What are some examples of technology being used incorrectly?

Nuclear Energy

Fossil fuels are running out at an alarming rate. For example, the world uses 3,948,000,000 U.S. gallons of oil per day or 94 million barrels. This oil took 10′s of millions of years to be created. Many experts predict we have reached Peak Oil (Maximum point of Oil Production) and are now seeing a decline. For some reason, people don’t seem to be worried that at our current rate of usage, our Oil reserves, which makes up 40.7% of today’s energy, will run out in less than 45 years (although this figure does not account for increase in population, increase in oil usage or increase in oil production). This is not only the case for oil, but also many other fossil fuels.

What is even worse is the negative effects of these fossil fuels. Processing these fossil fuels emits gases into the air (mainly Carbon Dioxide) which are harmful to the atmosphere. They damage the atmosphere causing global warming.

Another negative effect are oil spills. For example, the Deepwater Horizon Explosion, in an undersea BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico is dubbed the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. 11 workers were killed as roughly 4 billion barrels of oil were spilled. Roughly 82,000 birds, 6,165 sea turtles, and up to 25,900 marine mammals were killed.

Despite the negative effects of fossil fuels, especially Oil, the vast majority of the population are still unwilling to change to renewable energy, due to it’s disadvantages (too much initial fees, not efficient enough etc.) Here is where Nuclear energy could step in.

There is plenty of Uranium available for Nuclear Energy. We currently have 5.5 million metric tons of Uranium, along with 10.5 million metric tons currently undiscovered. We could likely power the world solely on Nuclear Energy for approximately 45 years. Although it is not yet economically viable, extracting Uranium from sea water could yield 4.5 billion metric tons of Uranium or 12,000 years worth of Energy supply!

Despite these facts, Nuclear Energy consumption is actually dropping, and only met 11.7% of world energy needs in 2011. The world only has 434 reactors operating.

Why isn’t Nuclear Energy used more?

Well here is where I finally get to answering the question (sorry for the long intro, it was necessary). Nuclear Energy was used wrongly, to horrible effects. The worst example is in Chernobyl.

On 26 April 1986, a level 7 (the Maximum rating) nuclear disaster occured on the International Nuclear Event scale. They had decided to schedule an experiment to test a new, potential safety emergency cooling feature. However it did not work as planned, as reactor four suffered a catastrophic power increase. This lead to explosions in the core of reactor four. The event has been blamed on the errors of the Power Plant Operators and structural damages, caused by negligence during construction. Either way it is clear that the event could have been avoided.

As a result of the explosion, 31 people were directly killed. It is predicted that 1,000 cases of Thyroid cancer and 4,000 cases of other cancers resulted from the radiation. Over 3,600,000 acres of land were rendered useless for production. The Soviet Union spent roughly 18 billion rubles on the disaster, causing severe economic consequences. Belarus is estimated to have spent $235 billion over the past 30 years on the disaster. It also obliterated many animals in the local environment

Events such as the Chernobyl disaster show how Nuclear Energy, which could have been so useful in today’s world, has been utilised wrongly. It has also been used in Nuclear bombs, further staining it’s image. If used correctly, it could be a solution to many of our problems. Unfortunately, due to it’s incorrect implementation, we have to face these horrific disasters instead.

Sources :  

How Much Oil Does the World Consume a Day? This Much

Peak oil

OPEC Share of World Crude Oil Reserves

What Are the Effects of Non-Renewable Resources on Living Organisms?

A Deadly Toll

BP oil spill: Five years after 'worst environmental disaster' in US history, how bad was it really?

How long will the world's uranium supplies last?

World energy consumption

Chernobyl disaster

EDIT : A number of people have talked about Thorium and how its safer than uranium. At the time of writing this answer, I was not aware of the vast supplies of Thorium and I believed that it was a rare resource. I would like to add now that Thorium would actually be a superior alternative to Uranium

7 Ways to Use Technology With Purpose

Why are you using technology? Or more importantly, how are you using technology to better the learning in your classroom and/or school? If you are like me, then you’ve had your fair share of technology screw ups. Projects that didn’t make sense (but used the tech you wanted to bring in). Activities that were ruined by a crashing website or some technological problem. And of course you’ve probably dealt with the students, parents, and teachers that want to do things “the old way”.

In order to make sure you are using technology the right way, you must first “start with why”. If your students understand the “why” behind your technology use, then the class will have a purpose and technological glitches and issues can be worked through. If they don’t understand the “why” then any small issue could turn into a major problem.

Here are 7 ways I’ve been using technology for a purpose in my classroom and as a staff developer in my school. I’m sure there are many other ways to use tech with purpose, but these are some of my favorites!

1. To Collaborate in Real Time

Remember when Google Docs broke onto the scene? It was magic. Students writing and sharing in real-time, able to see what the other students are doing and saying, while still working on your own part of the project or activity. Flash forward 7-8 years and now “real-time collaboration” is a must for most online software. This type of technology allow project-based learning to be monitored, documented, and done outside of the school hours.

At my school we have been using Microsoft OneNote (as well as the Google products) to collaborate in real-time. Whether it is staff planning together, students working together, or a combination of both…this technology has so many learning purposes.

2. To Reflect and Share

I used to have my students journal in their marble notebooks. And during certain activities I still do (like Writer’s Bootcamp). However, what’s nice about having students journal online and share “in the cloud” is the ability for their classmates to see what they have to say.

This is why I suggest blogging throughout the year, and not just as a project. Make blogging a part of your student’s life and you’ll be able to see which topics, ideas, projects, and activities really impacted them. Sometimes it may not be what you thought…and sometimes their simple act of sharing will bring the class together in ways you never could have imagined.

3. Better Research

After I finished writing my Master’s thesis on ‘peace education in the 21st century’ I talked with my mom about her writing process in graduate school. It sounded awful… She would have to go to the library, find a resource, read almost the entire resource, make copies of the pages she wanted to use, and literally “cut it out” and “paste it on” her typewritten document.

Technology has made research simple and more time efficient. I’m not talking about typing a question into google, I’m specifically focused on searching journal databases like ERIC through places like Ebscohost. A nice search phrase will turn up hundreds of peer-reviewed results which can be sorted many different ways (such as by date or full-text article). Those articles that you choose can then be automatically scanned for your keywords, read the specific parts you want, and use what is applicable with a simple copy and paste and proper citation already set up and ready to go.

How often do we really teach students how to research in today’s world? Or do we expect them to learn on their own like we did?

4. Write and Re-Write

Using tools such as Google Docs, the new Microsoft Word, or Draft students are able to write and edit on the fly. They can get feedback from peers and teachers…and then choose whether or not to accept that feedback on their writing. Technology has changed the writing process in much the same way it has changed the research process.

The most important part of writing is the revising and editing. Yet, we often take it for granted. Instead let’s use the technology to track what types of changes students have made, and if they are making the same mistakes in their writing over and over again. That way, the “re-writing” process can have a direct impact on how much they improve and change some of their writing habits over time.

5. Make Something (that matters)

This may be my favorite way to use technology with a purpose. Students now have the ability to make movies, songs, pieces of art, websites, apps, games etc–with technology. However, too often we ask students to make something that does not matter. We ask them to make a movie or poster or presentation that has no direct impact on the world around them.

Instead, let’s challenge ourselves to start making technology matter. Make iMovies that can be uploaded to Youtube and have a purpose. Make games with a meaning. Make apps that matter. Yes, there is a time for fun and games. But if that is all we use technology for in school…then we shouldn’t be surprised when that is all students use technology for once they get out of school.

6. Keep a Digital Record

Digital portfolios are a must. Not because colleges will want and need them in the future (which is happening sooner than you think). Not because it is a cool way to show off what you’ve done in class. Digital portfolios are a must because they show learning growth.

The best way to show how much a student has learned is through a digital portfolio. You can look back over time and what they’ve created, written, and done in school. And how that work has improved (and in what ways) throughout their schooling. When students know their work will be on display and recorded, they also take pride in what they do because it will last.

Ask yourself, are you making “digital fridge art” or something worth keeping?

7. Mastery Assessments

Think about the last time you gave an assessment. I’m sure you prepared students for it during class, gave them materials to study, and supported them during the assessment. However, there were definitely a few students who struggled on this assessment. What happens next? You can either give them a re-take, give them another similar assessment, or say that is there only chance.

If you gave them a digital assessment you’d be able to see exactly which questions they got wrong in comparison to the entire class. You could see how much time they spent on the question and if the answer they chose was way off base…or close. You could tailor a new assessment based on just the problems/questions they got wrong and make sure they achieved mastery on those topics before moving forward.

Technology should change the way we do assessments forever, yet sadly many of us still give tests the same way we did 10 years ago. This is a tech purpose we can’t avoid any longer.

This article was written by A.J. Juliani and featured on his blog. It has been reprinted here with permission.

A. J. Juliani is the founder and chief-editor of Education Is My Life and The Best & Next in Education. He currently works as an Education and Technology Innovation Specialist. He has previously been a K-12 Technology Staff Developer and a middle school and high school English teacher.