The drive for information technology

Jul 14, 2011 Editorial

Information technology is the future of the world. Such is the move toward information technology that computers are being altered at an amazing rate and being asked to perform more and more complex tasks.
From the giant things that laboured through information at what can now be considered a ridiculously slow pace, but faster than anything that operated at the time, they are now almost pocket-sized. Desktop computers, once considered the most convenient of the technologies, are fast becoming obsolete.
Laptop computers are very portable and with hard drives even larger than those found in the desktop models, they are doing the rounds. When they first emerged, because of their size and the fact that they were extremely portable, they cost a pretty penny, more than twice the cost of a desktop computer. Today they are very cheap. In fact, the view is that they are obsolescent, making way for the Ipad and other devices that are even smaller and capable of doing even more than the computer.
But when all is said and done they are the instruments that have opened the world to just about anyone with an inquiring mind. Supporting them are the smart phones that now allow children to communicate with just about anyone in any part of the world. In fact, one would want to believe that the average Guyanese schoolchild is already savvy along the lines of information technology.
But the government is operating from a position of safety and from the assumption that people need to be trained in the use of the computers that are going to be provided. Teachers are also being trained to take the children into this relatively new area.
In Guyana, which is often in step with global trends, computers are not as ubiquitous as one would expect. Computer density in Guyana is greatest in the city where most of the offices are and where there are the call centres which hold out hope of employment for so many.
Foremost in the minds of parents is the readiness with which their children can access information. It has not escaped notice that the most informed children these days are those who have ready access to wither the smart phones or computers. These are the children who do so much better at examinations.
We had examined the impact of computers on the finances of parents. At present parents are required to buy a mass of textbooks; onlookers then criticize the weight that children must fetch on their way to school.
Indeed, schools hasten to support the parents by providing textbooks at a huge cost to the national budget. When the computers came, therefore, the expectation is that the textbooks would be partially replaced. We are now hearing that it would be quite a while before the computer would replace the textbook. For now, though, it is an excellent source of research.
But there is the issue of supervision. The government is certain that it is on the right road but there are those who feel that the computer programme would be abused by those who do not set store by consistent academia.
Indeed, the computer offers much scope for entertainment. Children, always clever with technology, will access these entertainment centres. Parents can block access but since some of these are harmless many parents would turn a blind eye.
Fact is that most of the parents are clueless when it comes to the computer. The plan is to also train the parents. However, at this time when adults show a marked disinclination to learn we may find that the computer would be just another tool for leisure.
Sadly, President Bharrat Jagdeo does not set store by this argument, and perhaps rightly so. The rich have their computers and the poor should also have access to this piece of equipment. What should be done is that the children should be assigned a lot of work that would force them to use the computers in a meaningful manner. And with careful monitoring, they will. Failure could lead to the removal of the computer from the household.
But can Guyanese expect a better life through improved record keeping; through efficient storage of information and through ready access to information? This is left to be seen.

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The drive for information technology

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