Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by LAUREN from Winston-Salem, NC. LAUREN Wonders, “How does technology help us with almost everything?” Thanks for WONDERing with us, LAUREN!
What challenges do you face every day? Some kids have a hard time tying their shoes or being on time for the school bus. You might find it challenging to read the front board. Many kids have a hard time hearing their teacher from across the room. Others struggle with gym class activities.
All people have personal challenges. But you probably also have some special talents! You might be a great writer or artist. Maybe you can do more cartwheels than anyone else in your class. Your talent could be listening or being a good friend.
How do you use your talents? Many people enjoy using their talents to help others. Take your teacher for example. They use their special talents every day to help you learn and grow. Many other people use their special skills to help others with the challenges they face.
How about people who work in technology? Many of them use their talents to make new devices that help others. Do you use any gadgets at school? Access to a device and the Internet can open up a world of learning. For many children with learning disabilities, new educational technology can help them learn.
And there are plenty more examples. Many smartphone applications help people face challenges. For example, money reading apps help people with visual impairments identify the value of the money they’re holding. If your eyesight is limited, you know just how helpful that can be. It helps people use the right bills and make sure they get the correct change back.
Text-to-speech technology is also a huge help to many people. Kids use it to follow along with texts that are hard to read. Adults also use text-to-speech features. They listen to emails and other important documents if they can’t see them. Speech-to-text technology also allows people with limited hearing to read the words they can’t hear.
Have you ever lost the use of a leg? Whether briefly or permanently, you know how useful wheelchairs can be. And they’re becoming more advanced every day! Prototypes already exist for wheelchairs that can climb stairs. And scientists are even working on wheelchairs that can be controlled with just the mind. They’ll read brain waves to find out exactly what their user wants them to do.
Voice command technology already lets people control devices with the sound of their voice. You can find it in many products. There are voice command keyboards, cars, smartphones, and many others. And of course, driverless cars can may improve transportation for people with visual and physical impairments. Many models of these cars are in testing and could be on the road soon!
What does the future hold for technology? You might be amazed at some advances you’ll see in your lifetime. Maybe you’ll even come up with the next helpful device yourself! If technology isn’t your passion, there are plenty of other ways for you to help others. All talents are useful—especially when they’re used to help people face challenges!
Standards: CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.4, CCRA.R.10, CCRA.SL.1, NGSS.PS4.C, CCRA.W.2, CCRA.W.4, CCRA.SL.2, CCRA.L.1, CCRA.L.2
