Information Technology: A Tool and a Catalyst for Making Resources Available

I think almost half the global population haven't understood yet the abundant resources at their disposal and what they can do with it. Many of us still operate from the mindset of scarcity since that is what we tangibly experience a good part of our lives.

Of course, it is by design that physical resources are scarce and a part of us operates on the physical world. But now we're gradually 'living more' on the digital world, spending most of our time on it. This is both good and bad.

However, from a general view, the digital world is a new evolutionary journey that can be used to better understand and perhaps, reshape our physical reality. On an individual level, it is a way to break limits and have more understanding on how we can shape our lives.

Information technology is the use of computers to store, retrieve and exchange all kinds of data. Let's just say it is the systemization of information to create new forms from it. An image or video is a form of information.

Information technology is important and valuable for making resources available to more people. Because it can help on improving their overall quality of life. And also of communities around the world.

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A Valuable Tool

When it comes to getting tasks done, tools have always been an intermediary between us and the outcome of the work. I think the first tools were the primitive stone tools used to sharpen objects for hunting or tilting the land.

Then we evolved to bigger and more sophisticated tools that resembles machines with a working system(s) inside them. With more iterations, the tools start becoming smaller but much more sophisticated.

Accessibility was a bit of an issue because not many were able to access the same tools. There's an unfair advantage for those that have them. If there are two farmers and one has a tractor while the other doesn't. The former will have more output from her input than the latter.

Nowadays, most neccesary tools have been made freely accessible or at a very cheap cost by the internet and smartphones. These two are baseline tools for information technology.

One of the ways Information technology can improve the quality of life of people is by providing access to various kinds of knowledge. This can empower them to make informed decisions, actions, and behaviors.

People can utilise the internet to learn new skills. Find answers to their seemingly unanswerable questions or discover new things that introduce different perspectives on how they view the world.

I recently read a last year report from the World Economic Forum about online education. It was found that online learners completed more than 100 million courses in 2021 alone, with high completion rates in domains such as business, technology, and health.

I was a bit surprised to see business on the list of domains but the results nevertheless suggest that online learning can provide opportunities for people to acquire new skills or credentials that not only improve their employability or income but also their health.

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An Important Catalyst

Which one do you prefer, personalized or collaborative learning? Introverts will mostly go for personalized learning and extroverts will mostly choose collaborative learning. I definitely prefer the latter as it creates a good benchmark to guage my improvement since I can measure it against a like minded group or team.

There's this saying somewhere on the interweb about traditional education will make one a living while self-education will make one a fortune. Self-education has never been this easier to embark on in the digital age. But we have to lead the way to engage the process.

The catalyst comes from the collective knowledge that can be blended to solve bigger problems or create better solutions for already existing problems.

Some say we're getting dumber in this new age we've entered. But I think this is only generally. Individually, we now have a higher capacity to be extraordinarily smart. It's just that many are distracted.

Reference: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/01/online-learning-courses-reskill-skills-gap/

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