Monday, 28 November 2016

The great Google teacher



                                 


My friend was always complaining about her professionally qualified, and employed daughter’s lack of interest in learning basics of cooking. She often used to worry how she will manage her home affairs if she doesn’t even know basics of cooking, especially when it is traditionally believed in India that the way to the man’s heart is through the stomach. The daughter always used to pacify her saying that cooking is not a big deal and cookery books would come to her aid. As my friend feared, her daughter had to go abroad with her husband immediately after marriage. So, the mother packed carefully chosen cookery books and told her daughter that, through emails and phone calls, she can get the required recipes and clear her further doubts while preparing them   But there was no need since, the U Tube has become her efficient teacher in offering cooking    guidance since, all types of recipes vegetarian and non vegetarian and Indian and non Indian food verities are taught   step by step with live demonstrations. Hence she has learnt fast the techniques of cooking and even tries new recipes everyday which turns out very well.  She further surprised her mother by saying that  they have  now started inviting friends on weekends for lunch or dinner since she has become expert in making even cakes  and deserts. The mother is now free from her worry and tells other mothers with unmarried daughters that cooking is not a big deal any more because of the Google Teacher.

 When a relative’s daughter settled in USA and decided to have the delivery of the child there, her family was very worried, because of their inability to be with her during that time. The worry about the daughter’s plight during and after child birth grew day by day. They could only give instructions regarding self management and were praying for safe child birth and post natal care.  The grand mother was going on giving instructions regarding when to give drinking water to the child, how to give head bath, when to start semi liquid food etc., and about home remedies for illnesses the baby is likely to develop during the process of growth. They even gave instructions regarding the diet of the lactating mother. The daughter listened to everything but followed none. She started strictly following the child specialist’s instructions and clarified her doubts through young mothers on line forums .Any information related to the child was obtained from the Google Teacher.  The grandmother was nagging her grand daughter to give drinking water to the baby at regular intervals and was heart broken when the grand daughter told her firmly that she will give that to her baby only from 5th month since the child specialist says so and Google search confirms it.

My School going niece was given a project by the teacher .Her mother was worried regarding the products needed, sources to procure them and about the project design. The Google teacher gave all the information needed within 15 minutes.

The college teachers who had to present papers in the seminars and doing their doctoral research work a decade back had to become members of few libraries,   visit them to borrow books and spend considerable time in the library to refer journals and books and zerox the required pages. For secondary data collection on any government schemes, targets and achievements, government’s permission from the concerned dept was required which was usually given after a month.  With this permission the researchers had to visit various departments connected with their research project, wait endlessly to see the officer concerned and have access to the published secondary data. Now how easy the whole procedure has become?  Every government department data is published on line, thus saving considerable time, energy and money. Thanks to the Google teacher’s assistance research work has become less tedious.

 Few months back, my neighbor’s daughter’s marriage was fixed. She is not used to saris. Hence, they had decided to engage the service of a beauty parlor to dress her up in different styles of wearing the saris for different marriage ceremonies. But, the bride’s friends said there is no need to engage a parlor to do this task since, they can very easily manage all types of styles by following U Tube instructions and demonstrations. So much of money was thus saved.

Earlier the parents used to take their children to the book exhibitions regularly to buy those dictionaries, maps, tables, general knowledge books, thesaurus, idiom and grammar books, story books and novels. Every child in every educated family was constantly advised to use Wren and Martin and Oxford dictionary. Now the Google teacher has replaced the use of all these books since every information stored in these books are available online saving money and storage space 

Ask any youngster of today whether they had read that day’s news paper. They will look at you with a puzzled look on their face and ask what is the need for it  when, they get the daily news and breaking news through TV, smart phone, tablets etc., during any time of the day? They think, newspaper reading is the past time of 60+ people  

Even within families, the earning younger members of the family do not seek advice from parents or elders regarding their investment or real estate or tour or marriage alliance matters since, all the required information on these matters are available in the various websites and decisions on these matters are taken after thorough analysis of the Google information and even doubts are clarified through expert’s online assistance. So much of money we would have spent on consultants is saved By the Google consultant.

 The doctors are the most tortured category by the Google generation. If a patient is diagnosed with decease, immediately an intensive internet search is made about everything related to it, the cause, the nature, the harm and the formulas of the medicines prescribed and the side effects of them. And in the next visit the doctor will be flooded with so many questions based on the Google teacher’s information. Most of their information is obtained from UN authenticated articles, yet the flood the doctors with their half baked knowledge on medical matters. If a surgery is suggested, the research becomes very intensive and even after 3 opinions Google research is made for miracle remedies through alternative medicines or home remedies and this results in endless delay in the performance of the surgery to the detriment of the health of the patient Such faith on the Google teacher even on life matters

The teachers have to become alert all the time since the students are armed with more information through surfing internet on a particular subject taught in the class on a day and they come to the class the next day, ready to flood the teacher with all sorts of doubts. If they don’t get satisfactory answers, they get disappointed with the performance of the teacher. In away, the Google teacher poses a challenge to the ability of the teachers in making a class room atmosphere through a brilliant question and answer sessions. The teachers are now forced to become computer savvy to match with student’s expectations and this process has turned many ordinary teachers into outstanding teachers. In away the Google teacher is helping in enhancing and sustaining the quality of the teachers.

A tourist guide or map is not needed anymore for organising a tour. The Google teacher provides A-Z information and anybody can perfectly plan and finalise a tour programme sitting at home

Thus the Google teacher has introduced Information Revolution and save time, money and energy for every one interested in acquiring more and more knowledge on various matters particularly the younger generation who are thrilled with the knowledge explosion of this century. Of course, what do they do with the saved up energy, time and money is another question that, they alone can answer.  

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