For more information about the Eden Prize, go here.

2020’s Topic is “How can technology make the world a better and happier place to live?”

Readings

Easy Readings

These readings are for younger people but should give you a head start on ideas.

Check out the articles on KidsNews for technology: https://www.kidsnews.com.au/technology and also: https://newsforkids.net/tag/technology/ and also: https://teachingkidsnews.com/category/technology/

Watch Mojo – Top 10 Emerging Technologies (2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msPKD999l7Q. Plus the Top 10 things that will become obsolete: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjS-LaEHj6E.

Witten, 2018. Technology’s Effect on Our Health the Good the Bad and the Ugly https://health.usf.edu/is/blog/2018/06/26/technologys-effect-on-our-health-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly

Medium Literacy Level

These readings are supposed to be Senior School level. You still might need the dictionary.

Illing, 2018. Technology isn’t just changing society — it’s changing what it means to be human. Interview with a futurist and historian.
https://www.vox.com/technology/2018/2/23/16992816/facebook-twitter-tech-artificial-intelligence-crispr

Dixon, 2016. 11 reasons to be excited about the future of technology. https://www.businessinsider.com.au/11-reasons-to-be-excited-about-the-future-of-technology-2016-8?r=US&IR=T

In the year 1820, a person could expect to live less than 35 years, 94% of the global population lived in extreme poverty, and less that 20% of the population was literate. Today, human life expectancy is over 70 years, less that 10% of the global population lives in extreme poverty, and over 80% of people are literate. These improvements are due mainly to advances in technology, beginning in the industrial age and continuing today in the information age.

Dixon 2016.

Gubler, 2018. 5 Reasons Technology is Changing the World. https://www.inwhatlanguage.com/5-reasons-technology-is-changing-the-world/

High Literacy Readings

For these readings, make sure you’ve got the dictionary handy! They’re written for Year 12s and Uni level people.

Langridge and Willings, 2019. Life in the future: Tech that will change the way we live. https://www.pocket-lint.com/gadgets/news/142027-tech-innovations-that-will-shortly-change-the-world

Briseno, 2019. 10 Futurist Predictions in the World of Technology. https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/future-tech/10-futurist-predictions-in-the-world-of-technology.htm

Being beamed from one location to another by teleportation was supposed to be right around the corner/in our lifetime/just decades away, but it hasn’t become possible yet. Inventions like the VCR that were once high tech — and now aren’t — proved challenging for some: The VCR became obsolete before many of us learned how to program one. And who knew that working with atoms and molecules would become the future of technology? The futurists, of course.

Briseno, 2019.

Clark, 2019. What Makes Technology Good or Bad for Us? Readability: Grade 13. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_makes_technology_good_or_bad_for_us

BBC Science Focus, 2020. Future technology: 22 ideas about to change our world. https://www.sciencefocus.com/future-technology/future-technology-22-ideas-about-to-change-our-world/