Reflection on Technology Matters: Questions to Live With by David E. Nye

In Technology Matters: Questions to Live With, David Nye discusses ten questions about technology that he considers to be unanswerable.  He devotes an entire chapter to each question simply trying to get people thinking knowing there is neither one answer nor the right answer.  Nye first asks about the definition of technology and gradually increases the depth of his questions to how technology socially, politically, economically, and culturally affects our society. 

Nye wants people to think about technology differently; he accomplished that immediately with me.  From the moment I opened the book, I had already started questioning my own thoughts of technology.  Nye discusses Jane Goodall’s work with chimpanzees (p. 1).  He considers the twig the chimpanzee used to extract termites from a hill, so he could eat to be a tool or intentional use of an object therefore, making it technology.  This was the first time I had ever thought of anything other than an electronic device.  It opened my eyes to the idea that just about anything newly created can be considered technology.  At first, it was a very strange concept, but I am now willing to think about it more objectively. 

Nye states technologies are for social evolution and not necessity (p. 2).  He discusses humans enjoying the act of finding new uses for things.  I would have to agree with him on this.  I have never thought of technologies, or electronics, to be necessities in life.  They just become so accessible and commonly used that they feel like necessities eventually.  Even as I think of any new creation (not electronic) that makes our lives easier, quicker, or simpler, I believe these to ultimately feel like necessity.  I am now torn though because I think some of these “things” do become necessities (maybe not in the truest sense) in the way most of us live today.  For example, the microwave is something some feel they cannot live without while others rarely, if ever, use it.  It has become a main source for cooking in some homes.  I guess this was Nye’s intent with these questions.

On pages 185 and 186, Nye asks if technology is expanding our knowledge of the world, or if it is putting us into sensory overload.  He has reasons to support each.  In my opinion, yes, we learn more from new inventions, such as how to find information or answers instantly with the internet.  And yes, we also go into sensory overload because we feel like we need to be multi-tasking with almost all we do today.  For example, we can watch television while working on our iPad and talk to people in the same room all at the same time.  I think so many technologies are now mobile making it too easy to use while trying to do other tasks.  It also makes it seem like the only option.  These new readily-available technologies are “mind toys” making us think we can do several mental tasks at once; whereas, if these technologies were “physical toys,” would we believe the same?  Would we feel like we need to eat while driving a high-tech ATV as it goes through the roughest terrain?  It makes me wonder.  There are definite advantages to being able to multi-task, but there are also some definite disadvantages.  I love being able to do work on my computer while being around my family, but I also know it can put me into a frenzy when I cannot concentrate when full focus is needed.  This also makes me think about students with ADHD or ADD.  Is all the multi-tasking making us feel like we need to be doing more than one thing at a time?  And if we can’t, are we now at a disadvantage?  If we need to be multi-tasking, are we teaching in a way students are able to multi-task?  Or are we still teaching with the students expected to do one thing at a time and then wondering why they seem squirrely?  This question of Nye’s leaves me wondering a lot.

How does technology matter?  Socially, technology has gone from people only communicating face-to-face to using telephones in order to connect to neighbors to using computers to connect to people around the world.  As Nye shows through his discussion of how the Amish prefer face-to-face communication rather than e-mail, technology also differs culturally (p. 210).  Economically, people need to consider what it takes to create and sustain these “toys,” but is it always considered?  Again, it makes me wonder.  I know there are many recycling programs available, but are they accessible enough to the people using these new technologies?  When an iPod breaks, does it sit around a house, get tossed in the garbage and eventually into a landfill, or go to a recycling program to reuse as many parts as possible? 

The United States seems to be a culture that wants to be “ahead of the game” in every aspect.  I think we use new technologies every chance we can to advance ourselves.  We have safety and communication tools for our soldiers to use when they are overseas, such as Skype for staying connected to family and friends back home.  We have Facebook for individuals and groups to keep people informed on personal issues as well as business news.  We thrive on the “new and upcoming” gadgets.  We, as a society and culture, want the newest, latest, and greatest.  We feel it will keep us ahead of all others. 

Now, knowing that technology can benefit and hinder us, how will that affect the use of it in my classroom?  I know that the students want these fabulous “new” gadgets to use in the class.  It is my job to find the value and educational uses rather than simply allowing them to enter the room because I think the students will benefit from them.  I don’t want the “toys” to be a hindrance simply because I don’t know the best use for them.  I know my students thrive on the newest, so I will need to do what I can to learn about them as well as learn how to use them.  For example, I have iPads to use with my ELL students.  I want to maximize their learning with these “new toys” whether it be with games to extend their learning, the camera for taking pictures to use for projects, or an app for translating.  I need to find the ways to make the most of their learning rather than distract them from learning.

Reference: 

Nye, D. E. (2007). Technology matters:  Questions to live with. Cambridge, MA:  MIT Press.