Reflection to preface and ch.1 of the book

I had never thought of this new era as a revolution but the more I think and read about it the more I tend to agree. Technology has become a major part of everyday life for the general population. It impacts all the facets of people’s lives, from more convenient learning opportunities to helping them advance in their careers.
This Information, or Knowledge, Revolution came about because of the technology boom our society has experienced lately. A discrepancy between the traditional school system and today’s society exists because now there are so many ways to experience learning outside of school, such as software programs, informational videos, online universities, online games, web communities, online communication to anyone, anywhere at any time, online test preparation courses, online tutorials, advising websites, and much more. These new opportunities to education challenge the traditional school system because people, regardless of age, have several avenues outside of the school building to obtain the information they need. These options for learning are more convenient for people because they can choose the time, place and how they learn as well as what they learn. People can research and learn more about topics that interest them.
Schools are struggling today because they have been restricted to teach state standards, which limit the variety of learning opportunities they can provide their students. Computer use in schools is contained to computer labs instead of classrooms. Also, teachers have not learned the skills to understand and properly use the technology available. They may feel uncomfortable because of the magnitude of information available on the Internet. Additionally, educators who have attempted to use technology in the classroom have been left without school support. These issues need to be addressed by schools nationwide to fix this problem before the majority of people choose to learn outside of schools rather than in them. More and more, parents have opted to educate their children at home, send their children to learning centers to improve their grades or prepare for college, and purchase computers for their homes, enabling their children to have additional access to technology.
With the many opportunities people have to access information at their own convenience, schools better make these changes quickly or they will be “left in the dust”. Educators need to be open to changes as well, such as learning about the new technology and using it in their classrooms. Their students likely are already using this technology. By providing access to this technology in the classroom, teachers will be better equipped to supply their students with multiple opportunities to access topics of interest to them, keeping more students in school. Many issues, such as the time and programs needed for teachers to learn about technology and the money needed for schools to buy and provide this technology to students, exist that have important implications. For instance, the gap between the rich and poor is increasing due to access to technology. Because technology can be bought at a price, those with money have the means to purchase technology that those without money do not have the means to access. This issue needs to be addressed by those in power and money needs to be given to schools to provide this technology to everyone so that every person will have the same opportunity to succeed in this Information Age. A major point to remember is that people need to talk about these issues and derive and implement potential solutions. After all, nothing will get accomplished and more and more students will choose other avenues of education if people continue to ignore these issues.