Topography and Technology

 What have advances in technology done to the global economic topography?   An article by Richard Florida, The World is Spiky, geographically graphed several things including, where populations are the greatest, where the largest number of patents are granted, and where the most scientific citations originate.  Florida showed in his graphical representations that these things that contribute to innovation occur in just a few places in the world, not broadly across all nations.  Florida asserted that when viewed from this perspective, technological innovation and strong economic influences create a "spiky" topographical pattern globally. 

Florida's article was a rebuttal to a  book by Tom Friedman entitled, The World is Flat .  According to Friedman, since technology is so widely available, it has leveled the economic landscape.  Geography no longer separates individuals, because technology can bridge the geography.  Innovation is not just for those in a geographical location, but anyone can innovate.  Although the technological topography is flattened in Friedman's theory, he warned that it is crucial to be curious and a life-long learner to remain part of this flattened topography.

Clay Shirky, in his 2009 TED Talk, observed innovation can occur anywhere when technology is commonplace and the attitude of "we are in this together" pervades society.  When innovations occur, they then spread globally. Much of Shirky's talk depicted a flattened topography because individuals are now connected to each other through technology and not just connected to a technology. He did not concur with Florida's observations that innovation occurred mostly in particular global locations, but instead, innovations can occur anywhere because technology has spread globally.  You can hear his talk by clicking below:

 

My own personal experiences with technology indicate a flattening effect of technological benefits in a college classroom setting.  I have students that are willing to be part of the classroom experience using the related educational technologies.  These students tend to do better in class and build their knowledge through many learning applications.  As each student learns the benefits of using the technology, it encourages others to participate in the use of the classroom technologies.  So the spread of the technology can flatten the learning topography.  It opens doors to many opportunities to engage in the classroom materials and learn which in turn can increase grades.  There are, however, students that either fear or do not have the desire to learn the classroom technologies.  These students often do not do as well in my classes.  A great disparity can occur in the grades often creating a bimodal curve in grades.  The disparity is not due to the technology not being available - every student has access to the college library and its wealth of technology.  Rather, the disparity is in the willingness and ability to use the technological tools.  In a classroom, just as in the global perspective, technology can flatten the topography of the learning (and grades) by allowing students to use resources that will enhance their ability to learn the materials as individuals or even collaboratively.  The only nuance, as Friedman noted, is that students must be both curious enough to use the technology and desire to learn for the sake of learning  in order to experience the flattened topography.