• Exploring the History of Technology
• Exploring Technology in Society
• Exploring Technology Changes in Education

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Exploring the History of Technology

So when did technology begin? The question is a more difficult to answer than you may think. We all assume that even the experts always had a vision in mind to incorporate technology into the everyday lives of ordinary individuals. Take a look at the following quotes from well-known, experienced experts (quoted in NSBA's, Leadership and Technology, taken from Cerf, C. and Navasky, V. (1984). The Experts Speak: The Definitive Compendium of Authoritative Misinformation. New York: Panteon Books):

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than one and a half tons."

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."

"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year."

"But what . . . is it good for?"

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."

"I watched his face (Samuel F.B. Morse) closely to see if he was not deranged, and was assured by other Senators as we left the room that they had no confidence in it either."

"Well-informed people know it is impossible to transmit their voices over wires, and even if it were possible, the thing would not have practical value."

"Radio has no future."

"The radio craze will die out in time."

"There's a lunatic in the lobby who says he's invented a device for transmitting pictures over the air. Be careful, he may have a razor on him."

Just what the future holds is often difficult to predict, but technology has been especially difficult to predict. Often, technology has been underestimated in terms of its impact. The following two locations will provide you further information on Computer Use in the United States:

http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/computer/comp1.txt

http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/computer/compuseb.txt

Exploring Technology in Society

Information Evolution

We are facing a time of "information evolution". The Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program issued the following ways new information technologies are spurring complex patterns of change:

• Centralization vs. Fragmentation
• A holistic perspective vs. Specialized knowledge
• Too much information vs. Too little information
• Leadership vs. Fellowship
• Worker isoliation/alientation vs. Community connections
• Sharing vs. Withholding access to information
• Information "filters" vs. Disintermediation
• Public intervention vs. Private decisionmaking

The Information Superhighway

Take a look at the following statistics that were included in an amended report to America's Children and The Information Superhighway: An Update to The Children's Partnership, May 1996.

• The Telecommunications Act of 1996, the largest overhaul of our nation’s telecommunications policy in over 60 years, has been signed into law;
• More than one out of every three computers used in U.S. households has been acquired in the past two years, with as many as 15% bought in the past twelve months;
• The number of American who subscribe to online services grew nearly 140% between the winter of 1994 and June 1995 (from 5 million to nearly 12 million);
• Each of the largest commercial companies that provide online services has added a "kids only" or family-oriented section.

Technology Transforming Lives

Videos which show how technology may transform our lives in the next 30 years, especially in education are available at: http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/cn111896.htm

Exploring Technology Changes in Education

Factors Facilitating Technology-Supported Education Change

• Authentic challenging tasks are best supported with flexible technology applications rather than with canned instructional programs.
• Having project-based, cooperative learning skills in place is important.
• Teachers need time to develop their own skills with technology.
• Easily available access to technical assistance is critical, especially in the early years.
• Schools need permission and support for innovations from the district, state, and federal levels.
• Using the technology tools of the professional community adds significance and cultural value to school tasks.
• Technology implementation provides a safe context for teachers to become learners again and to share their ideas about curriculum and method.
• Outside funding may be required to support the level of technical assistance and professional development opportunity needed to implement technology-supported education reform efforts.

What Is Being Said About School Reform

"[Bringing technology to education] is a slow, but steady revolution. Each decision by a school board, each act of support by a principals, and each initiative by a teacher is changing the nature of schools."

• It’s a grassroots movement
• Not a doing it to prove a new theory
• Not doing it to save American business
• Doing it to make schools better

"This is not a reform hatched in universities or think tanks and handed on to schools to implement."(above qutoed from Howard Mellinger

"No setting has appeared more impervious to external reform than the classroom, especially when it comes to changing methods of instructions…"

"The point is that progressive ideas for dramatically changing the nature of teaching consistently fail because they don’t win a loyal constituency where the need to – in the classrooms."

"…when launched from outside the system, movements to redefine how teachers teach are severely hobbled."

The above references quoted from Howard Mehlinger, "School Reform in the Information Age" (Kappan, February 1996).

Personal Technology Inventory

Click here to test your level of awareness and adoption of new technologies.

In this section:

In the Toolkit: