Learning AB... on CD

Information technology is the in thing today. For children who have access to computers at home and in school there are no more the heavy school bags to carry to school because books are gradually being replaced by CDs. In the past decade computers have enhanced means of communication, methods of conveying information and exposure to knowledge like at no time ever.

Only a few years ago people used to take pride in the number of volumes they had in their home library of the Brittanica Encyclopedia. Books have now given way to CDs.  The entire encyclopedia is covered in one or two CDs and while before people took pride in their larger collection, today it is exactly the opposite -- the less bulky the better!

Only a few years ago barely anyone could have believed that such a radical change in communication was imminent. Few would have comprehended that people could write to one another from their homes or order things from any part of the world directly from home through the Internet. One can now download updated knowledge on almost any subject for storage on one's personal computer and to manage schools, madrasahs and similar institutions with software that would keep the information of each child a click away. Similarly there are many other uses of the Internet.

Through interactive CDs, kids can now see what they read about. It has been proved that visual stimulation makes the child understand things in a much better way. And if the experts are to be believed then it is said that visual background makes the child’s receptive power increase up to 60%! With the help of a voiceover the child gets a classroom effect that allows him or her to really understand what he or she is studying.

There has been concern on the exposure to pornography and malicious web sites that the Internet or some CDs have exposed our children (even adults) to. This concern has led to some parents depriving their children of computers   because they are not able to monitor usage. There is a worry that in the guise of being informative, the World Wide Web is a source of conveying a materialist culture devoid of Islamic values, and in many instances directly opposing matters of faith.  The concern is valid but a better option than deprivation is for the youth to be groomed for the Internet prior to usage or for parents to learn the Internet themselves and then to exercise basic control.

Basic computer knowledge allows one to see which sites users have visited. The children may be smart enough to manipulate such records but parents can easily find out when this is done. Similarly there are  'history rewinder' softwares that cannot be erased without a password to monitor computer usage. The Internet is not as difficult to learn as it sounds and our community worldwide needs to conduct adult education classes for men and women to understand this. Why should the Internet not be a solution to boredom that many of our elderly complain of? Why should our Institutions not provide nominally charged facilities by way of Communal Internet cafes?

Community members can have access to a spate of religious information on the Internet or on CDs. The rulings of Ayatullah Seestani. are on the World Wide Web as are fiqh lectures on namaaz, Quran surahs, hadith, Islamic games etc. Thanks to the Internet, the Africa Federation, World Federation, Nasimco and other organisations keep the community updated through their own web pages.

A moral lesson also ensues from this fast change in the trend of communications. If we, a few years ago, could not anticipate or believe that such a man-made revolution would take place how can we dare to unreasonably question the mysteries that Allah (SWT) has foretold us about the earth and the hereafter.