Technology and Education

Foundations of Technology:
Challenges for Society and Education
Jennifer L. Thornton
ETC 567
Northern Arizona University










Abstract
Technology has found its way into all aspects of our life. Advancements that were only dreamed about a few short years ago are now commonplace. Technology is critical in the work place, craved, followed, and consumed in society, and essential in education. It has become the task of schools to provide current technology and for educators to be prepared to utilize the latest technology available. This paper discusses how technology has advanced and been used, examines the technological problem of identity theft, and looks toward technology’s future in education.















Historical, Social, and Educational Foundations of Technology
Historically, technology has been relied upon to make jobs easier. Much early technology was made to increase farm production, increase production at factories, provide communication, and to transport people and goods farther and faster. When we think of early technological advances, inventions like the cotton gin come to mind. We also think of the industrial revolution with factories and automation. Technology totally changed transportation as trains, cars, and planes were developed. Technology made work more efficient, communication faster, and transportation easier.
With the development of radio, technology started being used more and more for entertainment purposes. News broadcasts and entertaining shows were brought right into everyone’s homes. Television was an even bigger technological step bringing information, news, entertainment, and education into homes, work, and schools. Technological advancements seem to have followed a hierarchy of moving from work applications to those of entertainment.
Computers have followed the same pattern as they started out being used strictly for business purposes. “IBM engineers for years stated that there could never be home or personal computing, as you would need a room set aside for the computer” (Kay, 2005, p. 35). As computers became smaller and operating systems more user friendly, computers found their way into businesses and homes in a way that never could have been imagined when they were first developed. Computers, like other forms of technology, worked their way into society and became essential tools.
Technological developments have changed the way society functions with every historical milestone. As technology increased production, it also increased leisure time. As technology made advancements in entertainment, people brought all of it into their homes and kept looking for more. The development of cable, satellites, and computers has brought society into a virtual world where the pace is fast and entertainment, communication, and information are instant.
This fast paced world we now live in has been fueled by technological advances, and society has become used to constant stimulation and a fast pace. Many have referred to this phenomenon as the Sesame Street Syndrome (Adams, 2006) where facts are important and there is no time for thinking. Knowledge comes at us fast in small entertaining chunks. “Children growing up with ‘Sesame Street’ and other fast-paced, information-intensive entertainment are accustomed to learning about their world this way” (Adams, 2006, p. 25). This same fast pace has required educators to become entertainers to hold the interest of students. It has also demanded that schools bring the latest technology into the schools.
Education has changed along with the advancements in technology. Students in a slower paced world learned with books, slates, and chalk boards. Technology brought slide projectors, filmstrips, movie projectors, television, and eventually computers into the schools and into the curriculums. Visual elements brought into education seem to enhance retention and increase student enjoyment (Coohill, 2006) resulting in students who have become very visual learners and a society that wants the latest technology put into the schools. “Expenditures on technology in K-12 public education have skyrocketed in recent years, growing from $2 billion in 1991-1992 to nearly $6 billion in 2003-2004” (Peslak, 2005, p. 111). The result can be a productivity paradox (Peslak, 2005) with high expense for little value in educational results.
Present Use of Technology in Schools
How to correctly use technology is one of the most important challenges for educators today. In a study of 2500 different school/class combinations in the state of Pennsylvania (Peslak, 2005), increased expenditures for computers did not necessarily positively influence student performance. Simply buying technology and putting it in the schools does not produce improved student achievement. Teachers must have the knowledge, training, and motivation to use technology correctly as a teaching tool within the curriculum and to get students using it for their advantage.
Adding computers to classrooms has also added the internet. “While classroom access to the Internet may be a wonderful teaching tool, it can also be a barrier to learning” (Adams, 2006, p. 25). “Today, using the Internet and a variety of media, students interact with the world in 10-to-180-second gulps, and the Sesame Street Syndrome has come to describe students who expect to be entertained as they learn” (Adams, 2006, p. 26). Technology has forced educators to teach students who expect to be entertained.
Another way technology has entered our schools is through online and hybrid courses. This has mainly been utilized by universities where in 2004 “at least two million higher-education students in the U.S. were engaged in distance education” (Hiltz & Turoff, 2005, p. 60). This has resulted in societies “becoming nations of life-long learners supported by a vast infrastructure of learning organizations” (Dierking, 2005, p. 9). “Online learning is also starting to penetrate K-12” (Hiltz & Turoff, 2005, p. 63) bringing new challenges and opportunities to education.
Technology and Society
One large consequence that technology has brought to society is identity theft. This occurs when thieves get personal information such as social security numbers, addresses, account numbers, passwords, and names. They use this information to open new fraudulent accounts, get loans, get identification such as driver’s licenses, get employment, and even file tax returns in another person’s name. This has become a crime with over 500,000 victims every year (“Consumer Privacy/Identity Theft,” 2006). Once people have become victims, their credit history is destroyed, and they may have to prove who they are to get the accounts corrected.
We all need to be pro-active in stopping identity theft. Thieves prey on people who are careless with personal information or vulnerable to scams. They are also able to buy social security numbers and home addresses over the internet for as little as $26 (“Consumer Privacy/Identity Theft,” 2006). The following is a compiled list of recommendations to keep your identity from being stolen:
• Check your credit report at least once each year to be sure it is accurate and report any accounts that are fraudulent.
• Keep receipts, and check them against credit card and bank statements.
• Report any incorrect transactions immediately to your bank.
• Don’t carry your social security card, extra credit cards, or pin numbers with you.
• Don’t use an easily guessed number as a pin or a commonly used name or word for a password.
• Change passwords regularly.
• Shred credit card statements and mailed credit offers.
• Update online firewalls.
• Secure financial data at home or work.
• Don’t leave receipts at ATM machines or stores.
• Be sure nobody is looking over your shoulder when you use an ATM machine.
• Don’t give personal or credit card information over the phone if you did not initiate the call.
• Don’t give personal or credit card information over a cell phone.
• Sign new credit cards as soon as they arrive.
• Don’t give personal information to phone or email solicitors.
• Don’t respond to emails asking for personal information.
• Get off pre-approved credit lists by calling 888-5-opt-out.
• Get listed in the “do not call” registry by calling 888-388-1222.
The U.S. Treasury Department is working with local, state, and federal agencies to fight identity theft. Where there used to be many misdemeanor arrests, there are now more felony convictions. Longer sentences are being secured due in part to the Identity Theft Enhancement Act which automatically adds two years to any identity theft conviction. The public is asked to help by filing police reports and giving as many details as possible to help apprehend and convict identity thieves. This is certainly a danger that we need to be aware of and guard against no matter what level of technology we personally use.
The Future of Technology with Schools and Society
Technology holds an important place in our every day lives, the functions of society, and the direction of our schools. History has shown technology to make our lives easier, to entertain us, and to educate us. Along with the advantages of technology, we do need to consider the pitfalls. One of these is identity theft. This is a potential threat to any of us and one we need to vigilantly guard against. It is a reminder that we need to always examine and minimize the disadvantages technology may bring and work to increase the value of the advantages. Education is largely responsible for this.
It is very important that educators use technology for the best advantage possible. It has been shown that it is not enough to simply purchase technology. Teachers must be trained to use it constructively, and they must be motivated to make current technology enhance the curriculum. Technology should not be seen as something to be taught, but rather a tool to be used in what we teach. Students should use computers and the Internet as naturally as they use any other learning tools, such as textbooks. Students also need to learn that this technology that they use is changing. They need to plan on being life-long learners and use technology as a means for achievement. We can only imagine today what jobs the students we currently teach will need to be prepared for when they graduate. What we can do is prepare students for innovations and change and motivate them to continue to learn. With this vision, schools will prepare students for their unknown futures.















Bibliography
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