Powerful influence of technology

What seems impossible long time ago has been invaded by technology. The moon has been walked on by astronauts, even Mars has been treaded by a toy-like robot. And technology has triggered plans for the first trip to Mars sometime in the next millennium.

Next, there’s now a serious debate among international educators about cyberclassrooms where pupils connect to a mega central computer to download lessons and homework for the day. They assert that if the role of a teacher is to repeat lessons so that his pupils understand the explanation, then no one could do it better than a computer. It doesn’t get tired nor impatient and a student can ask questions, too.

Imagine if the educational system here is fully wired. We won’t have to worry about acrimonious debate on funds for more classrooms though the focus may turn to subsidizing a majority of households who will need computers for their children’s education. Yes, technology also brings with it a set of problems like making sure all school age children are given the chance to build their literacy in its use in their lessons. And as you can see, you need even go to a college campus given the availability of distance education ONLINE! This ought to reduce scholarship expenses other than tuition by leaps and bounds.

Coventional shopping has also taken on a new mode–ONLINE SHOPPING! You look up a certain grocery or hardware store online and order your needs, well, online. The items are delivered to your house. You skip traffic accidents, being shot at the mall and other dangers that comes with the territory of conventional shopping.
Furthermore, you can order a gift and have it forwarded to the intended recipient in less than 30 minutes. Conventional gift ordering takes weeks to complete the process.

Conventional letter writing may soon be turned moot by e-mail via the internet. That should be a savings to US taxpayers across the country and the day when this federal service is shut down isn’t too far off. Gee! This tool has made my job easier too. I’d crank up an editorial and my columns at 4 a.m. Revise once or twice then e-mail to my office at the Tribune before 7 in the morning.

The Tribune’s Online Edition gets 4000-plus legitimate hits in addition to our hard copy circulation. What was once unimaginable–learning of events in the islands on the same day–is now a thing of the past. Our people and friends between the NMI, Guam, Hawaii, Australia, Japan and East Asia, Europe, London and the US mainland access our online edition daily. If anything, there’s a lot of request for inclusion of “obituary” or “death and funeral announcements”, jobs in the local market, and other vital information about the islands. We’re looking into these issues in hopes that we could eventually accommodate them.

Traveling is made a lot easier these days. Via the internet you make your airline, hotel and auto reservations well in advance. You can even view rooms at your preferred hotel anywhere in the US. It grants you the opportunity to budget wisely, including other unexpected expenses that you may incur while you’re traveling. You can also ask for nearby children’s entertainment centers, i.e., Disneyland, Six Flags, Nuts Berry Farm, etc. All these at the click of a mouse as you plan the closest hotel or motel that fits the family budget. Information technology has changed the entire global village’s lifestyle. Brace for it and make sure you prepare your children to be computer and technology literate for it is the “in-thing” of survival in the next millenniu.

Strictly a personal view. John S. DelRosario Jr. is publisher of Saipan Tribune