The computer icon that looks like an hour glass means wait. My mother has a beautiful icon that she inherited from her grandmother. (Icon here means a statue or a picture… a work of art)

If we review the major trends of recent years,

computers gathered around the globe
  1. Information Revolution
  2. High-tech Innovation
  3. Global Village
  4. Population or demographic shifts
  5. New ways of working

which of them can we directly relate to the issue of digital and computer literacy? While number 4 seems to be unrelated, one of the fastest growing groups of users of internet technology are seniors!

Looking at the other trends, a common theme again is communication. We know more because we have access to more information. We have the access because the tools are becoming less expensive and therefore more available. The world is shrinking because of this access. And the working world is changing to include e-business and banking, working from home, telemarketing, etc. People can use phones, modems, teleconferencing systems, faxes and the Internet to change the ways they work and look for work. WOW!!

a key unlocking a door that leads to the night sky

The key to opening all of these doors is Internet technology. We can search the World Wide Web (WWW) for all sorts of information. We can e-mail friends on the other side of the world in seconds. We can do our banking at a time convenient for us rather than the bank. Before we go for a job interview we can see if the company has a web site and download information to plan the questions we might want to ask.

The Internet is the Information Superhighway. It is informing us in ways we couldn't even imagine a short time ago. It is controlled, so far, by no one country or organization. Read the following quote by a Canadian trend watcher:

Knowledge is power and money. Nuala Beck, Shifting Gears

What do you think this means? Do you agree? Are there dangers that come with knowledge?

Work with a partner and list the pros and cons of having access to so much unedited, uncontrolled information.

Pros Cons
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
computer around a globe

Compare your lists with others. Do the pros outweigh the cons? The internet is sometimes compared to the American Wild West, lawless and uncontrolled. Do you think this is a good comparison?

How do we control information? Should we?