Naming the Era
History class has taught students the names of many different eras from the past. Prehistoric, Ancient History, Middle Ages, and Modern Times are four of the main areas. These can then be broken down into times recognized by main events; the civilization of Mesopotamia, dark ages in Europe, rise of Islam, the Renaissance, liberal revolutions, and industrialism. http://studentsfriend.com/aids/curraids/timeline/4eras.html
What about now? What will the time we are living in be recognized for when our great-great grandchildren are in history class?
The word “information” has been around for several centuries. It comes from the Latin verb informare, to give form to, to form an idea of. Knowledge was thought to shape the mind, or form. So information is shaping our minds with knowledge. (www.oed.com)
Gathering and passing on information has always been a focus for education. “Information” is not a new idea for our current time period. The method of exchanging information, however, is new.
A term used for the network of computers is the “Information Superhighway.” While I was in elementary school, the Internet was just beginning to evolve. I can remember my father showing me websites and email – I asked “why?” As a third grader, I didn’t see the usefulness of this tool.
Middle school and high school began to teach me the meaning on this information superhighway. It took a while to turn away from the library’s card catalog and go straight to the Internet as a first source. Eventually, it was second nature. Now, I rely solely on the Internet for information, using the Library as a second source. Even when I do use the library, I search for resources online before physically going.
With the convenience of the Internet, I believe people have become hungrier for information. They want something straight away; they aren’t willing to wait. With this demand for urgency, I believe the need for accuracy is being sacrificed. Some are willing to believe anything they find on the Internet. Thus, our society is becoming corrupt with inaccurate information. But at least we get it quickly, right?
Going back to naming the time period we are in, I believe the time period can be called the “Information Renaissance.” This period evolved with the integration of all telecommunications devices to transmit data, or information, in real time over the Internet.