The Technology Barrier
We live in a world where half of the world's population still do not have a phone. A quarter of the world population has not even made a call. Barriers to technological development are exactly the same as the barriers to any economic developments such as market restrictions, lack of contract law, state controls, customs duties, bureaucracy, and corruption and so on. India provides some lights these days. The country's private software programmers and call centers compete fiercely with each other, which, combined with light taxation and the absence of heavy regulations, have resulted in world class IT and service industries. Through market-based competition, sensible regulation, an unfounded respect for private local and foreign investments and the rule of law that promotes confidence in entrepreneurs seeking to make investments, entrepreneurs can then begin to cater to the demands of local and foreign consumers. (Knowledge for Development, World Bank Report,http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/WBI/
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The term "literacy" evokes the concept of reading and writing, and some writers equate computer programming with literacy. Other writers see reading and writing programs as only one part of the concept. In my opinion defining the scope and substance of teacher training needed to integrate computing into schools. The specific skills and knowledge required to make teachers ‘computer literate’ remain undefined even in many countries in the developed world.
Instructional technology and the World Wide Web offer powerful teaching resources that provide educators with a limitless wealth of information and shared professional knowledge. Instead of spending time mastering instructional technology, teacher could simply guide the process by knowing the rules but not necessary skilled in detailed usages. Similarly, I suggest teacher act as the caretakers or modulator of the technology and let students master their subject of interest of their own in their preferred direction relying on the vast online resources at this time. It will take time before teachers could make the needed adjustments and developments to their new teaching philosophy and arrive at a middle ground where they feel comfortable and start applying constructivist teaching philosophy to create meaningful learning experiences for their students.
