TE year2sourcebook/year2 unit2 Topics of Study in the Unit

Integrating digital tools into transaction of Mathematics, Science, Social science and Language subjects

Inclusive classrooms

ICTs for creating and using assessment information - conducting formative assessments.

moving away from focusing only on text / writing as a method of expression to allow expression in image, audio and video formats. Assessments must evolve to allow teachers to confirm conceptual understanding of students, by allowing such multiple modes of expression

Socio-cultural, political and economic implications of ICT on society.

ICTs are having far reaching socio-cultural, political and economic implications, both positive and negative on our society

Political

Political processes in many countries have been impacted by ICT. Political leaders now participate on virtual platforms that allow them to communicate with people directly. For e.g. Twitter which is a 'micro blogging' platform, is used by many political leaders, as well as government departments to briefly communicate their work and information.

Mass movements have also used digital networking tools to collaborate and support action. It is believed that during the Egyptian struggle for democracy, protests were coordinated using social networking platforms/tools, which made them more effective. The counting of votes has now become a fraction of time, used earlier, through 'electronic voting machines' and in a large country like India with a large voter base, counting for an entire constituency can be completed in a matter of hours.

Student activity time - The use of Internet by people mobilising in Egypt during the 'arab spring' is discussed in detail in 'Internet Activism and the Egyptian uprisings : transforming on-line activism into the off-line world' by Tim Eaton (source* - https://www.westminster.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/220675/WPCC-vol9-issue2.pdf). Read this article and discuss the concept of 'mediated mobilisation'. Can a variation of such a strategy be used for instance by women, to protest against liquor shops in villages? Can you create a group of your (interested) classmates, using a tool like 'Google groups' to discuss ways/methods of raising awareness against alcoholism or domestic violence? You may have used Google groups or Whatsapp earlier as a general purpose communication tool, here you should use the group only for serious discussions on the issue and to plan an event in your institution, or in your community, to bring together people to advocate against alcoholism / domestic violence). Use the Google group to discuss the issue, share ideas, resources and experiences. Plan the event over the mailing list. Use the virtual forum, to complement any discussions you may have in your class/institution to plan and organize the event. (*The listed article was sourced using 'Google Scholar' a search engine that provides links to scholarly / academic articles. Can you search Google Scholar for articles of interest to you).

Digital technologies also allow unauthorised access (even spying). Emails and documents can be 'hacked' and accessed. A large part of our ICT infrastructure is privately owned, and the companies which often provide it 'free' (of cost) to users, may be using the information users feed, to monetise the same as well as share it with others. The sharing of such information both authorised by us (when we agree to the 'terms of use' of the software/tool), as well unauthorised, can be for the commercial gains of the company (they can sell or hire this information to advertisers for example), or for political purposes (to enable governments or other agencies to spy on us). ICT make tapping much simpler and easier, since the data passing over the global networks can be easily 'hacked' and a copy of the information shared with the people conducting such espionage.

Think and talk it over If you knew that all your letters of emails were being read, would it have any impact on your writing? Imagine, if there was a CCTV (closed circuit Television) in your classroom that was passing on information about the classroom processes to someone outside, would it have any impact on the classroom processes? Think, make your points and discuss. Read the page www.enwikpedia.org/wiki/panopticon

Socio-cultural

Since communication is the essence of social processes, the introduction of ICT has dramatically impacted most of our socio-cultural activities and processes. With the mass use of the cell phone, we now assume that we can reach anyone any time. This kind of access enables us to plan interactions / activities in much more quicker, if not more efficient ways. Even twenty years back, the best of possible communication situations, one was not sure, if one could reach another person using a land-line / fixed line phone. In the absence of email, the formal communication method of a letter sent over postal services (sometimes derisively termed 'snail mail') meant a gap of several days before communication could be established. The reduction in communication time, has opened up numerous more possibilities for each of us (who are part of this digital world).

Social networking platforms are connecting millions of people to create 'virtual communities' or groups. Such interactions with large number of people who may not be physically proximate, opens new possibilities for friendships and learning. Of course, we also hear several anecdotes of how people can be naively trusting of 'friends' on such networks and get exploited or fooled, this aspect of 'internet safety' was discuss in detail in unit 1 of year 1. It is necessary to exercise diligence and caution in making friends on such platforms.

The mass sharing of information through the digital networks is also perhaps speeding up the assimilation of dominant cultures, which began with the advent of mass media. Wherever one travels, we can see the popular symbols of globalization – 'Mac Donalds' and 'Pizza Huts'. The shopping malls across cities look familiar with the similar brands available on sale. There is research to suggest that this process is undermining local contexts and cultures. An UNESCO study has documented the decline of local cultures and languages and that many languages have become extinct and many dying. As teachers, your role would be in promote digital avenues for storing and sharing local cultures as well, to resist the decline in local cultural resources. For instance, the Wikipedia encyclopedia has more than 5 million articles in English but less than 1% of that in Kannada. Documenting local cultures, resources, literature and sharing it in digital formats on public digital platforms is an important priority for our society, one in which teachers would need to have an important role.

Filter bubbles

On the other hand, Eli Pariser tells us the Internet is also allowing each of us to be enclosed in our own 'filter bubbles' – we access information based on our beliefs/ thoughts/ biases. Search engines such as the google search engine, filters out any information we seek, which is in line with our past searches. On one hand it makes it 'easier' for us to get the information we like. However this can be a dangerous process, which will increasingly curtail the diversity of perspectives that we access. Learning often comes from interacting with the unknown and unexpected and when each of us is taken along the line of our own dominant thoughts, it can create alienation and automation. The daily newspaper provides the 'same' information to all and hence serves as a basis for some common thinking and discussions and can allow some 'bridging' of divergent perspectives. However, when each of us is accessing a different information store, Pariser argues that such bridging becomes difficult.

Student discussion time Pariser says in 'Filter Bubble', “The creators of the Internet envisioned something bigger and more important than a global system for sharing pictures of pets …(and supported the idea of a) "civilisation of Mind in cyberspace" – a kind of worldwide metabrain. But personalised filters sever the synapses in that brain. Without knowing it, we may be giving ourselves a kind of global lobotomy instead. ” Do you agree with this statement? Do you think that 'filter bubbles' have a role to play in the increasing intolerance in society in many countries?

Economic

For several centuries, society was agrarian, meaning most people worked in agriculture, food (and related items) production was the most significant part of the gross domestic product (GDP). With the industrial revolution in the 18^th century, industry / manufacturing sector became very important and its contribution to a nations GDP crossed that of agriculture.

Table

Society is changing, moving from an Agricultural society → Industrial society → Knowledge society. The table below lists highlights relating to the processes of production.

Kind of society	Agricultural society	Industrial society	Information society
Sector	Primary	Secondary (Manufacturing)	Tertiary (Services)
Basic production	Food	Goods	Services / knowledge
Basic material	Land	Capital	Information
India in 1950 (2010)	70.00% (15)	20.00% (28)	10.00% (57)

ICTs have affected the nature/shape of many industries and occupations. Typewriters, film role based cameras have become extinct. Information based 'service' industries such as travel and tourism, financial services, insurance, have been significantly impacted. The rise of global platforms such as airbnb (accommodation), Uber (transport) will impact the hotel, transport sectors significantly. It will also change the number of jobs available and the nature of work. Many 'digital' occupations have also begun, such as software engineering, digital photography, system administration, desk top publishing etc. In the work and education course, you could touch on some of these occupations.

The possibilities of establishing information networks which can facilitate rapid communications and decision making has led to the creation of very large scale transnational corporations. They are able to support decentralised working, yet retain overall control through by better 'Management Information Systems. Such networks are also on the other hand, supporting decentralised production and collaborative production projects, such as FOSS or Wikipedia.

Thus the digital nature of ICTs can be both greatly beneficial as well as greatly harmful for furthering human rights and development. Hence a critical perspective is essential, and as a teacher we need to be cautious against the hype that surrounds ICTs, as a panacea for all problems. In this unit, we will discuss the challenges and problems posed by ICTs, in every discussion on their benefits also, to enable you to keep a balanced and critical perspective.