still don’t have the Internet or Microsoft Word, so therefore I still have to go to the University 99% of the time to do any homework or research. Like I said earlier, the Internet costs money that I just cannot afford to spend right now.
Being that these instruments of technology have become such a huge demand in today’s society you would think that they would be offered at a reasonable price so that everybody would be able to afford them. On the contrary, these technological devices are, to some people, outrageously priced. The Apple iPad sells for anywhere between $629.00 to $829.00 depending on the different “apps” you buy with it. An average middle classed family such as mine isn’t able to just drop everything and go out and spend this kind of money. With the demand for these devices so high, I believe that the prices should be more reasonably priced. It isn’t fair that though these devices are required in a lot of instances the ability to get them isn’t the same for everybody.
With the advancement in technology rising, I did a little experiment of my own. I decided to go to the library and find actual hard copies of books about the quickly advancing technologies of today’s societies. Although to find where these books were located I had to get on the internet, instead of using the old-fashioned card catalog. While searching for these books, I found that while looking there were forty results when I would type in technology. Out of the forty only 17 of them were actually hard copies of books. The other 23 were e-books or books that can be read online. If I am going to go to the library to read or check out a book, I want it to be hard copy, I can’t focus on the computer screen it hurts my eyes.
Therefore, out of the 17 books that were available, I decided to check 3 of them out: Connecting People with Technology, Transforming Schools with Technology, and Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Though after finding the book numbers on the computer, it wasn’t difficult at all to find them on the shelves and that gave me all the sources I needed to continue my research on my feelings about technology. Am I the only one that feels this way?
In the book Connecting People with Technology I found, after only a short time of reading, “Manuals for the Elderly: Text Characteristics That Help or Hinder Older Users” (43). This chapter title caught my attention immediately. What does this mean? Does it mean that older people are not as capable of learning as the younger generation? Do they need “special” directions? I don’t think so. I believe that the elderly have just as much ability to learn as anybody else does. In fact I know a few older people that could school me three times over on how to use a computer and I still wouldn’t get it. I don’t think that people should be categorized by age, gender, or race. I believe that it is discrimination. Also in this book I found another quote that baffled me. “Both T.D. Freudenthal (1998) and A. Freudenthal (1999) studied elderly people’s interactive behavior with complex devices in order to identify characteristics of the devices that cause problems, along with characteristics of elderly people’s behavior that might explain their problems.”(43) Does this sentence express that people that don’t understand complex devices have “problems”? That is what I understood when reading this passage. Just because somebody doesn’t understand something it doesn’t mean they have a problem. The part of the population that doesn’t understand a sport doesn’t mean they have a problem, it simply means that they don’t have an interest in it.
Then there is the book Transforming Schools with Technology, there is one passage that I particularly agree with 100%! “Young people need to learn from people, not technology” (2). Though expressing how the computer can change and improve the younger generations, this book also reveals the same apathetic feelings towards technology as me. Schools spend about 7 billion dollars each year on new technology, but represents only about $140.00 for each student. Something doesn’t quite add up. Why not spend fewer amounts on books, rather than thousands of dollars on computers that will just be “out of date” in a year or so.
Finally there is the book Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. This book illustrates certain techniques that can be used to make it easier for the students, or whoever is learning, to better understand computers and such. Technology shouldn’t have to have guidelines on how to use it. Although this book doesn’t focus on as much of the technological issues as the other books, it still sends messages to people that focuses mainly on the importance of technology in today’s society.
Although these devices are so high in price, I understand the significance of having one when in school and having to do research. But I am concerned that if technology keeps expanding at the rate it is going, could technology eventually take over? Could people possibly be striped of their independence of learning without the Internet? Or has it already happened?
--Shelby Nichols
Works Cited
Wortham, Jenna. “On First Day, Apple Sells 300,000 iPads.” Business Day Technology,
(2010) pg. B3. Web. 5 April. 2010. http://nytimes/2010/04/06/technology/06ipad.html
Zucker A. Andrew, Transforming Schools with Technology. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard Education Press, 2008. Print.
Hayhoe George, and Grady Helen. Connecting People with Technology. New York:
Baywood Publishing Company, Inc., 2009. Print
Pitler Howard, Hubbell Elizabeth, Kuhn Matt, Malenoski Kim. Using Technology with
Classroom Instruction that Works. Colorado: Mid-continent research for
Education and learning, 2007. Print
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