Chapter 1

1. Chapter 1 Technology: A Dynamic Human System

2. What is Technology? • Involves humans using objects to change the natural & human-made environment. • Technology is the application of knowledge, tools and skills to solve practical problems and extend human capabilities. • Technology is created to solve problems and do new things.

3. Why Study Technology? • To learn how things work. • To become more technologically literate. • Apply your knowledge to other school subjects. • To be able to find, select, & use knowledge about tools & materials to solve problems. • To understand technology as it affects our daily lives as citizens, consumers, & workers. • Develop your skills in designing and making products. • To understand issues in the news

4. Four Basic Features Of Technology • Human knowledge 4. Is developed by people to modify or control the environment 2. Uses of tools, materials, & systems 3. Application of technology results in artifacts of other outputs

5. Technology Is Dynamic • It is changing • It is necessary for survival & the hope for a better future. • Always improving on existing technology.

6. Technology Is Not Always Good • Technology can cause problems as well as solve them. • Is more feared than natural events. • Poor design & usage of technology causes pollution in the air, water, & land. • Causes unemployment & radical changes in lifestyles.

7. Technology Is Different Than Science • Science- knowledge of the natural world. • Scientists distance themselves from the phenomena as the developed their explanation. • Their work is described as research

8. Technology • Technology made by humans or the built environment are a result of need or wants. • Technologists are not observers; because they are directly involved with the processes they develop & use.

9. Technology Evolves Humans have been on the earth for the last 2.5 million years. Humans are distinguished from other species by two major factors: • The ability to make and improve tools. • The knowledge and ability to use those tools. Early humans were said to live in primitive conditions.

10. Civilization A civilized condition is much different from primitive existence. Civilized societies introduce the human will to the natural scene. Tools are fabricated, crops are grown, materials are engineered, and transportation systems are developed.

11. Ages of Technology Development • Stone Age: Before 3500 BC • Bronze Age: 3500 BC – 1500 BC • Iron Age: 1500 BC to 500 • Middle Ages: 500 to 1300 • Renaissance: 1300 to 1750 • Industrial Revolution: 1750 – 1900 • Information Age: 1900 - present

12. The Stone Age • Began over 2 million years ago. • Simple stone tools were used to cut & pound vegetables & cut meat from animal carcasses. From this came pointed stone hunting tools. • People became more efficient hunters. • Population grew along with productivity. • Fire was used for heating, cooking and protection.

13. The Bronze Age – 3500 B.C. • Began around 3500 B.C. • Second major historical period. • Copper & the smelting of nonferrous metals was discovered. People learned that copper could be heated and mixed with other metals, such as tin, to make bronze. Bronze is stronger than copper. • Most of the tools were made from copper & copper-based materials. • Large scale irrigation is developed. Dependency on hunting is decreased. • Writing and navigation are also developed.

14. The Iron Age • Began around 1500 B.C. • Iron & steel became the primary material of tool. • A period of technological advancement and increased rate of discovery. • Manufacturing was developed, allowing large numbers of people to leave the farms and migrate to the cities. • Alphabet comes into general use. • Coins come into use.

15. The Industrial Revolution • Started in England in 1750 & moved to America in the late seventeenth century. • Increased migration of people from farms to the cities.. • Many inventions & developments spurred this Revolution among them were: • Continuous process flour Mill (Oliver Evans) • Power Loom ( Edmund Cartwright) • Pattern weaving loom ( Joeseph Jacquard) • Interchangeable Parts (Eli Whitney) • Movable conveyor ( Henery Ford)

16. The Industrial Revolution The development of the steam engine followed by the electric motor lead to the process of continuous manufacturing characterized by: • Use of Interchangeable Parts • Workforce divided into management and workers. • Materials-handling devices that bring the work to the workers. • Mass production of goods.

17. Information Age • Wide use of automatic machines and information processing equipment. • High demand for trained technicians, technologists and engineers. • Blurring of the previously sharp line between workers and managers. • Constant need for job-related training and retraining of workers as new technology was developed. • Marked by generation that traveled west in covered wagons in their youth and saw an astronaut circle the earth in their later years.

18. The Information Age has led to: • High quality, world-class products • Higher energy consumption • Technological unemployment ( loss of jobs due to technology) • Technological unemployability ( inability of poorly educated workers to find jobs) • New technologically related jobs

19. Digital Age? (Mobile Technology) • Cell phones • CDs • DVDs • PDAs • Gaming Technology – Blue Ray/PCI Express Video Boards – Xbox, Play Station, Wi, etc. • Digital Cameras • Digital recording of images and sound • Flash Drives • Ipod • Iphone

20. Technology Challenges • Population Growth: Can everyone be fed and housed? • Energy: What will replace fossil fuels? • Pollution: How will it be controlled? • Waste Disposal: Where we going to put it all? • Transportation: Roads are already overcrowded. • Medical: New viruses (AIDS).

21. Ethical and Moral Challenges • Ethics – underlying moral principles and values • Doctors and drug companies need to warn patients of side effects of drugs. • Is cloning ethical? • Stealing of ideas and information (i.e. downloading mp3 files without paying).

22. What will you see in your life time?