Low Quality of Education and the Culture of Hacking

Copyright © 2010 by Chester B. Cabalza

Practices of students and teachers which contribute to the low standards of education


One of the key forces of propelling nation-building, economic advancement, sensible and intelligent citizenry, and the love of country is to cement the foundations of education. However, best-learned practices of students and teachers should come hand-in-hand for a productive and high-quality education of higher learning.

Unfortunately, the goal of achieving very high quality education among some students around the country is not yet realized. There are several factors which hinder to this undertaking. For example, there is ineffective use of technology which contributes to low standards of education. It should be noted that the use of technology by teachers and students to catch the pace and competitiveness of schools and level of education worldwide should be guaranteed by the government. Because effective use of technology in education creates significant investments in hardware, software, infrastructure, professional development, and support services, for investment in school technology and quality education. This unprecedented level of investment in educational technology has raised expectations of legislators and the public who are now looking for returns on this investment and therefore are calling for evidence regarding the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of technology among its users, the teachers and students.

Educators need to look at the research on technology and student achievement and the contextual factors that affect learning goals. Hence, higher educational institutions must be open to more intensive and creative environment to make our schools not only communities of learners, where our students receive their diploma. But colleges and universities of the future that nurture young Filipinos to become responsible citizens and enlightened leaders of our country.

Public and private education and training institutions should adopt I.T. in education and develop a critical mass of I.T. professionals and an I.T.-literate workforce in different fields to level-up educational competitiveness and set aside low quality of education in the country.

Hacking and its effects of truth in the society

For a generation of young people, technology, particularly the Internet, has assumed a substantial stake in their social and educational lives. However, one of its downsides is hacking.

Hacking may be referred to as the re-configuring or re-programming of function in ways not facilitated by the owner, administrator, or designer of websites. Or used in modification of a program or device to give the user access to features that were otherwise unavailable.

One of the famous hacking activity done by a Filipino was the “Iloveyou” bug or loveletter computer worm which almost crippled the London stock market when it was launched and successfully attacked tens of millions of Windows computers in 2000.

Its effects in terms of truth in the society is that as information and communication technologies continue to invade and pervade human life; the risks for cyber cases, whether good or bad, will continue to grow. Certainly the use of technology in cyber attacks is plausible. Our very global way of life depends on the secure and safe operations of critical systems that depend on cyberspace.

A primary cause of alarm is the reality that hacking is another tool of destruction as are explosives and other deadly weapons. Furthermore, the resources to launch hacking activities are very easy to do and one may not even know that the attack has taken place until only sometime after it was launched.

The perceived notion that hackers may employ Information Technology (IT) as useful medium does not robotically mean that information infrastructure will constitute the next target. However, for hackers to exploit it, extended use and familiarization with technology is a necessary step before deciding to turn against the entire users of the World Wide Web.

In the process of acquiring and learning the use of IT for strategic and organizational purposes, hackers will more likely apply it as an offensive weapon to destroy and disrupt the community of Internet users.