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What is Technology:question:, Before the Module :lock: - Coggle Diagram
What is Technology:question:
After the Readings
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Complexity of Technology
Technology is often confusing and lacks one clear definition. Agar (2019) calls it one of the keywords of our world, yet it is also one of the most confused.
Hughes (2004) adds that “technology is messy and complex. So full of contradictions”.
I realized no single definition fits, technology shifts with context.
Historical Shifts
Technology has not always meant what it does today. Schatzberg (2006) notes that before 1930, issues we now frame as technology were described as useful arts, manufacturing, industry, invention, applied science, and the machine
Kevin Kelly explained that the word technology didn’t even appear in U.S. political discourse until 1952, though it was first coined in 1829 to bring arts and industry together TED Talk, 2010.
I realized technology has changed meaning across history and is still evolving.
Components and Scope
Kumar, Kumar, and Persuad (1999) explain that technology has two parts: a physical component (tools, products, techniques) and an informational component (management, skills, know-how).
The National Research Council (2012) defines technology as “all types of human-made systems and processes”.
Leads me to
Isman (2012) adds that it involves structured relations with other humans, machines, and the environment/
Modern Interpretations
Technology is seen as both product and process of innovation (NRC, 2012); Isman (2012) explains it as the “practical application of knowledge”; Kevin Kelly described technology as “anything useful a human mind makes” (TED Talk, 2010).
Extends to
technology evolves from pen → printing press → classroom tools.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9CzjdrFgiY
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Beyond Machines (Human & Social)
Technology extends beyond devices to include relationships, culture, and meaning (Isman, 2012).
Apple Ad shows family members using an iPad to create a tribute, proving that technology can preserve memory and strengthen bonds (The Cool Commercials, 2021)
New Definition
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Expanded View
Technology is more than gadgets. It includes tools, processes, and systems that humans create to solve problems and improve life.
Rooted in Readings
Kevin Kelly video emphasizes that Anything useful a human mind makes (TED Talk, 2010); All types of human-made systems and processes NRC (2012)
My Final Definition
Technology is the human capacity to design tools, systems, and processes, whether simple or advanced that solve problems, connect people, and shape society.
Why We Need New Technologies
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Survival & Progress
Technology ensures survival. Fire, tools, and agriculture made humans thrive when nature alone could not (TED Talk, 2010)
Problem Solving
Simple inventions like indoor plumbing, pencils, or locks solve everyday challenges
Education and learning
From the pen to the printing press to digital classrooms, technology expands access to knowledge (Charles tuck, 2019). [
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9CzjdrFgiY
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Connection and Meaning
Technology helps people stay connected emotionally. The Apple Ad shows how it preserves memory and family bonds (The Cool Commercials, 2022)
Innovation and Better Ideas
Kevin Kelly argues that the answer to bad technology is not no technology, but better ideas. He calls this the proactionary principle” (TED, 2010)
References
Agar, J. (2019). What is technology? Polity Press.
Apple. (2019, November 25). The surprise [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx0om7rWhl0
Hughes, T. P. (2004). Human-built world: How to think about technology and culture. University of Chicago Press.
Isman, A. (2012). Technology and technique: An educational perspective. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 11(1), 207–213.
Kelly, K. (2010, July). Kevin Kelly: How technology evolves [Video]. TED.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS1xL1qcBa4
Kumar, K., Kumar, V., & Persaud, A. (1999). Building technological capability through importing technology: The case of Indonesian manufacturing industry. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 24(1), 81–96.
National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K–12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. The National Academies Press.
Powtoon. (2020, March 2). What is technology? [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px5z-dG531c
Schatzberg, E. (2006). “Technik” comes to America: Changing meanings of technology before 1930. Technology and Culture, 47(3), 486–512.
TeacherTube. (2019, September 12). Technology in the classroom: From pen to press to present [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9CzjdrFgiY
Before the Module
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Initial View
Gadgets and electronics
Smartphones and Laptops
Internet and social media
Everyday Experience
Reliance on devices.
Use tech daily for schoolwork, assignments, group chats; Work tasks (emails, online meetings); Social life (messaging, entertainment).
Frustration with Technology
Wi-Fi not working; Broken phone, glitches; Technology feels like a barrier when it fails.
Explains why
Technology as Consumption
Buying the latest phone; Downloading apps; Technology as a commodity rather than a broader system.
Narrow Definition Problem
Limited scope
I once equated technology only with gadgets like phones and laptops, overlooking simple tools such as pencils or locks.
Expanded through
Hughes (2004) notes that many people “see [technology] as little more than gadgets and the Internet”
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px5z-dG531c
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