From Photoshop to 3D Printing: Here Are 4 Ways Emerging Technology Can Impact Development
July 10, 2013 by Sara Fenske
The future of technology is the future of the world. It may seem like an exaggeration, but it’s not. Everything we do, every decision we make and every invention we create will have an impact on the future of our lives and our planet. So it’s important that we understand how emerging technology can impact development in a positive way.
From Photoshop to 3D Printing: Here Are 4 Ways Emerging Technology Can Impact Development
The future of technology is the future of the world. It may seem like an exaggeration, but it’s not. Everything we do, every decision we make and every invention we create will have an impact on the future of our lives and our planet. So it’s important that we understand how emerging technology can impact development in a positive way.
The term “empowerment technology” is a rather new concept in the development world. Coined by the National Council on Disability, it refers to emerging technologies that allow people with disabilities to live independently and participate in the workforce. Some of these technologies include assistive devices such as prosthetics, voice recognition software and accessible websites.
In 2010, I published a blog post called “From Photoshop to 3D Printing: Here Are 4 Ways Emerging Technology Can Impact Development.” In it, I highlighted how technology can be tailored for persons with disabilities, allowing them to better participate in society. But in recent months, I’ve noticed a distinct trend among new technological applications.
They are incorporating more accessibility features without being explicitly designed for persons with disabilities. Whether it’s for the visually impaired or even for someone who has limited dexterity due to medical conditions like arthritis, these new technologies are changing the way we think about disability and inclusion.
A few examples include:
[[[Examples]]]
Recently, the World Bank released a report on the role of technology in development. It found that information and communication technology (ICT) is one of the keys to tackling some of the world’s largest challenges, including poverty, hunger and poor health. ICT can be used for everything from increasing access to education to monitoring climate change.
The report concludes that “technology is a powerful tool for improving people’s lives, but only if we combine it with good policy, sound economics and social innovation.”
Here are four ways emerging technology can impact development:
1. Empowerment Technology
2. Improving Access to Education
3. Agriculture Advances
4. Monitoring Climate Change
It is true that technology can be a distraction, but it can also be a powerful tool for good.
Technology has the potential to be a force for positive change in developing countries, especially when it comes to education and healthcare. Here are four ways emerging technology can impact development:
1. Empowerment Technology
Empowerment technology refers to any kind of technology that empowers an individual or community. While empowerment technology may take many forms, the goal of all empowerment technologies is to help people reach their full potential.
Some examples of empowerment technology include:
A solar-powered laptop
An electronic medical record system
Online banking that helps people better manage their finances
2. Educational Technology
Technology has the potential to enhance educational opportunities around the world and make learning more accessible. In fact, technology has already changed education in many ways, including:
Creating online learning programs like Khan Academy and Coursera that provide free education to millions of students around the world
Making books available in digital formats so they are easier to access via tablets and mobile phones
Offering new forms of communication that allow teachers and students to connect with one another more easily (e.g., chat applications)
3. Digital Communication Tools for Grassroots Organizations
Digital communication tools give
Over the last few years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some amazing new technologies and seeing them being used in revolutionary ways. From empowering kids to create their own apps and games, to teaching anyone how to code through virtual reality (VR) – the opportunities for innovation are vast.
In this blog post, I wanted to share four areas for emerging technology I believe will have a massive impact on development.
1. Creating tech for non-tech people
The first area is one that I’m very passionate about. Apps are becoming more and more useful in our day-to-day lives and we’re starting to see more people around us taking advantage of these resources. We no longer need to be an expert programmer or an IT professional in order to build an app – thanks to tools like App Inventor, anyone can create their own!
I recently built an app with a group of kids at a summer camp. All they needed was a bit of creativity and imagination, and they were able to create their very own app in just over an hour! Here’s what we made:
The future is now my friends, and this blog will bring you all the news, information and insights on technology that is emerging in the world today.
My name is Emily, and I’ve been a technology fanatic since I was a little girl. My first computer was a wonderfully bulky desktop with a huge hard drive (a whopping 1 GB hard drive!). I loved it. I played games on it, learned how to type, and explored the internet for hours on end.
Today, my passion for technology has never waned. In fact, as an adult, it has grown immensely!
I’m currently working as an IT Manager at a local firm, but I’ve never lost my love of upcoming technologies and all their amazing uses!
The purpose of this blog is to share that love with you: all the cool news related to new tech products out there and what they can do for our lives.