Thomas P. Hughes once mentioned that “A technological system can be both a cause and effect; it can shape or be shaped by society” (p.112). When describing the influence of culture on today’s societal changes, the emerging trend of technological determinism fits the role. Technological determinism is the phrase that describes how technology influences the evolution of humans. One might describe technological determinism as “How who we are is determined by the tools we invent and use.” The reason why I choose this topic is because I personally believe that I am a part of the generation where the role of technology quickly became significant in our society and I was interested in learning more about how it actually shaped our future. The progression of technology has allowed people to shape the future of teaching and learning in education institutions. Sadly, the negatives effects of technological determinism would be the constant desire of being a part of the newest technological trends by following others. The following article that will be presented to assist as evidence of technological determinism involved in educational systems are by Kathrin Dodds, Donnell Callender and Cynthia Henry. The next article that proposes the studies of herd behavior in the adoption of technology is written by Heshan Sun.
An article that would defend the idea of present idea of technological determinism in our society would be by Kathrin Dodds, Donnell Callender and Cynthis Henry. These authors propose that the Texas Tech University Libraries is a team that has an interest of finding new, interactive ideas to teach, research and promote learning. Within the popularity of the use of the Apple iPad arising, this team decided to further investigate ...
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... interactive techniques. The people who take advantage of the newest technological devices would be a part of the society that is emerging from the trend of technological determinism. Student and faculties of schools would like to see the integration of technology in institutions for better interaction and many other possibilities for better learning experiences. Other studies have proven that the direct influence of using technology allows others to imitate the use of technology which advances the popularity of electronics in society. My thesis was shown to be unique because it states that technological determinism is certainly one of the defining trends that impact the constant changes in society. Future implications on this trend would include that the use of technology is not inferior to our growth, it allows the future to be shaped into a more advanced society.
In this text, the author explores the role that technology currently plays in schools and in education in general, as well as future consequences that will occur depending on whether society continues to insist on a type of education that is relatively lacking in technology or decides to embrace the options available whole-heartedly. There are both gains...
According to the article, “Technology and Society-Impact of Technology on Society, “Technologies[..]are being used in classrooms to boost students morale to learn. Visual education is becoming more popular and it has proved to be the best method of learning in many subjects[..]The business community has invested money in various educational technologies which can be used by both teachers and their students.” In other words, this signifies that the use of technology within the educational system enables students to learn the knowledgeable concepts, and as well provides visual education that is a beneficial instructional method of learning among students. This demonstrates how the utilization of technology in society is productive since the technological devices allow the students to acquire a comprehension, by visual education enabling students to apply the presented concepts visually, as the learning method has improved, it is functional, and advantageous to the student's learning process. Based on the article, “Technology and Society-Impact of Technology on Society,” the article outlines, “Transportation provides mobility for people and goods. [..]Technology has helped in advancing [..](1) road transport used by automobiles ,(2) air transport which is used by airplanes, (3)water transportation which is used by ships and speed boats and (4) space transportation used to go to the moon.[..] Technologies like automobiles, buses and trucks have improved the way humans move and how they transport their goods from place to another.” This means that the application of innovative knowledge within the deviating systems of transportation in a community has facilitated the transportation of individuals, mechanisms in transportation has modernized the conveyance between locations. Thus, this exemplifies how the application of technological knowledge
Our world is changing gradually bringing these changes into people’s daily life styles; consequently, a person’s potential to embrace these challenges and revolutionize with them has become an important factor to analyze people’s way to prepare themselves for the future. According to Gilbert Valdez, educational technology, especially computers and computer-related peripherals, have grown tremendously and have permeated all areas of our lives. It is incomprehensible that anyone today would argue that banks, hospitals, or any industry should use less technology. Most young people cannot understand arguments that schools should limit technology use. For them, use of the Internet, for example, plays a major role in their relationships with their friends, their families, and their schools. Teens and their parents generally think that use of the Internet enhances the social life and academic work of teenagers. Nonetheless, not all people has the possibility of changing towards a technological society due to the lack of personal progress through technology, and the misunderstanding of this tool is leading future professionals to become technologically dependant; in other words to rely only on technology without considering the possible consequences that it might have on future professionals development and their educational background. The overuse of educational technology has been growing over the recent years due to the emergent technological developments around the world; however, it can be solved by searching for a new balance between the uses of technology within education.
Technological determinism “sees technology as the cause of cultural and social change” (Morris, 2013). Within technological determinism, there are two different types. Hard technological determinism is “an oversimplified, cause and effect explanation for social change” (Johnson, 2013). Soft technological determinism views “technology is one of many social factors that drive social change” (Johnson, 2013). Viewing the Internet as one of the many factors in shaping social change is a technological determinist view. Young a...
Ultimately, I am in agreement with what Albert Einstein supposedly predicted “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” Some historians dispute that the most brilliant brain of the 20th century ever really said that, but nonetheless, it appears that the prophecy is coming true. All we have to do is look around us, whether we are dining in a restaurant or sitting in a college classroom, we will see people glued to their smart phones or doing internet searches on their laptops. There does not really seem to be any meaningful social interaction amongst individuals. Along the same lines as Greenfield’s research paper is an article printed in Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection that presents views on both sides of the technology and education argument. Although this article presents opposing views on the topic, the critics suggest that the drawbacks of technology are the tools can be difficult to use and prohibitively expensive and it reduces or removes the human interaction that many believe is crucial to education (“Technology and Education.” par. 3). Basically, technology severs social
According to Winston in his article How Media Are Born, in technological determinism “technology is the dominant, determining factor” (62) to the changes in mass communication. Winston presents two approaches to technological determinism. The first is Technological Determinist Account A. In this account, technology is dominant and is “discovered by an essentially internal process of research and development, which then sets the conditions for social change and progress.” (Winston 787) This account is about the “great men” who are a part of the technology world and only about them as individuals. The second account, Technological Determinist Account B, “presents seamless sequence of technical events, each automatically triggering its successor.”
Technological Determinism is a reductionist concept that entails that technology is self-evident, and shapes the identity of any given society. Though this concept is subsequently compelling because it is rather one-dimensional, the modes in which we interact with technology are determined by several factors, rather than the technologies themselves. Technological Determinism is a concept that does not credit human capacity, and this is why it fails to hold up. Technology itself is prescribed an identity through factors such as need, competition, and suitability; which all of course are circumstantial. This paper will define Technological Determinism, and explore to what extent it can be taken. This paper will also discuss the application it has in context of the changes and developments in Canadian media, and whether or not technology is the primary force behind change. Ultimately, discrediting the ludicrous concept in general.
Technology forms the most vital element of life in the world today. Every aspect of our lives is dominated by technology and its importance in our lives is indispensable. One of the outstanding facts about technology use in schools is its controversial nature. There is no common agreement by stakeholders in technology and educations sectors about the use of technology in schools. There are two different factions, one supporting use of technology as a positive aspect, while the other faction disagrees, citing the detrimental effects of technology in students. However, the use of technology in classrooms catering for children continues to increase, as education develops more interesting ways of enhan...
Technology is crucial in influencing society, therefore it is imperative to understand what influences technological development and how it changes society, such as social shaping and theories of technological determinism. Langdon Winner supports the social determination of technology through the findings of others and his theories of politically influenced technologies, thus Winner accounts for technological determinism through defining the theory in this context.
Philosophy can be broken down into many different time periods and many different philosophers who each have beliefs on different ideas. A prevalent topic in philosophy is the idea of personal freedoms and the idea of determinism and why and how events take place. There are many different views on determinism; there is the default form determinism, hard determinism, indeterminism, and soft determinism. For determinism, three philosophers who are well know on the subject of determinism are Baron Paul Henri d’Holbach, Robert Kane, and John Stuart Mill’s as they are all different forms of determinist. Baron Paul Henri d’Holbach largely discuss the ideals or default determinism and what specifically makes an event happen. Baron Paul Henri d’Holbach also talks about the ideas of hard determinism. Robert Kane’s man focus is on how determinism differs from indeterminism and who is responsible for events taking place, Kane is also responsible
The dilemma of determinism is intimately connected with the problem of free will and the question of moral responsibility. The theory of determinism is the theory that all events, including human actions and choices, are totally determined by the initial conditions of the universe combined with the laws of nature while the theory of indeterminism postulates that some events are not determined by preceding events, especially some human actions; in other words, indeterministic events are random or uncaused. If determinism is true, then we can never do other than we do, because our determined actions are all completely caused. If indeterminism is true, then we can never do other than what we do, because our undetermined/uncaused actions would be random. Either determinism or indeterminism is true, but both theories share a common attribute; we can never act freely because we are unable to do other than what we do.
Technology allows culture to evolve by creating solutions to problems by removing constraints that exist. Every invention and concept is expanded on to create the utmost perfect solution. Although this process can take decades, or even centuries, to actually develop a proficient resolution, the end result is what advances society industrially. There are conflicting views, however, if these advances are beneficially or maliciously affecting society (Coget). There are three kinds of people in regards to the attitude toward technology: technophiles, technophobes, and those who aren't biased in either regard (Coget). Technophiles understand that the world adapts to the advances in technology and uses them to improve their lives (Tenner). Technophobes observe technology as damaging or are uncomfortable in using it (DeVany). It is undeniable that technology is ever-expanding, thus peaking curiosity to uncover what fuels the fear behind the technophobes. Our focus is concentrated on the technophiles and the technophobes . I will begin with the latter as they contribute greatly to the ov...
Over the centuries, Philosophers have argued different forms of determinism as the leading cause of our inherent human nature. The definition of human nature varies for each person as our tendencies or perception are altered by our reality. Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud each had a deterministic view on human nature that has led to further psychological advancements. Determinists believed that outside forces predetermine all actions and events humans face in their day to day lives. Both standpoints connect determinism and human nature however, their differences between them are more important as Marx evaluates economical stances and Freud evaluates circumstances.
The standard 21 year old adults have exchanged 250 thousand emails, spent 5 thousand hours video gaming and 10 thousand hours using their mobile devices (Lei, 2009). When people hear the word technology, they think of microwaves, televisions, cars, NASA, different types and transportation and more. For all that, technology has occurred long ahead these discoveries. Technology is an arguable matter amongst people. .In the old days, people lived an extremely simple life without technology. They used candles to light their houses and lanterns at the dark to travel, they used fire to cook and used newspapers and mail to share news. On the other hand, technology has seized an important place in our society. People are living in a stage of progressive technology. They are using all natural reserves applicable for making their lives better and easier. The society cannot picture life without electricity since it allows them to live through their everyday life. This paper argues that technology positively impacts people’s lives.
This paper discusses the relationship between technology and society. It focuses on how technology has influenced various aspects of the society. The areas looked are: how technology has affected the communication, transportation, education, health, economic activities, environment, food production, food conservation and preservation and food distribution. It has gone further to explain how technology has radically changed the demographic structure of the societies in question, specifically Japan society. In addition, it has discussed how technology has influenced government policy formulation.