Human Technology
Time
N/A
Difficulty
Module 1
Prerequisites
Computer Science B
Departments
Career & Technology Studies
Authors
Sandra Kuipers
Groupings
Individual
Minimum Year Group
None
Blurb
The world is a crazy place, and technology is changing all the time. This unit helps you to ask questions about technology, and what it means to us as a species.
Outline
| Learner Outcomes Students will:
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Competency Focus
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Interdisciplinary Connections
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| Reflection What was successful? What needs changing? Alternative Assessments and Lesson Ideas? What other Differentiation Ideas/Plans could be used?
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| Credits Any CC attribution, thanks, credit, etc.
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Technowhat?
The Pitch
- Technology is taking over the world: it is everywhere, and has made us who we are.
- Want to really understand technology? Try some new points of view...
Human Technologies
Theory
- Often we think of "technology" as things like computers and cars...but really, technology is much broader.
- We can thinking of technology as anything that is made by humans.
- Technology includes:
- Material Technologies: computers, clothes, roads
- Cognitive Technologies: language, maths
- Social Technologies: language, manners
- Spiritual Technologies: meditation, religion
- Fire is an interesting example: it is not a technology...but the ability to control, manage and make it is a technology.
- To really think broadly about technology, the Human Technologies Venn diagram shows us four overlapping categories of technology, contained within one over-arching category:
- As you can see, technology is very broad and includes material "stuff" as well as many non-material technologies (such as spoken language).
- The somatic category relates to those technologies that act in relation to our bodies (e.g. all technologies!)
- This study of Human Technologies was developed at ICHK as part of their 5+1 model.
What Is Technology
Theory
- By learning what technology is, and how it effects us, we can learn to be better at being human.
- The two videos below give some insight into what technology is, and how it has affected us as a species:
Historical Perspectives
Socrates & Luddites
- Technology, seen as tools (e.g. things that help us), can be very positive. It allows us to do more things with less effort.
- However, technology can also be seen as a threat to who we are, and so sometimes people react against technologies.
- For example, Socrates lamented writing as a technology, saying it would ruin our memories: “[Writing] will create forgetfulness in the learners’ souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves.” – Socrates, as recorded by Plato
- And then there were the Luddites:
- If we are honest, we can see positives and negatives in any technology: whether we accept and embrace technologies should depend on this balance.
- Our current technologies at school (laptops, smartphones, the Internet), are not immune from this: which the rest of this unit seeks to consider.
Humans Need Not Apply
Your Future
- In the same way that the Luddites raised the alarm about jobs being lost to mechanical machines, people today are worried about computers and robots taking jobs.
- Watch the video below (Humans Need Not Apply), and see where you stand on this issue:
Finishing Up
Evidence
- Hopefully in this unit you have formulated some ideas and opinions on what technology means to humans as a species (rather than to you as an individual).
- Find a way to present these ideas and opinions, and then submit your work as evidence of your learning.
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