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BEING BOMBARDED BY TECHNOLOGY: NEED FOR A BALANCED APPROACH

PRESENTED BY

*DR. G.A. GHANSHYAMASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ENGLISHGOVT. ARTS COLLEGE, SEEPATBILASPUR (CHHATTISGARH) INDIAEmail: drgag18@gmail.com &** DEVASREE CHAKRAVARTIRESEARCH SCHOLAR Pt. RAVI SHANKAR SHUKLA UNIVERSITY, RAIPUR. (C.G.)

The ability to show love must always be part of the equation. Technology has not crossed that barrier. The day love dies will be the virtual end of the world. -Steven Spielberg

TECHNOLOGY:Technology, the life blood of this modern world is the sustaining power of contemporary life and society. A product of human intelligence, it has far out-spaced its original concept of being just a helping aid to man. Today an individual, a community or a nation has to be technologically aware and progressive to stay ahead in the race of development.

But what is the fact behind this fictional picture of well-being and advancement?Is it really all so perfect? How far are we ready to go and forego for the sake of attaining the impossible?Every sphere of life has been touched by the magical spell of technology and has transformed the drab and dreariness of real life into the fantasy of fairy land.

COMMUNICATION:

An important pillar supporting technological advancement. The technologically savvy world is hugely dependent on effective means of communication. Communication which is the basis, the foundation of human society is also the platform on which the edifice of technology stands.

.the global and multicultural society requires sensitivity to communication, particularly to oral communication competence.Language is the basis of communication, and in the field of education, language teaching is an important area which lays the foundation for effective communication and working of society.

Technology has thus become an integral part of our modern educational set up.

The advent and rapid advancement of technology has created a highly specialized and technical atmosphere in the language learning classroom.Over the past several decades, technology has become a fixture in many homes around the world, and its influence has permeated into all facets of our lives, including educational settings.

Teaching of second language requires basic skill enhancing techniques like listening, repetition, speaking and so on.Computers and language learning softwares have made this task easier and effective. CALL , CAII , CAVOCA , Multimedia, Internet, Audio and Video systems, LCDs, Mobiles, etc. are the new face of language learning

Through various communicative and interactive activities, computer technology can help second language learners strengthen their linguistic skills, affect their learning attitude, and build their self-instruction strategies and self-confidence.

Advantages of E-learning: Shift from BALL to CALL. Better Teaching Materials. Wider Options. Exposure. Accessibility to Various Information. Saving of Time. Provides Free Atmosphere to the learners to learn and improve his skill as per his/her own time and ability.

OUTCOME OF TECHNOLOGY:Over dependency on technology.

Given birth to an unquenchable thirst for perfection.

Made the individual cloistered in his own individual world.

The rat race of the modern techno-savvy society has lost its link with life.

No matter how much our high-tech life isolates us, we always need each other.

The enslavement of man by his own product is certainly not a healthy option.

Too much of a good thing is bad.

Every Coin has two sides so does technology.

InvestmentNot Individual Oriented (The impersonal nature of the instruction and the lack of real time interactivity between the instructor and student which can increase the potential for misunderstandings.)No Room For ImprovisationTechnical Know-How, A Pre-RequisiteLack of Contact with Real LifeBlame-GameDouble PressureSocial DisparitiesDISADVANTAGES OF TECHNOLOGY:

Enhances Social MisfitsBreaking-up of Community Life With all the bright new science and technologies that make our lives so dreamy, we have misplaced the standard of basic social usefulness. That is what the idea of community means, really-usefulness to the others. Without the idea of the individual serving a wider world, we end up looking like perfect jerks.

Health Hazards

Culture Specific RestraintsLoss of CreativityLoss of MemoryAddiction of 21st Century Psychiatrists believe that mobile phone addiction is becoming one of the biggest non-drug addictions (NDA) in the 21st Century.

Loss of Linguistic Purity

Computers are the wave of the future, but old fashioned learning techniques should not be forgotten. What we can do with technology is much more important than what technology can do for us. Indiscriminate use of technology can result in its disadvantages far outweighing its advantages. Children are the worst affected.

No mater how efficient or advanced technology becomes, yet it can never replace the building blocks of life inherent in such childhood activities and things as:Books, Arts, Toys, Games, Physical activities, etc. Computers cannot be companions on the playfield.

TECHNOLOGY: A HELPING AIDIt can never totally replace the traditional set-up of life.According to M.L. Tickoo:I continue to believe that even the most powerful and supremely intelligent computing machines ought to give place to the individual human being in the making of those decisions that determine the way they choose to live.Computers and the various new technologies can only enrich and work as a complementary tool.

Bill Gates has rightly said:

Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.

Motivation is the essence.

Chomsky has remarked:motivated language students will probably learn whatever the methods are, but without motivation they wont learn a thing even if the methods are good.

To be enslaved by technology is to demean the power and intelligence of the human brain. Technology is the child of human intelligence not its master.

the key to successful use of technology in language teaching lies not in hardware or software but in human ware, our human capacity as teachers to plan, design and implement effective educational activity.

WHAT WE NEED???

All we require is a balanced approach towards the use of technology, a balance between traditional and modern modes of teaching so that we dont lose our distinctive human touch and turn eventually into cyborgs.

Our essential human quality is our strength and our gift.

It is a bare truth that computers will never completely supplant books.

InvestmentNot Individual OrientedNo Room For ImprovisationTechnical Know-How, A Pre-RequisiteLack of Contact with Real LifeBlame-GameDouble PressureSocial DisparitiesEnhances Social MisfitsBreaking-up of Community LifeHealth HazardsCulture Specific RestraintsLoss of CreativityLoss of MemoryAddiction of 21st CenturyLoss of Linguistic Purity