Education and technology

In this new cyber world, educators need to better prepare new generations 'digital natives'[6] to navigate the ethical and social dimensions of not only existing digital technologies but also those yet to be invented.

[8] Various organizations, including charities like One Laptop per Child, are dedicated to providing infrastructures that enable disadvantaged individuals to access educational materials.

The OLPC foundation, supported by major corporations and originating from MIT Media Lab, has a mission to develop a $100 laptop for delivering educational software.

[10] Another notable initiative, nabuur.com,[11] supported by former US President Bill Clinton, utilises the internet to facilitate cooperation among individuals on social development issues.

In 2004, the Indian Space Research Organisation launched EDUSAT, a communications satellite that provides cost-effective access to educational materials, reaching a larger portion of the country's population.

[13] Technologies are being developed to address different challenges in topics such as education, health and global poverty, but there are cases in which this is not working or the results achieved are far away from the expectations.

He highlights the cases of computers in Bangalore that are locked away because teachers don't know what to do with them and mobile phone apps meant to spread hygiene practices and fail to improve health in Africa.

[14] Moreover, these past decades there have been huge improvements in technology which have done little to reduce rising poverty and inequalities, even in developed countries like United States.

In addition to this, an interesting example is the one found by the economist Ana Santiago and her colleagues at the Inter-American Development Bank which conclude no educational advantage in a One Laptop per Child program in Peru.