The millennium approaches, bringing the promise of an “Information Revolution” and
the emergence of an “Information Society” with access to global information at its
fingertips.
This essay focuses on Europe, exploring the argument that emerging technologies are
not a panacea, but that society can only exploit new technologies through awareness,
education and training.
With its diversity of nations and cultures, will this promise of an information-rich
society benefit all Europeans or will it create a two-tier society? Can the European
Union facilitate educational programmes to enable its citizens to benefit from
technology, and what impact will technology have upon employment and social status
in Europe?
This essay addresses these issues from an educator’s perspective, arguing that
education is the key to the emergence of an Information Society in Europe.
INTRODUCTION
‘Preparing Europeans for the advent of the information society is a priority
task. Education, training and promotion will necessarily play a central role.’
(Bangemann, 1994: p5)
As the millennium approaches, rapid growth in the use of the Internet, electronic
communications and information systems is heralding the “Information Society” as
one of the most important developments since the Industrial revolution.
In this essay, I argue that Europeans cannot rely on technology alone to develop as an
Information Society, but that education and lifelong learning are fundamental.
My objectives are to demonstrate that Europe is a complex, kaleidoscopic continent
comprising numerous cultures, communities and values. Educating Europeans
towards an Information Society will only be successful if these factors are considered;
ignoring these social and cultural values risks the emergence of a Europe where many
sections of society will be not just technically, but socially disadvantaged. Lifelong
learning must be promoted at European, national and local levels, providing
awareness and training in the use of emerging technologies within schools, colleges,
universities and in the community.
I argue that the European Information Society can only materialise if technology is
supported by education, tailored to the cultural and social needs of individual
communities.
In the first section, The Information Age, we will look at the technological changes
that are taking place. Despite having such a global impact on society, much of this
technology is shrouded in threatening technical jargon. I will be explaining concepts
such as the Internet, World Wide Web and E-mail and why they have had such a
profound effect on education and society.
In the next section, The Evolving Community of Europe, we will look at how Europe
has evolved against a backdrop of change which has produced so many diverse
cultures, communities and peoples. The concept of community is equally complex
and is discussed with particular reference to the idea of “virtual” communities that
develop through the use of electronic communication.
Having defined the emerging technologies and the European society into which they
are being introduced, the third section looks at Integrating Technology in Education.
The key social issues that are examined are education, training and lifelong learning.
Whilst exploring how technology will impact on these issues we must do so in the
context of the diversity of the European nations, looking particularly at the role of the
European Union in enabling these changes to occur in a positive way.
We will begin by examining some of the emerging technologies which have had such
profound effects upon education and communication in society today.
THE INFORMATION AGE
This section explores some of the most important technological developments of
recent times: the Internet and World Wide Web, and electronic communications
including electronic mail. Whilst offering immense potential, we will also observe
some of the less welcome effects of these technologies.
The Internet and World Wide Web
Whilst the development of the personal computer brought desktop computing to the
masses in the late 1970s, the development of the Internet and multimedia has brought
new dimensions and possibilities for today’s computer users.
Despite the relatively recent surge of Internet usage and associated media hype, the
Internet is not a new invention. It evolved from technical necessity in 1969 as the
“ARPANET”, designed by US Defence staff and academics, funded by the US
government, as a means of communicating and sharing resources for military
establishments and academic research.
From the social perspective, it is interesting to note that the US government funding
of the initial Internet technology was on the premise that it would be made freely
available to the wider market. (Handley & Crowcroft, 1995).
Starting with a network of four linked computers in 1969, during the 1980s the
ARPANET evolved into the “Internet”
Figure 1 International Connectivity (copyright: Landweber and the Internet Society,
1997)
Figure 1 shows international connectivity to the Internet today and demonstrates that
the Internet is truly global. It extends to most of the world with only small pockets
mainly in the African continent with no connectivity, but most of the developed world
has at least electronic mail connections, if not full connectivity to the Internet.
How can we explain the success of the Internet on such an international scale? For a
computer-based technology to achieve such rapid world-wide success, we must look
at the large scale social and educational implications as well as the technological
attractions for the computer enthusiasts.
Whilst the Internet provides the technical infrastructure for the communication and
dissemination of information, the actual information and communication is provided
by people.
Information is made available in a number of ways, the most popular of which is the
World Wide Web. This is a ‘hypermedia’ system (originating from the Greek ‘hyper’
meaning many), whereby a user can use a computer pointing device to ‘point and
click’ at pieces of information to which their computer will link. This information
could be a piece of text (e.g. the works of Shakespeare, a research paper or a copy of
today’s newspaper); it could be a picture from a satellite showing the current weather
situation; it could be a sound clip from a song or a speech; it could even be a video
clip of a surgeon performing an operation. The information provider can be any
individual or company, which helps us to understand why the Internet and World
Wide Web is such a phenomenon.
Access to the Internet and World Wide Web is developing at a variable pace in
educational establishments across Europe. On a recent educational visit to Northern
Italy, I observed how Information Technology is being heavily promoted in schools
and colleges; this is in contrast to the less affluent Southern part of the country which
still lags behind much of Europe.
The World Wide Web enables all of us to be publishers with an unlimited world-wide
audience. The fact that there is no central control or ownership of the Internet and
World Wide Web means that we have an unprecedented egalitarian publishing
medium.
Electronic Communication
Shelley & Winck (1993) define ‘communication’ as:
‘a relationship between communicators in which information is exchanged in a
two-way process by means of language or other signs or symbols.’ (Shelley &
Winck, 1993: p122)
Electronic communication extends these possibilities today by allowing faster and
more widespread communication channels.
As well as being a means of providing information, the Internet is widely used for
“people to people” communication. This can be in the form of electronic mail or
conversing directly with other computer users using an Internet Relay Chat program
(IRC). Electronic mail began in 1972 and is now used world-wide as a form of
communication. In the same way that society develops rules for communicating, e.g.
handshakes, facial expressions, careful use of irony, electronic communicators have
developed ‘Netiquette’. This helps users to overcome potential problems of the lack
of face-to-face contact such as the inability to read expressions and convey humour.
The use of electronic communication is popular in higher education, the Open
University being one of the largest UK users of computer-mediated conferencing
(CMC). Computer Mediated Conferencing allows groups of users with common
interests (normally their tutor group in the case of the OU), to participate in
discussions and debates via electronic bulletin boards. This system is relatively cheap
to use and is consequently used by many European and International groups of users
for multi-national educational and commercial projects. Some Netiquette ‘rules’
supplied by the Open University to their users of the ‘First Class’ computer mediated
conferencing system (CMC) are attached in Appendix I.
There are also cultural benefits for learning in schools where children have
traditionally been encouraged to obtain ‘pen friends’ as a means of learning about
countries and their cultures. Use of the Internet unleashes the potential to enliven
classroom discussions with ‘real time’ discussions between classes in different
countries and continents.
Much of the terminology used in electronic mail (email) and Internet communications
emulate society: each email user has an address and a mailbox; academic institutions
have postmasters who manage the system; electronic communication across different
countries and network systems conform to protocols that are initiated by handshakes.
Internet users can subscribe to mailing lists and discussion groups and can even
compete interactively across the Internet in games with other users.
This development of an almost sub-community also has its dark side. The lack of
central control means that it is an ideal medium for advertising illegal practices such
as child pornography, broadcasting racist and political propaganda and providing
information on how to obtain and manufacture drugs, explosives etc.
One of the main difficulties in uniting Europe with mass media communication is the
diversity of languages. In this respect, computers may be of benefit with translation
programs available that can present information in a desired language. However,
English remains the international language of computing, which orientates it towards
the US market and ultimately disadvantages non English-speaking countries in
Europe.
It is interesting to note that as long ago as the 1930s, Wilson and van der Dussen
(1993: p101) discuss how Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalerji, founder of the PanEuropean Union, predicted English would become ‘the pre-eminent global means of
communication’ and the second language of Europe.
Illiteracy and lack of access to information has often been a divisive factor within
society.
‘In the eighteenth century few people read the very few newspapers. They were
informed, everyone else was not.’ (Sherman & Judkins, 1993: p258)
Unless steps are taken to ensure that the population is informed about new technology
and has access to it, today’s information-starved sector will be the equivalent of the
eighteenth century illiterate mass.
We have seen that emerging technologies are already impacting on our lives. There is
great potential to exploit technology for many practical and positive purposes;
however, we must not allow society to be driven by technical advances, or ‘put the
cart before the horse’, without taking into account educational needs and investigating
the possible social costs involved.
In the next section we will briefly look at the historical development of Europe from
which today’s diverse communities have emerged.
THE EVOLVING COMMUNITY OF EUROPE
Education cannot be examined in isolation from society, its communities and inherent
values. We will now look at research by Crow and Allan (1994) and Rheingold
(1994), who help us to understand the different types of communities and their
importance within society. This emphasises the risk of exclusion of the ‘computer
illiterate’ within a two-tier society.
The Complexity of Europe
Before we begin to analyse the impact of new technologies on Europeans we must
recognise that Europe is a complex union consisting of many different values and
cultures.
Europe has a chequered history with many different political, religious and cultural
influences.
An early map drawn by Canon Lambert in the 12th century shows Europe as
comprising 11 seas, 40 islands, 20 provinces, 21 mountain ranges, 120 towns and
cities and 33 different peoples (Wilson, van der Dussen, 1993: p30). This map
excludes many of today’s European countries including Spain, Britain and
Scandinavia.
As the concept of Europe developed, there were divided opinions as to how it should
evolve. In the 8th and 9th centuries Europe was occupied by Greeks and Turks,
Christians and Moslems; by the 15th century Europe was regarded as a Christian
continent; in the 18th century it was ruled by the ‘Pentarchy’ of England, France,
Austria, Russia and Prussia. By the early 19th century, some saw European powers as
a religious, ecumenical alliance whilst others regarded Europe as a continent split into
a Liberal West and conservative Eastern Europe. (Wilson, van der Dussen, 1993)
European unity began to dissipate during the latter part of the 19th century as loyalty
to Europe was replaced by stronger feelings of nationalism. It was not until after the
end of the Second World War that confidence in a united Europe began to return, with
the creation in 1951 of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), bringing
together six European countries that would later form the European Economic
Community (EEC).
Europe today is more complex than ever. Fernández-Armesto’s Times Guide to the
Peoples of Europe (1994), lists approximately 101 different ‘peoples’ adding:
‘Nothing like today’s sudden appearance of previously unfamiliar people has
happened in Europe since the fall of the Roman Empire.’ (Fernández-Armesto,
1994: p9)
When we examine how technology will impact upon Europe, it is important to do so
in the light of the way in which Europe has evolved and to consider this complexity of
peoples and cultures.
Unity in Diversity
We have seen from the historical perspective of Europe how it has evolved from a
variety of religious and cultural backgrounds. Rather than attempt to unify Europe and
treat it as a single entity, it is important to recognise the differences that enrich its
society.
‘What makes Europe superior to all other civilizations is its diversity.’ (Wilson
& van der Dussen, 1993: p72)
Diversity in cultures and values should be regarded as opportunities for introducing
different types of technologies and educational experiments within a broad spectrum
of environments.
Rheingold reports on an experiment carried out in a rural part of Western Montana in
the 1980s where the impact of social change was measured when new technologies
were introduced into a non-technological sector of society. Social scientist, William
Uncapher studied the experiment as part of his Master’s thesis; the argument of his
thesis was that...
‘.. you can’t predict the way people will use communications technologies
without knowing something about the social, economic, political, and cultural
circumstances of the specific environments in which the technologies are
introduced.’ (Rheingold, 1994: p247)
His thesis proved to be correct and the experiment was a success. By concerning
themselves foremost with the group of people, their environment and social values,
the researchers were able to teach the community how the technology could help to
improve their particular situation.
From this we can learn that successful integration results from focusing on people,
their communities and daily lives and adapting the technology accordingly, rather
than putting the emphasis on technology as a solution looking for a problem.
Opinions on issues such as education and employment differ throughout Europe; there
are language and cultural barriers within countries as well as between countries. In
countries where regional deprivation exists, new technologies must be introduced
with educational opportunities to enhance those areas, not create further deprivation
and disadvantage.
‘At the European level, a political state identity .. is generated. ... The national
level (together with, in some places, the regional one) remains the focus for
cultural identity, for community.’ (Wilson & van der Dussen, 1993: p208)
The “Virtual” Community
We have looked at how users of electronic communications can create a sense of
community, and at how an almost “sub-culture” can exist among enthusiasts of
Internet communications.
In The Virtual Community, Howard Rheingold (1994) records his experiences as a
member of the WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link) virtual community. Using
computer-mediated communication (CMC) Rheingold took part in daily discussions
with hundreds of people across global computer networks.
Before we examine how technology might impact on the European Community we
need to look at the concept of “community”.
Crow and Allan (1994) draw together the varied experiences of community life across
Britain. It is clear from their findings that communities are complex even within a
single European country, with different types of communities existing either within
geographical locations or where common interests exist.
What is evident is that membership of a particular community distinguishes its
members from those who do not “belong”:
‘Communities are designed not only by relations between members, among whom
there is similarity, but also by the relations between these ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’,
who are distinguished by their difference and consequent exclusion.’ (Crow & Allan,
1994: p7)
Extreme examples of differences and exclusion from communities in Europe have
been only too visible in recent years, where conflict has erupted as a result of religious
and cultural differences in the former Yugoslavian countries.
Evidence of “belonging” to a community can be as obvious as a shared language,
dress code (e.g. uniform); there may be a shared social situation such as living in a
community that is dominated by a particular industry or profession (e.g. mining,
fishing or naval community) or a sense of cultural or religious belonging (e.g. Asian,
Catholic/Protestant or student community). Within the European Community there are
many communities on all of these levels, with national divisions and boundaries as
well as regional differences cutting across them.
Communication technologies can help to develop a better understanding of other
cultures as Rheingold discovered when he travelled to other countries to visit his
“virtual” friends and colleagues:
‘Virtual communities served as a bridge ... to people whose language and
customs differ significantly from those I know within California.’ (Rheingold,
1994: p10)
Having observed how communities give individuals a sense of belonging, we must be
mindful of the risk of exclusion that could be felt by those who do not feel that they
“belong”. The potential of electronic communication is such that those who already
feel excluded from society such as the long-term unemployed are in danger of feeling
at an even greater disadvantage (Crow & Allan, 1994: p50). Without education and
training, new technology will permeate society, creating a new ‘underclass’ who risk
skills shortages, unemployment and subsequent social exclusion. It is important that
funding for awareness raising and training continues to be made available for projects
such as those organised through the European Social Fund.
We have observed how Europe has adapted to changes imposed during its history and
how there are many different communities within Europe today. Education can help
to provide a sense of belonging to individuals and groups of users who are
increasingly using technology for communication at home and in the workplace. The
European Union has a role in encouraging a sense of ‘belonging’ to all its members
through projects and initiatives that take into account national and rural diversity.
We will now look at how education, training and lifelong learning can integrate
technology within education.
INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION
Education encompasses all ages, social groups and nationalities. In this section we
will look at ways in which education and technology are being integrated in schools,
and as part of the wider concept of lifelong learning in Europe.
Information Technology in the Classroom
‘Talk was the breath of life to the Greek .. what society but Athens could have
produced a figure like Socrates - a man who changed the current of human
thought without writing a word ..?’ (Kitto, 1951: p36).
When exploring educational issues, we can look back to the Ancient Greeks whose
main means of learning was through debate in the streets, gymnasiums and other
public places.
While Socrates discussed and debated in public places, the Sophists emerged
proclaiming to be teachers or professors, many charging fees for their lectures (p168 Kitto). This produced for the first time in Ancient Greece, an elite group of scholars
who could afford to be educated and a larger group of second-class citizens who could
not.
Parallels may be drawn today with the risk of an elite sector of society emerging, who
can afford the tools and training that will be necessary to participate fully as a
member of society in the future. We need the European Union to look at ways of
ensuring that IT is used effectively and efficiently and is available to all - with the
necessary skills to use it.
The European Commission’s 1996 Green Paper, ‘Living and working in the
Information Society: People First’ declares that:
‘The foundations of our knowledge and skills are laid during the first years of
education..’ (Green Paper COM (96) 389: p15)
Initiatives have been launched in several European countries including the UK,
Germany and Finland whereby schools are being connected via computers to national
and international networked services.
The Guardian’s education editor, John Carvel, wrote on 4 September that spending on
computers and IT in Britain’s secondary schools has increased tenfold since 1985,
making Britain the world-leader in computer access in schools. In Britain, every
primary school has at least one computer; in France this is only achieved by 91% of
schools and in Germany by less than 10%. The percentage of homes in Britain with
computers also leads the world with 33%, compared to 28% in the US and only 21%
in France and 20% in Germany.
Despite access to computers being high, only a third of children in their early teens
thought that computers could help them to learn. Encouragingly, most children under
11 thought that computers could be a useful learning tool. Whilst there are no reasons
given for this, we could assume that the availability of a greater range of affordable
learning programs and improved teacher training might be a factor.
Rheingold cites one of the reasons for the failure of widespread uptake of computers
in schools in the 1980s as the fact that computers were regarded as no more than an
alternative “one-to-many” broadcast medium; their potential for “many-to-many”
communication in an explorative learning environment was not grasped (Rheingold,
1994: p244-5).
This “many-to-many” form of communication was of great interest to Rheingold as he
felt that the opportunities for human group interaction using computer mediated
conferencing met many people’s social needs on fundamental, social and political
levels by its ability to ‘bind isolated individuals into a community’. (Rheingold, 1994:
p12-3)
Educating our children not only in the use of technology but on its fundamental
requirement at a social level is now more important than ever. Appendix II shows
examples of how the World Wide Web offers alternative sources of research material:
many sources include multimedia such as video and sound, built-in quizzes, games
and assessment tools.
The increased use of technology in schools has had a huge impact on teachers as well
as students. Hall (1995) describes how the impact of CD-ROMs in the classroom has
changed the role of the teacher from that of the main disseminator of knowledge to
the role of facilitator, directing children to find information for themselves.
This change in role presents challenges for all educators, who not only have to learn
how to use technology themselves and teach others to use it, but must also adapt their
teaching methods in order to embrace new technologies, and impart research skills as
well as knowledge to their students.
Training and Lifelong Learning
The pace of change in technology can create job insecurity and skills obsolescence
which demands new flexibility and work patterns; the European Commission’s 1996
Green Paper acknowledges that traditional and manual jobs will not disappear, but
they will decline in importance.
‘The main economic, social and political problem in Europe is high and
persistent unemployment. 18 million people are unemployed, half of them have
been out of work for a year or more.’ (Green Paper COM (96) 389: p11)
In European countries where Information and Communication Technologies are
advanced, employment is higher, particularly in the service sector (i.e. software
service, teleservices, training, education and health services), despite decline in the
manufacturing industry. New opportunities are also emerging for women, especially
with the creation of additional part-time jobs.
In many cases, unemployment results in social exclusion due to lack of skills and
training for the demands of the changing labour market. This is described in the Green
Paper as a ‘two-speed labour market’ where a mismatch exists between the
availability and the demand for skills in the Information Society.
The Green Paper gives us some additional disturbing statistics: In ten years’ time,
80% of the technology that we use today will be obsolete. In the European
community, there is an average loss of 10% of jobs each year - the new jobs that
emerge each year require skills that these unemployed simply don’t have. Literacy
and numeracy skills are often lacking and this presents a difficulty in reskilling the
existing labour force. (Green Paper COM (96) 389: p14-15)
Reintegrating the unemployed back to work through training is essential.
‘It should be a right and an obligation for all unemployed to maintain and
develop basic skills for the Information Society.’ (Green Paper COM (96) 389:
p17)
All of these observations and statistics highlight the need for Lifelong Learning.
In February 1996 the European Year of Lifelong Learning (EYLL) was launched in
Venice, supported by the European Commission, aimed at encouraging debate at all
levels of European society including the launch of national, regional and local
initiatives. The concept of Lifelong Learning was seen as a mechanism for inviting
the citizens of Europe, on a wide scale, to recognise their role in the changing society.
The event launched dozens of projects and initiatives, with the participation of 18
European countries and information made available to over 20 million people via
forums on the Internet, free telephone lines, newspaper, television and radio
broadcasts. A sample list of projects is attached in Appendix III.
Its practical nature prompted active participation from individuals, and groups at all
levels. A particular example of an initiative in the UK that was launched this year, but
evolved from the EYLL, was the creation of the National Advisory Group for
Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning. This group includes representatives
from Further and Higher Education, local authorities, business and voluntary sectors;
its role is to advise the Secretary of State on issues associated with adult learning,
work-based learning, and learning in the community.
One of the most significant benefits of the emerging technologies is that they can be
used by many people. It is wrong to assume that only computer technicians, software
engineers and systems analysts can benefit from today’s computer technology; as
systems have become more “user-friendly” and graphical interfaces have replaced
complicated syntax and commands, more “ordinary” people can configure and use
computers for communication and information retrieval.
Appendix IV shows some examples of how the World Wide Web can be used not
only for lifelong academic learning but also for improving social and ‘community’
skills such as driving and parenting.
Awareness-raising and education is paramount in order to make people aware of what
is available, how to retrieve and use electronic information, and participate in the
evolving electronic community.
‘Most people who have not yet used these new media remain unaware of how
profoundly the social, political and scientific experiments under way today via
computer networks could change all our lives in the near future.’ (Rheingold,
1994: p4)
The emerging Information Society will fundamentally change the way that we work,
teach and learn; it is vital that we begin to address these issues now, in order to
prepare the current and future workforce and to ensure that everyone will have
opportunities to benefit.
SUMMARY
The use of emerging technologies is expanding both at home and in the workplace,
particularly with the rapid expansion of the Internet, World Wide Web and electronic
communications.
We have at our disposal a powerful tool that gives us new opportunities of an
unprecedented nature. However, many of these opportunities may be seen as a threat
to our society, particularly to disadvantaged groups in the community who, without
education, training and awareness, could be left at the lower end of a two-tier society.
We have seen how the Internet and its associated information and communication
tools have gained widespread acceptance in Europe and throughout the developed
world. These technologies have been adopted by growing communities of users with
their own sets of values or “netiquette”.
We have seen how Europe has emerged as a unified yet diverse continent with a
historical and ongoing tradition of change. The concept of communities has been
explored, particularly Rheingold’s experiences as part of a “virtual community”. We
have recognised the sense of “belonging” associated with membership of a
community, and have seen how the introduction of technology without education risks
excluding large numbers of people from society.
The 1996 European Year of Lifelong Learning was a highly successful initiative from
which many projects are still ongoing. It helped to develop not only European-wide
projects, but national and regional ones, which are essential when there is as much
diversity within as between European countries, and rural deprivation existing in
many member states.
The importance of integrating technology into the curriculum at an early stage has
been explored, with subsequent effects on teachers who must adapt their teaching as
well as keeping abreast of technological developments.
We have looked at the problem of unemployment, which will inevitably worsen
within the traditional manufacturing industries, but which can improve where new
technologies are embraced. However, it can only work successfully if education and
training is used to maintain and develop a skilled workforce that can meet the
demands of the new jobs. This is a vital issue which the European Commission
recognises has to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Europe is apparently successful so far in remaining one of the technological leaders
internationally.
‘The map of the world has been unsentimentally redrawn by computers. On that
map, North America and Europe are hot zones with high per capita computer
ownership, while the developing nations tend to be cold.’ (d’Orville 1996:
page41.htm/p1)
However, awareness raising and training initiatives must continue to expand at the
same rate as the technology if Europe is to create an effective “Information Society”.
CONCLUSION
‘Knowledge, more than ever, is power. The one country that can but lead the
information revolution will be more powerful that any other.’ (d’Orville 1996:
page1.htm/p3)
The continuing and rapid pace of technological development is now globally accepted
as irreversible and inevitable.
The raw materials are cheaper than ever before; possibilities exist to program
computers to perform tasks unimaginable even a decade ago, and the communication
infrastructure is growing at a remarkable pace to feed the demands of a global market.
The apparent panacea inevitably has its drawbacks - whilst the technocrats herald the
“Information Revolution” and development of the “Information Society”, there are
many in society who see no place for themselves in this “Brave New World”.
Our children have the potential of technology at their fingertips, with libraries and
classrooms evolving into information-rich resources with CD-ROMs, and multimedia
computer software being used in conjunction with traditional learning materials.
A sub-culture is already in existence - an increasing percentage of the population has
access at home and at work to electronic information, with many social functions such
as banking, shopping, newspapers, books and music available electronically.
Already, there is a growing demand for ‘virtual universities’. Distance learning gives
equal opportunities to those in rural locations, with European lifelong learning
initiatives extending possibilities of studying almost any subject at any age. The
technology to deliver these opportunities exists and is being developed in most
European countries: what is required is increased awareness, training and access to it.
The next generation may never need to leave their homes in order to be educated,
have bills paid, food delivered and even medical conditions diagnosed. Our current
work culture will be unrecognisable as teleworking becomes the norm, with
‘netiquette’ replacing human interaction.
This threatens all aspects of our culture and society, but poses the greatest threat to
those who lack awareness, education and resources to benefit from it.
‘Instead of falling under the spell of a sales pitch, or rejecting new technologies
as instruments of illusion, we need to look closely at new technologies and ask
how they can help build stronger, more humane communities - and ask how they
might be obstacles to that goal.’ (Rheingold, 1994: p300)
Europe is currently among the world leaders in Information Technology. We have
resources and potential at our fingertips. The approach of the millennium has already
given manufacturers and technical developers an impetus for technological design that
will change the way we live and work. Whether society will be ready for this
challenge remains to be seen.
‘Technology is a means to an end. Our dream is about communication -- the
most basic human strategy we use to raise our children, to educate, to have, to
empower and to liberate.’(Gore, 1995: p2)
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