Polishing the Apple: 5 Inventions That Revolutionized Education

Every so often a new idea is introduced to humanity that changes the world as we know it. Here are ten technologies, certainly not ordered chronologically, that forever altered education in American classrooms.

• Literacy: It's hard to imagine formal education without literacy. Since literacy goes as far back as recorded history, inquisitive minds will just have to speculate about what education might have been like before reading and writing were invented. On the other hand, we do know for certain that most of the educational system is built around literacy skills.


• The Printing Press / Moveable Type: While literacy enabled the proliferation of ideas beyond human speech, the production of texts was limited. Most people didn't know how to read or have any desire to read. There wasn't much to read. Throughout the dark ages, literacy was mainly kept alive by religious groups and aristocrats. However, with the advent of the printing press and moveable type, literacy exploded. Since books and texts became readily available, people had a reason to learn to read. The culmination of this invention was the creation of the textbook, from which the educational system has yet to turn.


• Videos: Whether for better or worse, the introduction of movies to the classroom (whether filmstrip, VHS, or DVD) has changed the educational experience for teachers and students. This technology led to movie day, where a documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman could be shown in the darkness to a room full of twelve-year-olds. Some teachers misuse this technology (see the film Bad Teacher); some students just use this time to quietly whisper to their friends, draw pictures, or zone out, but sometimes students actually learn things that their teacher otherwise would not have taught them. As with most technologies, its capacity for good or evil will be realized by the bearer.


• The Internet: Due to the power of the greatest information conduit in the history of civilization, education has begun to change in ways that we are only beginning to realize. The internet has brought us, for better or worse, such breakthroughs as: online classes, class websites, class discussion boards, forums where students can beg for answers, easy access to education videos and resources, and world libraries that open right in your home with the click of a finger. Society has only begun to fathom the immeasurable ways that this invention has and will continue to alter how and where people are educated.


• Smart Phones: Whether super intelligent phones will eventually to improve the educational system is yet to be determined, but in the present they are creating a host of problems for educators. These sophisticated communication devices can distract students or be used to cheat in ways undreamt by the previous generation: instant messaging, texting, video games, YouTube, Bluetooth communication, and the entire World Wide Web in one's pocket. Perhaps the establishment will fire back with more educational applications for this spreading technology, but good examples of such are currently few.

As we are in the modern age of invention, it's safe to assume that technology will continue to change the classroom experience.

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Now with the change in times education system of India has undergone a sea change. Now pre-primary and primary, elementary and secondary, undergraduate and postgraduate are the different levels of education in India. Government too is making great efforts so that everyone can get access to education. Government emphasizes to provide compulsory elementary education up to 14 years of age and has also banned child labour. According to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, children between 6 to 14 years of age group will get the education for free. Apart from this, government has aggressively campaigned for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan but it still has a long way to go due to lack of resources. You can buy content regarding the issue from big media houses.

However if we talk about private schools you can see superior academic results of students. Not only curricular but also extra-curricular activities are organized in these schools resulting in the all round development of the child.

Although parents can also teach their children at home using the required resources yet home schooling is not welcomed to a nice extent. Government of India is also paying attention to vocational training at the secondary level of education so that the students can better understand their interests and accordingly choose their career.

It's a matter of pride that we are the third largest in the world when it comes to higher education. Indian Institute of Technology commonly known as IITs, Indian Institute of Management (IIMs), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Indian Institute of Science etc. are the most admired institutions of India which brought both name and fame to India. You can too buy latest images and videos on these topics from various media houses. Indian Government is making efforts for the further improvement of higher education. The much awaited Foreign Universities Bill is still waiting for its turn in the queue. The approval of this bill is expected to show green signal to the foreign universities to establish their campuses in India.

Apart from these there is an opportunity for the people who failed to complete their school education due to some reasons. National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) gives them a chance to study again through open and distance learning. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) provides distance learning at higher level.

Unfortunately the literacy rate of women in India is much lower than men. To bridge the gap Government of India has recently launched a mission known as Sakshar Bharat Mission for Female Literacy to encourage female education. To buy latest news images you can contact reputed media houses and get the required content at attractive terms.