- Rinchen T., Jhamtse graduate

I grew up in a community called Jhamtse Gatsal, located in a remote part of India. Situated at the India-Tibet-Bhutan tri-junction, it is far away from cities and places where most people live. When I was in the 10th grade, I was introduced to simple tools, like PowerPoint. Since the connectivity is poor here, the use of technology is a big issue. Information and Communication Technology plays an essential role in the lives of individuals today.

After I completed my 12th grade and stepped into college, I got my first laptop. Many of my friends in college were already familiar with the technologies and applications required for classes and college. On the other hand, I was unfamiliar with most of the applications and some I'd never even heard of! As a freshman in college, I started doubting my ability to perform well in the classes and bitterly realized that I was far behind the other students in the class.

I still clearly remember the night when we had to submit an assignment; it was a case study on Starbucks. It took me an entire week to finish that one project, while my friend took just one and a half hours to complete the same. I was frustrated, and I got worried. I realized that I was unskilled with the use of technology.

Whenever I come back to the Community, I stress the need for children to be taught computer skills from a young age to be better equipped to deal with the 21st-century world they will live in. I believe we need to increase the use of technology to support learning and academic engagement. Technology has the potential to improve traditional teaching methodologies and learning processes.

Building our technological skills and learning to become comfortable with their use can prepare us for higher education and the world at large. Technology has shifted the way professors teach students in college. Gone are the days when we had to submit written assignments. Students can now refer to related topics on YouTube and build their skills through self-learning.

Rinchen T., studying near the prayer wheels at Jhamtse Gatsal

Lecture-based teaching methods leave students as consumers of information and data while there remains little room for students' creativity and self-expression. Technology makes it easier to access information through multiple intelligences and sensory avenues. It enables learners to set their own pace of learning and provides exciting opportunities to learn. It's impossible to remember everything that our professors teach in class.

Having recorded lectures makes it easier for us to access the same information asynchronously. Once, I missed some information on business etiquette taught in a particular class. However, thanks to having access to technology at college, I could go back to my room and learn it by myself through YouTube and other applications. Technology can prepare us for the world and teach us a variety of skills. We need to know to use it effectively to develop our ICT skills.

On the other hand, we also need to be mindful of our growing dependence on technology each day. Even though we are exhausted, we can't seem to walk away from our gadgets and connected state of being. Our work, more than ever, depends on communicating via emails or connecting through virtual meeting platforms. We have grown to rely on technology to make our lives easier. If it were to go away one day, our lives would be tough for a while, but everyone would learn to live without it too. However, we don't have to go to that extreme; we don't have to avoid using technology. We have to learn to use it mindfully.

Technology is neither good nor bad—it is all about the nature of our relationship with it; how do we use it? There are great examples of mindful and ethical use of technology during the pandemic. When all the institutions, colleges, and schools had to shut down, many parents were anxious about their children's future. However, due to advancements in technology, online classes could be introduced to learn directly from their respective teachers while sitting in their homes.

In closing, I want to add that while I appreciate and stress the need for technology for my siblings, I am also deeply grateful for the limited access to technology during my formative years. I wish other children could have the same privilege. Today, I hope that while we enjoy the benefits of technology, could we also become curious about our habits and impulses around its use as well as its social and emotional impact on our lives? When we make intentional decisions aligned with our values and beliefs, we remain consumers of technology rather than consumed by it.

Why do we need better technology at Jhamtse Gatsal?