Science, Technology and Society

GE704

MODULE 3: SPECIFIC ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

OVERVIEW

This Module introduces unique science and technology concerns that are of
interest and require further analysis in order to better understand and react
appropriately. Its purpose is to expand students' perspectives and inspire them to
consider all things that which contribute to a sense of responsibility. The effect of
information, biodiversity issues, genetically modified organisms, nanotechnology,
gene therapy, and the energy crisis are all discussed in this segment.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Lesson 8. The Information Age

This lesson covers the evolution of the information age. This segment also
focuses on knowledge literacy, including familiarizing yourself with information's
power and demand, detecting fake news on social media, and learning how to
discern information as it has always affected human lives and society.

WHAT TO EXPECT
At the end of this lesson students are expected to learn the following:
a. Familiarize different features of social media and how it influence
human perspective and lives.
b. Examine the factors that need to be considered in checking
website sources.

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ELICIT

Name: ____________________________ Date Submitted: __________________

Course/Section: ____________________

Instruction: identify and sort the following images/icons according to their features/functions in
the internet. You are free to think of ways in sorting them. Use the next page in doing this activity
and answer the question below.

1. Explain on how did you sort the icons.

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ENGAGE

Let us begin the lesson by doing the following activities. These activities will lead you
into exploring and discovering the concept of the lesson.

Activity 8.1 My Social Media Application

Name: ____________________________ Date Submitted: __________________

Course/Section: ____________________

Instruction: Think of your favorite social media applications and choose your three best
application. Write or Draw its icon inside the figures. Discuss it in the class by answering the key
inquiry questions below.

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Key Inquiry Questions:

1. Why did you choose these three social media applications?

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2. What are the features and functions of these social media app?
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3. How these social media app affects your daily life?Give three example.
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4. Can you think of possible pros and cons of using these app? Give at least three for each of the
application.
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EXPLORE

To further develop our understanding of the topic let us do this activity.

Activity 8.2 My App! Your App! (Creative Work)

Name: ____________________________ Date Submitted: __________________

Course/Section: ____________________

Instruction: Think of an application with special features that you can develop to help improve
people’s lives and/or address issues in science, technology and society. Draw the icon of your
app in the box. Write a description of your app below and prepare to share it to the class for 2
minutes.

Name and Describe your application.

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EXPLAIN

ACTIVE READING

THE INFORMATION AGE

Our culture today is highly modernized, automated, data-driven, and technologically

advanced, as demonstrated by how easily knowledge can be transferred or exchanged. Different
aspects of culture, such as communication, economics, business, health, and the environment,
have been profoundly affected. Despite the benefits we have gained as a result of the rapid
advancement of information technology, the rapid upgrading of information often has drawbacks.
This lesson will cover the history of technological advances and their effect on society.
Life is accompanied by the continuous transmission of data from both within and outside
the human body. Information is described as "information communicated or obtained concerning
a particular fact or situation," according to Webster's Encyclopaedic Unabridged Dictionary. As a
consequence, knowledge is a vital survival tool.
The Information Age is described as a "time beginning in the last quarter of the twentieth
century when information became easily accessible through publications and information
management through computers and computer networks" (Vocabulary.com, n.d.). Humans' ability
to express symbolic knowledge (e.g., writing, arithmetic, and other codes) has advanced at a
rapid pace. Because of its connection with the advent of computers, the Information Age is also
known as the Digital Age or the New Media Age.
The Information Age, according to James R. Messenger, is a true new era focused on the
interconnection of computers through telecommunications, with these information systems
running in both real-time and as-needed mode. Furthermore, convenience and user-friendliness
are the key factors propelling his new age forward, resulting in user dependency.

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History
The table below traces the history and emergence of the Information Age (United States
American History, n.d.).
Table 1. Timeline of the Information Age
Year Event
3000 BC Sumerian writing system used pictographs to represent words.
2900 BC Beginning of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing
1300 BC Tortoise shell and oracle bone writing were used
500 BC Papyrus rolled was used
220 BC Chinese small seal writing was developed
100 AD Book (parchment code)
105 Woodblock printing and paper was invented by the Chinese
1455 AD Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press using movable metal type
1755 Samuel Johnson’s dictionary standardized English spelling
1802 • The Library of Congress was established
• Invention of the carbon arc lamp
1824 Research on persistence of vision published
1830s • First variable design for a digital computer
• Augusta Lady Byron writes the world’s first computer program
1837 Invention of the telegraph in Great Britain and United States
1861 Motion pictures were presented onto a screen
1876 Dewey decimal system was introduced
1877 Eadweard Muybridge demonstrated high-speed photography
1899 First magnetic recordings were released
1902 Motion pictures special effects were used
1906 Lee DeForest invented the electronic amplifying tube (triode)
1923 Television camera tube was invented by Zvorkyn
1926 First practical sound movie
1939 Regularly scheduled television broadcasting began in the US
1940s Beginings of information science as a discipline
1945 Vannevar Bush foresaw the invention of hypertext
1946 ENIAC computer was developed
1948 Birth of field-of-information theory proposed by Claude E. Shannon
1957 Plannar transistor was developed by Jean Hoerni
1958 First integrated circuit
1960s Library of Congresss developed LC MARC (machine readable code)
1969 UNIX operating system was developed, which could handle multitasking
1971 Intel introduced the first microprocessor chip
1972 Optical laserdisc was developed by Philips and MCA
1974 MCA and Philips agreed on a standard videodisc encoding format
1975 Altair Microcomputer Kit was released: first personal computer for the public
1977 RadioShack introduced the first complete personal computer
1984 Apple Macintosh computer was introduced
Mid 1980s Artificial intelligence was separated from information science
1987 Hypercard was developed by Bill Atkinson recipe box metaphor
1991 Four hundred fifty complete works of literature on one CD-ROM was
released
January RSA (encryption and network security software) Internet security code for a
1997 48-bit number

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Knowledge and its distribution have changed in many respects as man has progressed.
We gradually stopped keeping them to ourselves and started sharing and handling them in
various ways. We were beaten to the punch by information. It began to develop at a pace we
couldn't keep up with. Starting in the 1960s and 1970s, gathering and handling data was difficult
due to the abundance of data. In the 1980s, there was a lot of angst. It was dubbed "Information
Anxiety" by Richard Wurman.
Knowledge became important in the business world in the 1990s. The preferred mode of
communication was information, and information managers often acted as information officers.
There is no question that knowledge has become a commodity, an overdeveloped product, mass-
produced, and unspecialized in today's generation. We quickly became overwhelmed with it.
Robert Harris detailed some details about the Information Era in his article “Truths in the
Information Age” (n.d.).
1. Information must compete. There is a need for information to stand out and be
recognized in the increasing clutter.
2. Newer is equated with truer. We forgot the truth that any fact or value can endure.
3. Selection is a viewpoint. Choose multiple sources for your information if you want to
receive a more balanced view of reality.
4. The media sells what the culture buys. In other words, information is driven by
cultural priorities.
5. The early word gets the perm. The first media channel to expose an issue often
defines the context, terms, attitudes surrounding it.
6. You are what you eat and so is your brain. Do not draw conclusions unless all ideas
and information are presented to you.
7. Anything in great demand will be counterfeited. The demand for incredible
knowledge, scandals and secrets is ever-present; hence, many events are
fabricated by tabloids, publicists, or other agents of information fraud.
8. Ideas are seen as controversial. It is almost certainly impossible to make any
assertion that will not find some supporters and some detractors.
9. Undead information walks ever on. Rumors, lies, disinformation and gossips never
truly die down. They persist and continue to circulate.
10. Media presence creates the story. People behave much differently from the way
they would being filmed when the media are present, especially film news or
television media.

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11. The medium selects the message. Television is mainly pictorial, partially aural, and
slightly textual, so visual stories are emphasized: fires, chases, and disasters.
12. The whole truth is a pursuit. The information that reaches us usually selected,
verbally charged, filtered slanted, and sometimes, fabricated. What is neglected
is often even more important that what is included.

Different scholars have differing perspectives on the Information Age's evolution. Despite
this, we can always argue that knowledge is a critical tool for improving our quality of life. One
thing is certain: the Information Age will continue to progress and grow well beyond our wildest
imaginations.

World Wide Web (WWW) (or Internet)

Claude E. Shannon, an American mathematician regarded as the "Father of Knowledge
Theory," is credited with the invention of the Internet, according to some historians. He worked at
Bell Laboratories and published a paper at the age of 32 suggesting that knowledge can be
quantified as a series of ones and zeros.
The Internet is a global network of interconnected networks that enables data to be
exchanged between millions of computers. It was founded by the Department of Defense in the
1970s. Military advisors indicated that in the event of an attack, being able to work on one device
from another terminal would be beneficial. Initially, the Internet was mostly used by scientists to
communicate with one another. Until 1984, the Internet was under government regulation. (Rouse
2014)
One of the first problems that Internet users faced was speed. Phone lines could only relay
data at a certain speed. The invention of fiber-optic cables allowed the transmission of billions of
bits of data per minute. Faster microprocessors were developed by companies like Intel so that
personal computers could process incoming signals more quickly (UShistory.org, 2017).
Directors of a Statford research project, Sargey Brin and Larry Lage, developed a search
engine that listed the most valuable results first. The researchers formed their company in 1998
after convincing relatives, friends, and other investors to contribute $1 million. Google is now the
most popular search engine on the planet, with over 200 million queries a day.
New modes of communication were also implemented at the time. Email, or electronic
mail, was a quick way to connect with colleagues, business associates, or friends. Messages may
be sent and received at the individual's leisure. A letter that had taken several days to arrive could
now be read in a matter of minutes. Electronic parties were set up by Internet service providers

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such as America Online and CompuServe, where people could engage in a discussion with total
strangers. Surfing the internet has become a sport in and of itself (UShistory.org, 2017).
As a result, companies that built their businesses on digitized data have become valuable
and strong in a short period of time; the new Information Age has spawned its own breed of
wealthy influential traders, from Microsoft's Bill Gates to Apple's Steve Jobs to Facebook's Mark
Zuckerberg.
Critics argue that the Internet has created a technological divide that has widened the
distance between society's upper and lower classes. These privileges were denied to anyone who
could not afford a computer or a monthly access fee. When opposed to a phone call or a
handwritten letter, many people complain about how impersonal electronic correspondence is.
On the one hand, the Internet's unrestricted and free existence allowed pornography to
be broadcast to millions of homes. It will be difficult to shield children from these pressures or
even from coming into contact with violent predators. Because of the widespread use of social
media, different types of crimes have become commonplace. Cyberbullying is a global epidemic
that needs to be tackled. As a consequence, we must be mindful of the potential harm and
damage that can result from the exploitation of these developments in the Information Age.

Ways to Check the Reliability of Web Sources

The Internet has a large collection of incredibly useful information, but it also has
inaccurate, distorted information that can lead to people being misled. The guidelines below will
assist us in evaluating the reliability of web sources that we receive. To prevent misinformation,
it's important to think about and obey the guidelines below. (n.d., Lee College Library)
1. Who is the author of the article/site?
• How to find out?
Look for an “About” or “More about the Author” link at the top, bottom, or sidebar
of the webpage. Some pages will have a corporate author rather than a single person as
an author. If no information about the author(s) of the page is provided, be suspicious.
✔️ Does the author provide his or her credentials?

✔️ What type of expertise does he or she have on the subject he or she is writing
about? Does he or she indicate what his or her education is?
✔️ What type of experience does he or she have? Should you trust his or her
knowledge of the subject?
Try searching on the Internet for the information about the author.

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✔️ What kind of websites are associated with the author’s name? Is he or she
affiliated with any educational institution?
✔️ Do commercial sites come up? Do the websites associated with the author
give you any clues to particular biases the author might have?
2. Who published the site?
• How to find out?
✔️ Look at the domain name of the website that will tell you who is hosting the
site. For instance, the Lee College Library website is: http://www.lee.edu/library.
The domain name is “lee.edu.” This tells you that the library website is hosted by
Lee College.
✔️ Search the domain name at http://Whois.sc/. The site provides information
about the owners of registered domain names. What is the organisation’s main
purpose? Check the organisation’s main website, if it has one. Is it educational?
Commercial? It is a reputable organisation?
✔️ Do not ignore the suffix on the domain name (the three letter part that comes
after the “.”). The suffix is usually (but not always) descriptive of what type of
entity hosts the website. Keep in mind that is is possible for sites to obtain
suffixes that are misleading. Here are some examples:
.edu = educational
.com = commercial
.mil = military
.gov = government
.org = nonprofit
3. What is the main purpose of the site? Why did the author write it and why did the
publisher post it?
• To sell a product?
• As a personal hobby?
• As public service?
• To further scholarship on a topic?
• To provide general information on a topic?
• To persuade you of a particular point of view?
4. Who is the intended audience?
• Scholars or the general public?

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• Which age group is it written for?

• Is it aimed at people from a particular geographic area?
• Is it aimed at members of a particular profession or with specific training?
5. What is the quality of information provided on the website?
• Timeliness: When was the website first published? Is it regularly updated?
Check for the dates at the bottom of each page on the site.
• Does the author cite sources? Just as in print sources, web sources that cite
their sources are considered more reliable.
• What type of other sites does the website link to? Are they reputable sites?
• What types of sites link to the website you are evaluating? Is the website being
cited by others.

Examples of Useful and Reliable Web Sources

1. AFA e-Newsletter (Alzheimer’s Foundation of America newsletter)
2. American Memory - the Library of Congress historical digital collection.
3. Bartleby.com Great Books Online -a collection of few e-books including fictions,
nonfictions, references and verses.
4. Chronic America - search and view pages from American newspaper from
1880-1922.
5. Cyberbullying - a free collection of e-books from ebrary plus additional reposts
and documents to help better understand, prevent and take action against
this growing concern.
6. Drug information websites:
• National Library of Medicine’s Medline Plus
• Drugs.com
• PDRhealth
7. Global Gateway: World Culture & Resources (From the Library of Congress)
8. Google Books
9. Googlescholar.com
10. History sites with primary documents:
• AMDOCS: Documents for the study of American history
• Avalon Project: Document in Law, History and Diplomaticy (Yale Law
School)
• Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Colonial Latin America

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• Teacher OZ’s Kingdom of History

11. Illinois Digital Archives - the Illinois State Library working with libraries,
museums and historical societies in Illinois provided this
collection of materials related to Illinois history.
12. Internet Archive - a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in
digital form.
13. Internet Archive for CARLI digitized resources
14. Internet Public Library
15. ip12 - a merger of Librarians’ Internet Index and Internet Public Library.
Special interest may include the “Literary Criticism” page
which can be found after clicking on the “Special Collections” link.
16. Librarians’ Internet Index
17. Making of America - a digital library of primary sources of American social
history
18. Maps - from the University of Texas at Austin collection. Includes historical
and thematic maps
19. NationMaster - a massive central data source and a handy way to graphically
compare nations. It is a vast compilation of data from such sources as the
CIA World Facebook, UN, and OECD.
20. Nursing Sites:
• AHRQ (www.ahrq.gov)
• National Guidelines Clearinghouse (www.guideline.gov)
• PubMed (www.nlm.nih.gov)
21. Project Gutenberg- the first and largest collection of free electronic books
with currently over 20,000 e-books available.
22. Shmoop - literature, US history and poetry information written primarily by
PhD and masters students from top universities like Stanford, Berkeley,
Harvard, and Yale.
23. StateMaster - a unique statistical database which allows you to research and
compare a multitude of different data on US state using various primary
sources such as the US Census Bureau, the FBI, and the National
Center for Educational Statistics. It uses visualisation technology like
pie charts, maps, graphs, and scatter plots to provide data.

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24. Virtual Reference - selected web resources compiled by the Library of

Congress.

One can also visit the University library and seek help from librarians as they are
knowledgeable and the library has a rich collection of online library resources that are very useful
for academic and research purposes.

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WORK SHEET FOR ACTIVE READING

Name: ____________________________ Date Submitted: __________________

Course/Section: ____________________

Think about the following questions and answer it in 2-3 sentences using your own words.
1. How does information affect our lives?
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2. Why do we need to understand the influenced of information?
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3. How to check the reliability of a web source? Site specific example.
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ELABORATE

Let us continue learning more and try to deepen them by doing the activity.

Activity 8.3 Social Media Synopsis (Fake News)

Name: ____________________________ Date Submitted: __________________
Course/Section: ____________________

Instruction: The links below are examples of how fake news influenced our society. Read these
links and write a short synopsis of how fake news can influence our society. Your synopsis can
have 500 to 1000 words. Use the next page in making your synopsis.

1. https://theaseanpost.com/article/dealing-fake-news-amid-pandemic
2. https://www.lausanne.org/content/lga/2017-07/contending-truth-amidst-fake-news-
epidemic?gclid=CjwKCAiAgc-ABhA7EiwAjev-
j1qe46SFIDKApiPaduPOlTTBj005pCqvzajD8fLmyvTUUHsW4cDXqhoCuocQAvD_BwE
3. https://filipinotimes.net/top-stories/2018/03/09/true-queen-elizabeth-ii-calls-pres-duterte-
brave-man/
4. https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/4/6/arrests-over-coronavirus-fake-news.html

How to write your Synopsis? Visit these links.

a. https://www.writersdigest.com/improve-my-writing/learn-how-to-write-a-synopsis-like-a-pro
b. https://literaryterms.net/synopsis/

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EVALUATE

Name: ____________________________ Date Submitted: __________________

Course/Section: ____________________

Multiple Choice: Read carefully the statements and choose the letter of the best answer.
Write it on the space provided.
______ 1. Which of the following greatly ensures the reliability of an information?B
A. Authors’ Credential C. Title of the Article
B. Reliable Web Source D. Date of Posting
______ 2. What does information viewed as of today?A
A. Commodity C. Services
B. Data D. Identity
______ 3. How does fake news affects our perspectives? B
A. It entails precise and current information
B. It deliberately creates misleading information
C. It provide insufficient information
D. It create chaos in the social media
______ 4. What to consider when reading and consuming information in the internet? A
A. Review the web source and the author of the article
B. Review the references of and the author of the article
C. Check the reliability of the author
D. Check the information being written in the article
______ 5. How does the internet revolutionized information? D
A. It serves as the avenue to monopolize information
B. It serves as the basic foundation of information
C. It provides the place to exercise freedom of expression and right for
information
D. It provides the fastest and most convenient way to disseminate information

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EXTEND

Peer Review
Instruction: Exchange your Synopsis on fake news with a partner. You will both make a short
essay about each of your work. Your essay will have the following parts:
a. First paragraph outlines the strengths of the essay
b. Second paragraph discusses the essay’s problems
c. Third paragraph is a description of what the partner would focus on in revision if it
were her essay.
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