The Importance of Technology in Education

817 Words4 Pages
Although the developing world still falls behind the developed world in terms of absolute access to basic technologies such as electricity, radio, wireless technology and computer access, the rapid growth in the basic technologies’ suggests that this trend is changing dramatically. The developing world is also a source of some cutting-edge innovations that use technology to solve daily problems; for example, the use of mobile phones for personal banking, for paying government workers and for monitoring patients with HIV. Overall, in the developing world, the cost of technology applications and of access to those applications has decreased over the past several years, especially in urban regions. Connectivity and the availability of reliable power sources have also expanded and as a result, access to technology is growing rapidly. An increasing number of people across a variety of sectors—from business to medicine and agriculture—are relying on technology to aid and expand their work, and an increasing demand at the household level is leading to widespread private investment. However, there is great diversity in availability, access and use of technology within the developing world, even among the world’s poorest countries. For example, India, with a per capita GDP of $1,192 and a diverse and robust economy, is a lower-middle-income country where technology plays a signifi cant role in the country’s development.54 While there are parts of the country that do not share this success, several regions exemplify the power of technology in helping move development forward. Karnataka for example, was the fi rst state in India to implement an ICT-specifi c policy in 1997. As a result of strong political will and investment in ICT infrastructure, the state is often cited as India’s leader in IT and biotech14 BROOKE SHEARER WORKING PAPER SERIES
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