Technology and its Impacts

Technology is a branch of knowledge that comprises the development and usage of machines, tools, systems, techniques and crafts in order to perform specific functions or solve complex problems. This term can be applied to specific areas such as information technology, construction technology and medical technology. Since its advent, technology and the society have rapidly co-evolved, and often in surprising ways. As a result, both technology and the society are changing one another.

In his article “Good Video Games and Good learning,” James Paul Gee explores why playing good computer games can influence learning both in and out of school. After playing several games, both complex and simple, Gee established that playing good computer games can make the learning process, which is always hard, long and complex to be enjoyable. This can be attributed to the fact that such computer games integrate pertinent learning principles that are sustained by current research. Using biology as an example, Gee holds that learning is like playing a good computer game. He contends that learning is a game that people play. These people take part in characteristic types of activities, integrate different tools and languages to these activities and hold certain values to achieve success. Gee holds that some of the learning principles that good games incorporate include identity, interaction, production, risk-taking, customization, agency, well-ordered problems, challenge and consolidation, pleasantly frustrating and system thinking. In his closing remarks, Gee calls on students to make the learning process in and out of school more enjoyable by “using games in school” (Gee, nd). This article reveals how technology, through computer games, can enhance learning.

Technological innovations and science have been the driving forces behind social, economic, cultural and political changes. It is asserted that this transformation would not have occurred if the implementation of innovative technologies and scientific principles were not adopted. The impacts of technology in people’s social, economic, political and cultural lives are diverse. In social realms, technology has transformed the manner in which people socialize. As a result of using technology, people’s knowledge and its obverses have been expanded. Moreover, people have resorted to using social networks such as Tweeter and Facebook to socialize, due to technological advances. In economic realms, technology led to the development of factories, emergence of new types of transportation and the utilization of steel. Contrary to traditional modes of working, which were slow and cumbersome, technology hastened the manner in which people did their work. As a result, companies experienced immense growth in their production, hence economic growth.

Technology has also impacted the politics of the day. Gone are the days when local politicians knocked on people’s doors to introduce themselves. Politicians on every level can now reach the electorate in their living rooms through the television. On the other hand, voters have the ability of participating actively in politics by sharing and exchanging their views and opinions through social networking sites such as Tweeter. It has been revealed that over 40 percent of American adults used the internet to get political news by spring of 2008 (Rapier, 2009). In cultural realms, experts contend that technology has been influential in the breaking down of cultural distinctive (Stewart, 2008). This can be attributed to the fact that people’s cultural identities have been sustained and supported by technology.

It can be seen that the industrial revolution, which was driven by technology, was a period of dramatic innovation and dynamic change in the history of humanity. During this era, which lasted for almost a century, new methods that forever changed the methods of producing were introduced. The advent of mass production of goods, development of factories, new forms of communication and transport and the utilization of steel had a profound impact on how and where people lived.