Technology:Boon or Bane?

OBJECTIVES:

1. To know the definition of boon and bane in order to understand the main topic.

2. To distinguish the boon and bane of technology.

3. To conclude if technology is either boon or bane.

BOONa thing that is helpful or beneficial.

synonyms: blessing, godsend, bonus, plus, 

Benefit, advantage, help, aid, asset;

BANE a cause of great distress or annoyance. synonyms: scourge, curse, blight, pest, nuisance, 

headache, nightmare, trial,hardship, cross to bear, burden, thorn in one's flesh/side, bitter pill,affliction, trouble, misery, woe, tribulation, misfortune, pain

These modern means of communication appear to be meaningful ways of communication.

Almost every technology has a bright and dark side to it, its positive and negative repercussions. About a couple of decades back, communicating with a relative or friend was not as easy as it is today. We used to correspondence once or twice a month to inform them about the latest happenings.

We were deeply involved in the communication process. We were so excited while speaking to our parents or friends while calling them from abroad. But today, such emotions can hardly be witnessed.

Inevitably, we are technologically advanced but we have been morally and spiritually weakened. We are heading towards cultural decadence ever since technology has become a part of lives. It seems as if we have sunk into an ocean of nothingness.

With the help of the latest technology, fake IDs can easily be made. Besides, you can post malicious content to defame a relative or friend. You can also do it out of jealousy or if you want to take revenge for something. but in reality have negative effects. The privacy of a person exists nowhere on these so-called social sites.

In education, technology is bane when:

• the learner is made to accept as Gospel truth information they get from the internet• the learner surfs the internet for pornography• the learners has an uncritical mind on images floating on televisions and computers that represent modernity and progress• the tv makes the learner a mere spectator not an active participant in the drama of life• the learners get glued to his computer-assisted instruction unmindful of the world and so fails to develop the ability to relate to others• we make use of the Internet to do character assassination of people whom we hardly like• because of our cellular phones, we spend most of our time in the classroom or in our workplace texting• we overuse and abuse tv or film viewing as a strategy to kill time

Albert Einstein had said: “I fear the day technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots”.

Educational technology is the use of technological tools to improve education, It is a systematic process for designing instruction or training used to improve performance. It facilitates the learning processes and increases performance. In the 21st Century technological advances has exploded. Schools have not been left out in these advancements. Classroom technology has become increasingly more popular. Each tool provides teachers with a method in which they can actively engage their students. These tools or devices are Internet, LCD Projector, Smart Board, Laptop or Computer, Digital Camera, Tablets, etc. These can help students to make lessons fun, interesting, and more effective. Using technology reduces the work load and helps students to understand subject better. Essentially it is also driving the way that teachers teach and students learn. Technology based learning and assessment systems will be pivotal in improving student learning and generating data that can be used to continuously improve the education system at all levels.