Technology as a Foundation Skills Area
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Transition to an Information Age
Culture
Schooling Business and Work
A New Learning Environment
The Development and Impact of Technology
Understanding the historical development and impact of technology is important for all curriculum developers, teachers, and administrators. Few would dispute that the use and very presence of technology has determined the nature of life on Earth and continues to have a tremendous impact on our society, influencing cultural, educational, and business developments. Technological development, often driven by the human search for a better way of life, has produced inventions and processes that have been described as both blessings and burdens. On the one hand, technology allows us to
- do tasks with greater speed, accuracy, efficiency, and reliability
- control information and influence social organizations and culture
- change our environment
But at what cost? Some technological developments have caused unforeseen problems and consequences for society and the environment. Some of the effects of technology on human culture, schooling, and business and work are discussed below.
Throughout history, from the dawn of evolution to our modern society, technology has played a pivotal role in the development of human culture. In fact, the history of human development parallels the history of technological development. The very ages we use to refer to human progress and development are technology based: stone, bronze, iron, industrial, atomic, and information. The development of new technology over the ages has not simply added new dimensions to human culture. New technology has actually altered human culture. Throughout the time that humans have used technology, from the early stone tools to the Hubble telescope, technology has affected and changed societies. Consider how writing and number systems, paper, and the printing press have influenced societies; how sailing ships, steam engines, automobiles, airplanes, and spacecraft have affected transportation. Reflect upon how gunpowder, crossbows, repeating rifles, dynamite, and atomic bombs have influenced combat and war; how the telegraph, radio, television, computer, and satellite have changed communication.
The nature of schooling tends to reflect the nature of the society in which it is found. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, life in North America was farm based, and schools mirrored that lifestyle. The one-room schoolhouse was sufficient to meet the needs of an agrarian society. School started late and ended early in the day to allow time for students to help their families with farm work. School dismissed entirely during the summer so that children could help their parents in the fields. Education was primarily didactic and learning was less book based than it is today. Controlled largely by the teacher, education focused predominantly on basic skills. Teachers taught reading, writing, and arithmetic to complement the skills students learned outside school. Since relatively few students progressed further than Grade 6 or 7, the need for higher levels of education was minimal.By the beginning of the twentieth century, however, change was on the horizon. More people were living in cities and working in factories, and, as a consequence, new skills were needed. It was then that a great revolution in education took place: the model of school as a factory emerged. Students were taught the facts and skills they needed for industrial jobs, which they were likely to hold their entire lives. One-room schools were eventually replaced by large buildings. Students were sorted by grades and sat in straight rows, with a teacher at the front of the classroom in control of learning. The curriculum was compartmentalized and taught in separated bits and pieces - similar to the way that work is completed on an assembly line. Schools became efficient social institutions with the goal of turning out identical products. Today, western society has evolved from a factory-based, industrial-style classroom to a post-industrial, information-based model. This evolution has been spurred by the mass appearance in the early 1970s of the microprocessor, while the 1980s and 1990s witnessed an explosive growth in the networking of information technologies. It is precisely this advancement in networking that has given us today's Internet. Multimedia innovations and the growth of the Internet have transformed our ability to access information. Despite all these factors, we are still educating many students (particularly Senior Years students) in factory-model schools. Many of the skills being taught are intended for jobs that will either no longer exist or will be radically different by the time students graduate.
In ever-increasing numbers, Canadians are working with, or being affected by, many technologies, including information technology. In fact, many businesses and industries would have great difficulty carrying out their enterprises without the full array of current technologies. In contrast, if technology systems were suddenly to disappear from schools, education would continue almost as usual.
Our post-industrial society demands a post-industrial education. Curriculum developers, teachers, administrators, parents, and policymakers have begun to recognize the need for a new model of education. In the new model, education will be more personalized (i.e., education will be more differentiated to meet each student's learning requirements). Students will be challenged with higher expectations of learning, and encouraged to think creatively and critically as they solve problems. They will spend more time using information technology to learn independently. The knowledge they gain and the skills, strategies, and attitudes they learn in this way will support them throughout life.
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