Essay innovation

                                                                     Smart technology
           
           Technology has become ever present in different aspects of our lives, but most increasingly in our education system and for the student in these schools. This can be seen by the increased amount of technology that each student posses from smart phones, to iPods, and iPads. As well as the increased amount of technology in the classrooms themselves  from smart-boards to computer labs and online classes. While some of this increased technology can have disadvantages like cyber bulling, sexting, and plagiarism, the advantages technology has in the education system greatly out ways these. Evolving technology in schools helps disabled kids attend school with minimal aid, helps prepare students for using technology in the real world, and helps expand the students ability to obtain more knowledge about the world.
             The new advances in technology have helped students with both physical and mental disabilities be able to attend school easier. New innovations in wheelchairs have allowed students with physical disabilities to participate in sports with their fellow students. Wheelchairs have been created so students can partake in track and field and other sports like basketball. Casey Followay of Wooster, Ohio, is an example of a student using a racing wheelchair that also him to race in his high schools track team. As well as wheelchairs, new speaking devices, like the electronic pointing device and sip and puff system, have been invited to allow students with speaking and physical impairments to be able to communicate.  The electronic pointing device allows the student to control the curser on a computer screen without the use of their hands. The sip and puff system is activated instead by inhaling or exhaling. Theses devices can be used in conjecture with a computer program that speaks out commands, comments or words, allowing the participant to speak and communicate with other students and teachers. Furthermore, cochlear implants permit students who are profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing to partake in school discussions and classes. The device and the microphone the teacher wears allow the student to hear and understand speech better, making it possible for them be more independent in school and classes. All these devices allow students to be able to have greater interaction with their teachers and fellow classmates. 
           New advances in technology also prepare students for the real world, whether it is for a future job or investing and saving the money they will make from their jobs. In many classes  Effective Writing to World History 101 students use programs like Microsoft Word and PowerPoint to write their essays and to create presentations. When I visited my uncle, a financier, I saw first hand how necessary these computer programs were in his day to day job. Also, in my high school business class we used computers to keep track of the stock market and trades. Each student had a excel sheet that they used to keep track of the stock market and an investing program to learn how to invest in the stock market. By learning as students how to use the computer to invest and trade we will be better equipped as adults to invest in stock markets and to keep track of our funds and investments. Furthermore, in my photography classes I an advance photographer used computers to learn how to create digital art and graphic art. Later on these skills will become useful for creating business cards, posters or designing something for a job or business. For example my mother an event organizer uses digital art skills to create posters and invitations for companies events. Through all these opportunities in classes to use technology, students can use their knowledge to further themselves in the workforce and for when they are adults in their everyday lives. 

            Advancing technology has expanded students opportunities to interact with the world and learn vast amounts of knowledge. Students can Skype with people around the world just like many Loyola students have Skyped with students in Spain to practice their Spanish. This allows for Loyola students, as well as other students who do this, to learn the culture and language of another ethnicity and country first hand. This makes the student become more cultivated and open to other countries and cultures. Because of the vast amount of information online, students are able to gain larger amounts of knowledge. Students are able to learn vast amounts of details about events that are happening all around the world. For example because of social media, people in places like Syria and Egypt were able to interact and let the world know first hand what was happening during the revolts. Without technology this information would never have been accessed by the millions of people and students worldwide.  Also, students can publish their work online, allowing for students to become published authors and to get critic and credit for their work. In my Understanding Literature class my fellow classmates and I have published our writing on a blog for others to read, but also as well to allow us to read our classmates work. By doing so we are able to more actively partake in class and connect our insights with the insights our fellow classmates have in their writings. 
             Technology will always be evolving and advancing. It will continue to make life easier for disabled students, make students more prepared for future jobs, and more intellectual about the world as a whole. Technology and the education system will always go hand in hand now that we live in technology influence world and society.  It will be up to our generation to make sure that these innovations in technology continue to evolve to fit the needs of people and to be used to make life better, especially for students.