Tuesday, January 22, 2008
What is technology?
This question came up in our blackboard discussion. I thought now would be a good time for me to respond with my answer. Technology is modifications and inventions made by humans to meet their needs and wants. The majority of things refered to as technology was designed to simplify life by making many things faster and easier. I remember when I was in elemntaey school and we had pen pals. We would write to them and get responses only a few times a year. Why? Because it physically took alot of time for the post office to deliver the mail! Now, my class has e-pals with another kindergarten class. We sit around the computer and decide what to write and I model the proper way to write and send e-mails. The children love this! We were actually on a field trip to the pumpkin patch and we ran into our e-pals! It was so neat! When they learn to write we actually send things through the mail as well like Valentine cards. Another example that we do is STI for attendance. We used to take attendance each morning on a sheet of paper and have to send it to the office. Now, we just click on a child's picture on the computer if they are absent and it sends it straight to the main computer in the office. It is so much easier! What is technology? Inventions or modifications made my people to simplify their lives!
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3 comments:
My children love to take our daily attendance and lunch count to the office and lunchroom in the mornings. I guess if our school used STI for attendance, I would have to find another way for my helper to be involved with the attendance and lunch counts.
I agree with you that technology is made to make our lives simpler. However, I am having problems with my OLD computers in my classroom because they rarely turn on when they are supposed to! Since our school has ~100 faculty and 1 technology teacher, it takes time for my computer problems to get fixed. I wish I understood computers better to fix them myself.
I love your definition of technology - "Technology is modifications and inventions made by humans to meet their needs and wants." I think that really sums it up. I have been thinking a lot about my definition of technology this week too. I feel very blessed to work in an environment that is really up to date with technology. This year we got 3 interactive whiteboards and have all been trained to use ActivStudio with them. Also, we got a Mac lab of laptops for check out. Every building has wireless internet, so we can just check out the cart, roll it over, and have a laptop for each student to use. It's great!
I, too, love your definition of technology. It reminds me of my own ideas. Your story about the pen-pals brough back memories, too. It think this whole experience has really made all of us focus on the technology that is around us.
Dailey
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