A distinctive feature of the modern society is increasing changeability of the world. For the first time in the history of humanity generations of things and ideas are changing more quickly than human generations. Moreover, the changeability shows itself through unprecedented diversity, concerning almost all spheres of social life. Dynamic changes are taking place in nature and society, all human environments gave birth to different names of the society where a modern individual lives: post-industrial society, post-civilization, technotronic society and many others. However, the most popular term is the Information Society.
Information Society is a new post-industrial socio-economical organisation of socium with highly-developed information and telecommunication infrastructures providing the possibility of efficient use of intellectual resources for sustainable development of the civilization. Transition to the Information Society presupposes the change of accents throughout the whole national economical system. It presupposes establishing of a new information controlling foundation of the society development, formation of principally new social motivations and technological possibilities, wide practical use of innovation and knowledge for enhancing labour productivity; and all this will lead to improved life quality. It should be stressed that transition to the Information Society is the most important factor of changing image both of individual countries and human civilisation in general.
The concept of the Information Society is linked to the idea of technological innovations.
These are the basic features characteristic of the Information Society:
information is the main transforming power of society, and information resources are strategic resources of society;
global informatisation, rapid Information and Communication Technologies development are the basis of a new economy
novelty, fleetingness, acceleration are the most characteristic features of contemporary life;
the cycle of innovation both of industrial and social technologies is 6-8 years ahead of the change of generations;
life-long education and ability to change profession is an integral part of a persons social status preservation;
every persons future depends on the ability to timely find, get, correctly perceive and efficiently use new information.
Transition of the human civilization to the Information Society raises principally new demands to the education system. The character of dramatic changes taking place in the education system is reflected in the concept of a new education paradigm. The new education paradigm is a kind of strategy for education for tomorrow.
shift from learning great volumes of information accumulated for future use to seizing the means for continuous acquisition of new knowledge and ability to learn independently;
acquiring the skills of working with any information and formation of the skills of independent (critical) as against reproductive kind of thinking;
traditional principle to form professional knowledge, abilities and skills is enhanced by the principle to form professional competency.
Its not difficult to see that information component takes the major part in the new education paradigm. The new education paradigm is oriented to the education based on personal activity, to a creative thinking person able to take independent decision when working with contradictive and dynamically changing information.
How has technology affected peoples lives?
Complete the chart.
| Positive effects | Negative effects | |
| Personal stereos | ||
| The telephone | Easier, quick communication | Nobody writes letters anymore |
| Television | ||
| Computers |
In your opinion, has technology affected peoples lives mostly positively or mostly negatively?
