The Birth of Computer: In The Beginning

The history of computers starts out about 2000 years ago, at that time the birth of the abacus; this is a wooden rack holding two horizontal wires with beads strung on them. When these beads are moved around, According to programming rules memorized by the user, all regular arithmetic problems can be done. Another important invention around at the same time was the Astrolabe, it used for navigation.

Blaise Pascal is credited for building the first digital computer in 1642. He added numbers entered with dials and it was made to help his father, a tax collector. During 1671, Gottfried Wilhelm vonLeibniz created a computer that was built in 1694. It could add, and, after make changing some things around, multiply. Leibniz a special stepped gear mechanism for introducing the addend digits, and the great thing is that this is still being used.

The prototypes made by both Pascal and Leibniz were not used in many places, and considered weird until a little more than a century later, when Thomas of Colmar (A.K.A. Charles Xavier Thomas) invented the first successful mechanical calculator that could add, subtract, multiply, and divide. A large number of improved desktop calculators by many inventors followed, so that by about 1890, the variety of improvements included:

• Accumulation of one-sided results 

• Storage and automatic re-entry of previous results (A memory function) 

• Printing of the results

Each of these required manual installation. All of these improvements were mainly made for commercial users, and not for just the needs of science.

Meaning, Nature and Scope of Education

Education is never ending. It starts with the birth of an individual and then it goes on till the last day of the individual. Education makes an individual a real human being. It is an essential human virtue. Man becomes man through education. He learns something at every moment and on every day. Education equips the individual with social, moral, cultural and spiritual aspects and thus makes life progressive, cultured and civilized. About education

P.O. Bannerji said: "It is the development of the power of adaptation to an ever changing social environment."

Gone are the days when education was the right of a privileged few. Now all have the equal right to be educated as education has become sine quo non of civilization.

Etymological Meaning of 'Education'

Let us understand the word 'Education' etymologically:
First view is that the word 'education' is derived from the Latin word 'Educatum' which means 'to bring up' or 'to nourish'.

Second view is that the word 'education' is derived from the Latin word 'education' which means 'to find out', or 'to draw out'. Naturally here in the process of education, 'effort is to draw out' rather than 'to put in'.

Third view is that the word education comes from the Latin word 'Education' which means the 'act of teaching or training'.

Concept of Education: Indian Views

1.            According to Rig Veda:
                                  "Education is something which makes a man self-reliant and selfless."

2.            According to Upanishads:
                                  "Education is that whose end product is salvation".

3.            The well known Indian Economist Kautilya says:
                                  "Education means training for the country and for the nation."

4.            The Indian, Philosopher Shankaracharya considers education as:
                                 "The realization of the self."

5.            Swami Vivekanand considered education as:
                                "The manifestation of divine perfection of existing in man."

6.            According to Vedantic view point:
                              "The essence of man is spirituality. We need an education that quickens, that kindles the urge of spirituality inherent in every mind."

7.            According to Mahatma Gandhi:
                             "By education I mean an all round drawing out of the best in child and man-body, mind and spirit."

8.            Guru Nanak said:
                               "Education is self-realization and service of-the people."

9.            Aurobindo Ghosh puts forth his view on education as:
                               "Helping the growing soul to draw out that is in itself".

10.          Rabindra Nath Tagore says:
                           "Education means enabling the mind to find out that ultimate truth which emancipates us from the bondage of the dust and gives us the wealth; not of things but of inner light, not of power to.”

11.          In the words of Zakir Hussain:
                            "Education is the process of the individual mind getting to its full possible development. It is a long school which lasts a life-time."

12.          According to Swami Dayanand:
                             "Education is a way for the formation of character and right living."

13.          In the words of University Education Commission Report (1948-49): 
                          "Education to the Indian traditions, is not merely a means of earning a living; nor it is only a nursery of thought or a school for citizenship. It is initiation into the life of spirit, a training of human soul in the pursuit of truth and the practice of virtue. It is a second birth, divitiyam janma."

14. According to the Report of Indian Education Commission  (1964-66);
                        "Education ought to be related to the life, needs and aspirations of the people and thereby made powerful instrument of social, economic and cultural transformation."

ACTIVE LEARNING

                       Active learning is a student-centered pedagogy, involving working on real problems, focusing on learning and actually implementing solutions. It is a form of learning by doing and reflection that is heavily influenced by various forms of social learning. Social learning recognizes that in addition to our direct experience we learn by observing others around us. Our peers, relatives, media icons etc. The process integrates: research (into what is obscure); learning (about what is unknown); and action (to resolve a problem) into a single activity and develops an attitude of questioning and reflection to help individuals and organizations change themselves in a rapidly changing world. Crucially, it includes specific opportunity for reflection on what has been learned. Specific pedagogic strategies such as appreciative inquiry, brainstorming, mind mapping, 'planning for real' and scenario techniques, often characterize active learning, but there are many different methodologies.

          Active learning offers a way into learning about the complexity and uncertainty of sustainable development, as well as potentially changing attitudes and behaviour. Facilitating the creation of an action-oriented, sustainability-focused citizenry is no easy task. Behaviours and actions are influenced by a range of factors, including moral, emotional and social factors, facilitating conditions (policy and peer pressure) and the deeply embedded nature of habit. It is also influenced by rational thought and disposition. But can it shift individual's preferred transport choices, eating habits, leisure activities and lifestyle expectations? The role of active learning in this process of change is enormously complex. However, there is a growing body of empirical evidence which suggests that active learning approaches can help learners to understand what is happening in the sustainability arena; it can also assist them in exploring new avenues at their own pace as well as facilitating their participation and identifying their personal role and responsibilities.

Implications for Education

From this discussion, some important values and principles that will have to guide approaches to education for sustainable development can be deduced:

Acceptance of limits: In closed system there can be no unlimited growth. The long term target is zero growth in consumption, carbon neutrality, energy neutrality, zero waste. This will be a tough challenge, since the founding principle of our current economic and political models in most areas of the world need to change, and practice on all levels will have to reflect this new understanding. It also means shedding some myths of the sustainable development discussion such as the 'win-win' promise: in a closed system there is no ultimate win-win', there is only 'win-lose'. If one group increases their resource consumption there will be less left for all the others, particularly in a context of population growth, an expansion which itself needs challenging.

Efficiency: Optimizing the input-output ratio of resources is very important. If we can squeeze more use out of the same or a smaller amount of a resource, we increase our flexibility. But even here the Laws of Thermodynamics apply: efficiency cannot be increased beyond a certain point and beyond the availability of the existing resource base. Over the last thirty years there have been some outstanding increases in resource and energy efficiency, up to 70% with some electrical appliances. But overall increased per capita consumption, displacement activities with new fuel-hungry appliances, and population growth, have negated many of these gains.

Sufficiency:This principle, uncomfortable because it is inconsistent with expansionist world views, is key to sustainable development. Only if we learn to appreciate that enough is enough, that as a global population we have sufficient means, and indeed that more in material terms, does not necessarily lead to more fulfilling lives, will a transition to a sustainable society be possible.

Durability:Increasing the durability of all the products we use is important in terms of reduction of resources for production of new short-lived products with fast replacement cycles. Current examples are mobile phones and computers, which despite the clear benefits in knowledge and engagement that they are currently bringing even to less affluent, remote and poorly educated people, are also creating disposal problems.

Consistency:Adopting an approach which is consistent with the biological, chemical and physical realities of the Earth is increasingly important for our decisions about the use, production, disposal and distribution of the Earth's resources. The Natural Step provides a consistent framework for putting sustainable development into practice. This framework consists of four conditions which must be met to achieve global sustainability.

•           System Condition 1: Substances extracted from the Earth's crust must not systematically increase in nature. This means that, in a sustainable society, fossil fuels, metals and other materials are not extracted at a faster pace than their slow redeposit into the Earth's crust or their absorption by nature.

•           System Condition 2: Substances produced by society must not systematically increase in nature. This means that, in a sustainable society, substances are not produced at a faster pace than they can be broken down and reintegrated by nature or re-deposited into the Earth's crust.

•           System Condition 3: The physical basis for the productivity and the diversity of nature must not be systematically diminished. This means that, in a sustainable society, the productive surfaces of nature are not diminished in quality or quantity, and we must not harvest more from nature than can be recreated.

•           System Condition 4: We must be fair and efficient in meeting basic human needs. This means that, in a sustainable society, basic human needs must be met with the most resource-efficient methods possible, including a just resource distribution.

Complexity, cradle to cradle: Another paradigm shift needs to hap, in the way we think about and perceive things. Those educated in western style societies have been largely trained since the Industrial Revolution to discipline their thinking. This means that rather than looking at things in a systemic way, trying to understand 'the whole picture', schools, universities and workplaces train people to dissect everything into parts, disciplines, or compartments. This is not wrong as such, because it can and does yield immense understanding of details. But it is only helpful when it becomes reintegrated into a systemic understanding of complex interactions which stray far beyond the original geography of the problem. For example, in choosing a mobile phone we must learn to consider not only its use and aesthetics, but its design, production and disposal, not just from a narrow environmental perspective but also in terms of its impact on the fabric of communities in the countries where the resources are exploited, or where the 'superseded' items are jettisoned. Conflicts in Congo arise over mining for columbite-tantalite ore ('coltan') from which the element tantalum is extracted for use in consumer electronics, for instance. This is an illustration of scientific/technological and social interdependency, in a recently emerged 'wicked' problem.

            This is where the ideas of systems and of systems thinking are valuable. When we start to think about sustainability, it is essential that we ask questions at a range of levels from the local to the global. Questions arise about what aspects of our existence we want to sustain, how much we are prepared to compromise with others' needs and what unexpected results of our actions might occur. That is, we need to start asking question about the systems involved in sustainable living.

Acceptance of responsibility: None of us can ignore our responsibility for our actions, be they private, professional or in our role as citizens. This does not mean that we individually have to shoulder the burden of all the ills in the world, but it does mean that we use the full spectrum of actions to further sustainability. Where individual action cannot make a difference, we cannot delegate our responsibility to others, but must work towards a change in the structures of society to promote sustainable development for all. Those privileged to have received education beyond the very basic, also have responsibilities to assist those less fortunate in developing their understanding and skills in this regard, too. 

‘Learning to Last' as a Solution Leading to Sustainable Practice

Putting the sustainability agenda into practice is complex, contested and problematic. Current educational practice, based on specialist disciplines cannot provide an adequate set of intellectual and practical tools for resolving the difficulties created by the contemporary sustainable development discourse, which embraces global environmental degradation, Poverty, disease, hunger, and climate change. We face a situation where universal answers are no longer trusted and technological solutions are regarded with suspicion. So what alternatives are open to us? Hundreds, if not thousands of sustainable development and education initiatives have blossomed across the globe since the 1980's. But in spite of this increase in activity most educational experts would agree that progress towards sustainability has been at best modest and why is it that some of our most prestigious educational institutions have been so slow in recognizing the importance of this contemporary issue. In part this is due to a failure to institutionalize sustainability, in other words a failure to incorporate sustainability into their core policies and processes, leading teachers to remain unconvinced of their employers' commitment to this crucial issue. Enlightened leadership which provides a clear vision of sustainability has been largely absent along with a forward looking vision which excites and elicits wide spread commitment and energy.

 In spite of these barriers to progress educational innovations are beginning to appear at all levels within our educational systems. Many of these initiatives are turning traditional teaching and learning approaches on their head, moving pedagogy from `education' to `learning'; permitting students to develop and build their personal values, motivation, preferences and above all grounding the learning in action orientated experience. A variety of themes characterize this learning, which is reflected in the diversity of perspectives on development and how to put it into practice. In spite of this diversity, a number of key ‘learning to last’ competences for professionals are beginning to emerge. These include

 • An ability to think 

 • An ability to learn

 • An ability to communicate

 • An ability to collaborate

 • And an ability to do all of the above across the disciplinary boundaries that separate professional specialists; and which facilitate their role within civil society and multinationally composed community groups. 

 Education systems need to innovative to develop cross-cultural,trans-national and trans-disciplinary perspectives. The case studies described here draw on experiences gained from active learning in schools and universities and exemplify a knowledge development process which involves a wide range of actors in addition to the traditional teacher’s role as both knowledge transmitter and facilitator, it is being recognized that learning is partly and individual process and partly a group or social process. Developing and comparing the application of different mental models is an important facility in working with different interdisciplinary teams and yet much of our ‘standardized’ formal curriculum and learning runs counter ti this approach. Sustainable development requires a richer, more varied approach to teaching and learning. Learning to last offers a way of approaching the complexity of sustainable development and globalization, and the quickening pace of change it offers a real opportunity to influence the way we learn and act together more sustainably. 

PROPERTIES OF THE PROPOSED FUTURE INTERNET

In today's Internet architecture, the Internet Protocol (IP), Internet addresses, and the Domain Name Service (DNS) implement core Architectural principles that restrict the Internet’s ability to adapt to improved performance and reliability requirements. In the future Internet, the current edge of the network (e.g. user computers and mobile devices) will often be just one hop to the Internet. That is, devices will be able to connect directly into the Internet, eliminating barriers such as local networks, local network routers, and domain name servers. The trend to connect more devices will also accelerate, facilitated by the increasing installation of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6). In the future, the Internet will connect vast numbers of tiny devices integrated into cell phones and other mobile devices. These devices may challenge the traditional understanding of network topology as a collection of networks and, instead, view the future Internet as a single unified network.

According to Gokhale et al, in a process-based Web server architecture, the server consists of multiple single-threaded processes, each of which handles one request at a time. In a thread-based architecture, the Web server consists of a single multithreaded process; each thread handles one request at a time. However, there is another Web server model-the one I use. This model uses multiple executing servers, each processing user requests concurrently.

The proposed future Internet is comprised of the following capabilities:

·       Rather than using local networks, such as Ethernet. Communication between user computers and Web servers and between mobile devices and Web servers would be direct via Internet routers.

·       Devices would be assigned permanent IP addresses, issued by the Internet authority, thus eliminating the need for name-to-IP address translation, Thereby eliminating the need for Domain Name Systems. User computers and Mobile devices would access a Web server by providing a Universal Resource Locator (URL) (Web site address) to the Internet service provider (ISP). The ISP, In turn, would look up the Web server IP address in its directory and append it to the IP packet. In case the IP address has not been recorded in the ISP directory, the ISP would broadcast a request to obtain the IP address.

·        In order to provide increased security of data, every user computer and mobile device would have its own [P address, requiring the replacement of Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) with IPv6, in order to provide for a large address space. IPv6 does not provide any better (or worse) support for quality of service than IPv4, but it does have several important features that would enhance the performance and security of the future Internet, including larger address space, integrated security capabilities, easier configuration, and a simplified packet header format.

·        Reliability would be increased because there would be fewer components that could fail and fewer single points of failure (e.g., elimination of local networks and Domain Name Systems). This is important because the Domain Name System is reputedly one of the main causes of failure in the Internet.

·       Cyber security would be increased because there would be fewer components that could be attacked and if attacks do occur, resolution would be simplified by pinpointing the location of an attack by virtue of using a much simpler Internet configuration than is presently the case.