It is undeniable that technology has been an increasing influence in the education of United States students. It would be a true shame to enter a public school in any region of the US, who is so rich in technological resources, and find out that the students of that school did not have access to the World Wide Web. The internet is taken for granted almost everywhere in this country, but would most certainly not be in other parts of the world. As mentioned in Bob Sipchen's article "Our Students' Future May Sit in Their Laptops" from the LA Times, the internet could soon be as common throughout the world as it is in the United States and other first world countries. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed a low energy using, $100 laptop that is hoped to be distributed throughout the world so that the internet will be available to the entire world and not just the economically advanced. These laptops could be powered with or without electricity by using a crank or even connecting the laptop to a bicycle for wheeled power. Not only will these laptops give the people of world access to a plethora of information and opinions from other parts of the globe, it will also give those people who have been without internet access an opportunity of self expression that could be shared with the rest of the world. I think this could be as advantageous to the people who already have internet access as it is to those without, because it will give them access to points of views and opinions that were previously inaccessible.
One of the greatest gifts that technology can give and has given is its ability to bring people closer and closer together. The world has become smaller with the advent of automobiles and airplanes; the internet is just another technological advancement that will make the world seem more accessible. Who knows what else will bring the world closer in the future, but it is interesting to watch the evolution of world relations as technology marches on.