answer 8 questions
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What is Technology?
Technology is the process by which humans modify nature to meet their needs and wants. Most people, however, think of technology in terms of its artifacts: computers and software, aircraft, pesticides,
water-treatment plants, birth-control pills, and microwave ovens, to name a few. But technology is
more than these tangible products.
Technology includes all of the infrastructure necessary for the design, manufacture, operation, and repair of technological artifacts, from corporate headquarters and engineering schools to manufacturing plants
and maintenance facilities. The knowledge and processes used to create and to operate
technological artifacts, such as; engineering know-how, manufacturing expertise, and various
technical skills, are equally important part of technology.
Technology is a product of engineering and science, the study of the natural world. Science has
two parts: (1) a body of knowledge that has been accumulated over time and (2) a process-scientific inquiry-that generates knowledge about the natural world. Engineering, too, consists of a body of knowledge-in this case knowledge of the design and creation of human-made products-and a process for
solving problems. Science aims to understand the "why" and "how" of nature, engineering
seeks to shape the natural world to meet human needs and wants. Engineering, therefore, could be called "design under constraint," with science-the laws of nature-being one of a number of limiting factors engineers must take into account. Other constraints include cost, reliability, safety, environmental impact, ease of use, available human and material resources, manufacturability, government regulations, laws, and even politics. In short, technology necessarily involves science and engineering.
The Nature of Technology
The nature of technology has changed dramatically in the past hundred years. Indeed, the very idea of technology as we now conceive it is relatively new.
For most of human history, technology was mainly the province of craftsmen who passed their
know-how down from generation to generation, gradually improving designs, and adding new
techniques and materials. By the beginning of the twentieth century, technology had become a large- scale enterprise that depended on large stores of knowledge and know-how, too much for any one
person to master. Large organizations were now required for the development, manufacture, and operation of new technologies. Complex networks of interdependent technologies were developed, such as the suite of technologies for the automobile. These include gas and oil refineries, filling stations and repair shops, tire manufacturers, automobile assembly plants, the highway system,
and many more. The government began to play a larger role in shaping technology through
technological policies and regulations.
The meaning of the word "technology" evolved to reflect these changes. In the nineteenth century, technology referred simply to the practical arts used to create physical products, everything from wagon wheels and cotton cloth to telephones and steam engines. In the twentieth century, the meaning of the word was expanded to include everything involved in satisfying human material needs and wants, from factories and the organizations that operate them to scientific knowledge, engineering know-how, and
technological products themselves.
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As the nature of technology changed, its meaning became more vague, leaving room for
misconceptions that sometimes led to questionable conclusions.
Technology as Applied Science Because science has been central to the development of new technologies and the improvement of
existing ones, many people believe that technology is merely the application of science. However, it
takes much more than applied science to create or improve technology. Technology is a
product and a process involving both science and engineering.
Yet in public discourse, innovations and events that have a significant technological component are often described as science. Take the building and launching of the Hubble Space Telescope. Although its purpose is scientific-to gather data about the universe and its origins-the telescope itself is the product of science and engineering. Similarly, the development of new drugs is often misidentified solely as science. Obviously, a great deal of scientific research underlies the development of a new drug, but that research is put to work toward a technological end. Even in the computer industry, the first thing that comes to many people's minds when they think of technology, cramming more transistors onto a chip or more memory onto a magnetic disk is a technological, rather than a scientific, advance.
It is not surprising that many people attribute technological advances exclusively to science. Science and
technology are closely related. But the confusion is significant because it indicates that many
people do not appreciate the combined role of science, engineering, and technology in shaping
modern life. A sense of this complementary relationship is crucial to many policy decisions, for example, how public research dollars should be allocated.
Technological Determinism Some believe that technological change is somehow disconnected from human influence. Technology seems to appear "out of the blue" with little if any input from its intended users. Technology has a dramatic, direct, one-way effect on our lives. In other words, technology affects society, but society does
not affect technology. This idea, sometimes called technological determinism, suggests that
technology follows its own course independent of human direction.
Technological determinism is based on a misperception of the central role people play in the
design and uses of technology. Members of Congress, company CEOs and the scientists and
engineers who work for them. and the consuming public all have a say in what technology
should do, what it is capable of doing, and what it actually does. Technology mirrors our
values, as well as our flaws.
If we perceive technology through the lens of technological determinism, we cannot weigh the
risks or costs associated with a technology or its benefits. Certain technologies are used in ways that some people find objectionable or that result in unintended and sometimes undesirable consequences. And almost always, technologies are more advantageous for some people, animals, plants, generations, or purposes, than others. If one views technology as being outside human control,
these considerations may never come up.
Thoughtful consideration of the technological advantages and disadvantages is extremely
important, therefore, before a technology is developed. At the same time, we must recognize
that perfectly sensible uses of a technology can sometimes have undesirable consequences and
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that these may not show up for decades or even longer. We may decide, therefore, that not every possible technological advance-human cloning, for example-should be pursued. Or, conversely, we may decide a technology should be developed for the greater good, even though a vocal minority opposes it. In either case, the decision is ours!
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Defining Technological Literacy
One useful way to think about technological literacy is as a component of the more general, or "cultural," literacy popularized by educational theorist E.D. Hirsch, Jr. Hirsch pointed out that literate people in every society and every culture share a body of knowledge that enables them to communicate with each other and make sense of the world around them. The kinds of things a literate person knows will vary from society to society and from era to era; so there is no absolute definition of literacy. In the early twenty-first
century, however, cultural literacy must have a large technological component.
Technological literacy is a much richer concept than computer literacy, although the two are
often confused. Technological literacy can be thought of a comprising three interrelated
dimensions that help describe the characteristics of a technologically literate person.
Dimensions of Technological Literacy
Technological literacy encompasses three
interdependent dimensions: (1) knowledge; (2) ways of
thinking and acting; and (3) capabilities. These
dimensions can be placed along a continuum-from low
to high, poorly developed to well developed, limited to
extensive.
Every individual has a unique combination of knowledge, ways
of thinking and acting, and capabilities that will change over
time with education and life experience. The characteristics of
a technologically literate person can be described along these
dimensions.
Different job and life circumstances require different levels and types of literacy. For example, a
state legislator involved in a debate about the merits of constructing new power plants to meet future
electricity demand ought to understand at a fairly sophisticated level the technological concepts of trade-
offs, constraints, and systems. He or she must also understand enough details about power generation to
sort through conflicting claims by utility companies, environmental lobbyists, and other stakeholder
groups. The average consumer pondering the purchase of a new digital television may be well served by
a more basic understanding of the technology - for example, the differences between digital and analog
signals - and a smaller set of critical thinking skills.
In practice, it is impossible to separate the dimensions from one another. It is hard to imagine a
person with technological capability who does not also know something about the workings of technology,
or a person who can think critically about a technological issue who does not also have some knowledge
of technology and science. So, although the three-dimensional framework about technological literacy
can be helpful in thinking and talking, it is important to remember these dimensions are arbitrary divisions.
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Characteristics of a Technologically Literate Person
A technologically literate person has knowledge of technology and is capable of using it effectively to
accomplish various tasks. He or she can think critically about technological issues and acts accordingly.
Technological literacy can be visualized in three dimensions.
A technologically literate person:
Knowledge
1. Recognizes the pervasiveness of technology in everyday life.
2. Understands basic engineering concepts and terms, such as systems, constraints, and trade-
offs.
3. Is familiar with the nature and limitations of the engineering design process.
4. Knows some of the ways technology shapes human history and people shape technology.
5. Knows that all technologies entail risk, some that can be anticipated and some that cannot.
6. Appreciates that the development and use of technology involve trade-offs and a balance of
costs and benefits.
7. Understands that technology reflects the values and culture of society.
Ways of Thinking and Acting
1. Asks pertinent questions, of self and others, regarding the benefits and risks of technologies.
2. Seeks information about new technologies.
3. Participates, when appropriate, in decisions about the development and use of technology.
Capabilities
1. Has a range of hands-on skills, such as using a computer for word processing and surfing the
Internet and operating a variety of home and office appliances.
2. Can identify and fix simple mechanical or technological problems at home or work.
3. Can apply basic mathematical concepts related to probability, scale, and estimation to make
informed judgments about technological risks and benefits.
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Knowledge
1. Pervasiveness of Technology
Technology is so woven into the fabric of modern life that it has become all but invisible.
People look at it without seeing it. But try this thought experiment. Take a large city, and
remove everything provided by technology. What is left?
The buildings are gone, along with their electrical, plumbing, and ventilation systems, phone
lines and phones, computers, televisions, furniture, appliances, and every other manufactured
product.
All food is gone and all water, except the puddles still standing from last night's rain. The air is
still there, but it is noticeably fresher without the gasoline and diesel exhaust, fumes from paints,
cleaners, and other volatile liquids, and all particulate matter produced by industrial activity.
Cars and trucks, buses and trains, bicycles and baby carriages are gone. Roads, bridges, tunnels,
airports, and other components of our transportation infrastructure--gone. The grass, as natural as
it seems, has been grown from seed or sod produced on grass farms, so it too is gone. The weeds
remain, but most of the trees, bushes, and flowers, which were raised in nurseries and
transplanted, are gone.
Dogs and cats, bred over millennia for specialized traits--gone. The rats and pigeons, which have
also been shaped by human activity, but in this case inadvertently, remain, along with insects,
squirrels, and other creatures that live alongside humans but are not bred by humans.
Shoes and clothing are gone. So are briefcases, purses, wallets, watches, glasses, contact lenses,
hearing aids, wheelchairs, prosthetic devices, heart valves, pacemakers, artificial joints, and all
drugs and medicines, both legal and illegal. Any semblance of a health care system--from
physicians and nurses to hospitals and ambulances--vanishes.
In fact, if it were not for medical technology, many people would also be gone. And of the
remaining, few, not many, would survive for more than a few weeks without the products of
human innovation.
2. Technology and Basic Engineering Concepts
A technologically literate person should be familiar with basic concepts important to
technology. When engineers speak of a system, for instance, they mean components that work
together to provide a desired function. Systems appear everywhere in technology, from a simple
system, such as the half-dozen components in a click-and-write ballpoint pen, to complex
systems with millions of components, assembled in hundreds of subsystems, such as commercial
jetliners. Systems can also be scattered geographically, such as the roads, bridges, tunnels,
signage, fueling stations, automobiles, and equipment that comprise, support, use, and help
maintain our network of highways.
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3. Technology and Engineering Design
Technologically literate people should also know something about the engineering design
process. The goal of technological design is to meet certain criteria within various constraints,
such as time deadlines, financial limits, or the need to avoid damaging the environment.
Technologically literate people recognize that there is no such thing as a perfect design. All
final designs inevitably involve trade-offs. Even if a design meets its stated criteria, there is no
guarantee that the resulting technology will actually achieve the desired outcome because
unexpected - often undesirable - consequences sometimes occur alongside intended ones. These
include obvious things, such as the annoyance we all experience from mistakenly activated car
alarms, to more serious things, such as repetitive-motion syndrome from heavy use of computer
keyboards.
4. Technology Shaped By and Shaping Society
A technologically literate person recognizes that technology influences changes in society and
has done so throughout history. In fact, many historical eras are identified by their dominant
technology: Stone Age, Iron Age, Bronze Age, Industrial Age, Information Age. Technology-
driven changes have been particularly evident in the past century. Automobiles have created a
more mobile, spread-out society; aircraft and improved communications have led to a "smaller"
world and, eventually, globalization; contraception has revolutionized sexual mores; and
improved sanitation, agriculture, and medicine have extended life expectancy. A technologically
literate person recognizes the rate of technology in these changes and accepts the reality that
the future will be different from the present largely because of technologies now coming into
existence, from Internet-based activities to genetic engineering and cloning.
The technologically literate person also recognizes that society shapes technology as much as
technology shapes society. There is nothing inevitable about the changes influenced by
technology--they are the result of human decisions and not of impersonal historical forces. New
technologies must meet the requirements of consumers, business people, bankers, judges,
environmentalists, politicians, and government bureaucrats. An electric car that no one buys
might just as well never have been developed. A genetically engineered crop that is banned by
the government is of little more use than the weeds in the fields. In short, many factors shape
technology, and human beings, acting alone or in groups, determine the direction of
technological development.
5. Technology and Risk
Technologically literate people realize that the use of any technology entails risk. Some risks
are obvious and well documented, such as the tens of thousands of deaths each year in the United
States from automobile crashes. Others are more insidious and difficult to predict, such as the
growth of algae in lakes and other bodies of water caused by the runoff of fertilizer from farms.
The risks of any technology must be weighed again its benefits.
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Technologically literate people will recognize that sometimes there are risks to not using a technology. For example, consider the use of the pesticide DDT, a chemical technology for pest
control. Because of DDT’s effectiveness against mosquitoes, it is one of the most potent
antimalaria weapons. In the 1970s, the use of DDT was banned in the United States and many
other western nations, where there is no malaria to speak of, because of concerns about its effect
on the environment. Farmers and others use other, less environmentally questionable chemicals
that were in use at the time or that have been developed since to control insect pests. But the
withdrawal of the chemical from malaria-endemic regions of the world has had serious
consequences. In the East African island nation of Madagascar, for example, the use of DDT was
halted in 1986 after many years of successful control of malaria. By 1988, the incidence of the
disease had increased dramatically, resulting in 100,000 deaths. When spraying with DDT was
reinstituted, the incidence of malaria dropped by more than 90 percent in just two years. In 2001,
the United Nations recognized the importance of DDT to public health in a treaty banning a
number of persistent organic pollutants.
6. Technology's Costs, Benefits, and Trade-Offs
Technologically literate people will understand that all technologies, not just the obviously
risky ones, have benefits and costs that must be weighed against one another. They will also
understand the related idea of trade-offs, that for every advantage gained some other benefit is
reduced or some risk is enhanced. A new refining process may produce fewer waste products
but may be more expensive than the old process. A new software program may have more
features but may be more prone to failure than the old one and may also require learning a new
system. Preservatives extend the shelf-life and improve the safety of our food but also cause
allergic reactions in a small percentage of individuals.
7. Technology, Values, and Culture
Every technology reflects the values and culture of society. The popularity of cell phones in the
United States, for instance, is driven partly by the desire for the freedom to communicate at any
time from virtually any location. Our culture's historic emphasis on individuality and
independence has similarly encouraged the use of private automobiles for transportation.
Technology is also influenced by the values and cultures of society, although this effect is often
less straightforward. Technology development sometimes favors the values of certain groups
more than others, for example the values of men more than those of women, which might explain
why the initial designs of car air bags were not appropriate to the smaller stature of most women.
Technologically literate people appreciate that technologies are neither good nor evil, despite
our tendency to invest them with these qualities. The availability of handguns, for example, is
an issue fraught with sociological, legal, public health, and economic considerations. Some
people favor easy availability based on a need for self-defense, others favor limiting availability
because of accidental deaths caused by handguns. In either case, weapons technology is not at
fault.
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Ways of Thinking and Acting
1. Asking Questions About Technology
Once a person has a basic understanding of technology, he or she can educate himself or herself
about particular technological issues. Technologically literate people will know how to extract
the most important points from a newspaper story or a television interview or discussion, ask
relevant questions, and make sense of the answers.
What are the short-term and long-term risks of developing or using the technology?
What are the costs of not developing or using the technology?
Who will have access to the technology?
Who will control it?
Who will benefit and who will lose by the technology?
What will the impact of the technology be on me, my family, and my community?
2. Seeking Information About New Technologies
A technologically literate person actively seeks out information about technology. In the
consumer realm, for example, the technologically literate citizen might surf the Internet or visit a
library to learn enough about the key technical aspects of a particular technology to make an
informed comparisons among similar products. Similarly, before taking a position on a local or
national issue involving the use or development of technology, the technologically literate person
might attend community meetings or public hearings and make a concerted effort to follow the
public debate by reading newspapers and magazine and watching relevant television
programming.
3. Participating in Decisions About Technology
A technologically literate person will be able to participate responsibly in debates or
discussions about technological matters. When necessary, he or she will be able to take part in a
public forum, communicate with city council members or members of Congress, and in other
ways make his or her opinion heard on issues involving technology. Technological literacy does
not specify a person’s opinion. Literate citizens can and do hold quite different opinions
depending upon the question at hand and their own values and judgment. A technologically
literate individual will be able to envision how technology--in conjunction with, for example,
the law or the marketplace--might help solve a problem.
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Capabilities
1. Hands-On Skills
A technologically literate individual should also have some hands-on capabilities with
common, everyday technologies. At home and in the workplace, there are real benefits of
knowing how to diagnose and even fix certain types of problems such as resetting a tripped
circuit breaker, replacing the battery in a smoke detector, or unjamming a food disposal unit.
These tasks are not particularly difficult, but they require some basic knowledge and - in some
cases - familiarity with simple hand tools. The same can be said for knowing how to remove and
change a flat tire or hook up a new computer or phone. In addition, a level of comfort with
personal computers and the software they use, and being able to surf the Internet, are essential to
technological literacy.
Importantly, technological literacy does not require a level of competency using, repairing, or
designing technology that is normally associated with technicians, technologists, and
engineers.
2. Fixing Simple Technological Problems
Technological literacy is not the same as technical competency. Technically trained people
have a high level of knowledge and skill related to one or more specific technologies or technical
areas. For instance, we expect people who repair appliances to be able to diagnose and fix
mechanical or electrical problems in stoves, refrigerators, and dishwashers. A technician
operating a computer numerically controlled milling machine must be knowledgeable about the
technical aspects of the milling machine, as well as how the mill’s operation fits into the larger
manufacturing process. Civil engineers must have a detailed understanding of the behavior of
structures and materials under load; mechanical engineers must have an in-depth understanding
of mechanical systems and their applications; electrical engineers must be able to design and
analyze electrical circuits. All of these jobs and many others require technically competent
people—people with technical proficiency in a certain technological area, although not generally
in other areas of technology.
Specialized technical skills do not guarantee technological literacy. Workers who know every
operational detail of an air conditioner or who can troubleshoot a software glitch in a personal
computer may not have a sense of the risks, benefits, and trade-offs associated with technological
developments generally and may be poorly prepared to make choices about other technologies
that affect their lives. For example, they might not be well prepared to decide if a car powered by
a gas-electric hybrid engine is a good investment, and if it would be better for the environment
than a traditionally powered car
Even engineers, who have traditionally been considered experts in technology, may not have
the training or experience necessary to think about the social, political, and ethical
implications of their work and so may not be technologically literate. The broad perspective on
technology implied by technological literacy would be as valuable to engineers and other
technical specialists as to people with no direct involvement in the development or production
of technology.
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3. Technology and Mathematical Concepts
The ability to use quantitative reasoning skills, especially skills related to probability, scale,
and estimation, is critical to making informed judgments about technological risk. For
example, based on the number of fatalities per mile traveled, a technologically literate person can
make a reasonable judgment about whether it is riskier to fly on a commercial airliner or drive a
car from St. Louis to New York.
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Benefits of Technological Literacy
In a world permeated by technology, an individual can function more effectively if he or she is
familiar with and has a basic understanding of technology. A higher level of technological
literacy in the United States would have a number of benefits, for individuals and for the society
as a whole.
Improving Decision Making
Supporting a Modern Workforce
Enhancing Social Well-Being
Narrowing the Digital Divide
Improving Decision Making
Technological literacy prepares individuals to make well-informed choices in their role as
consumers. The world is full of products and services that promise to make people's lives easier,
more enjoyable, more efficient, or healthier, and more and more of these products appear every
year. A technologically literate person cannot know how each new technology works, its
advantages and disadvantages, how to operate it, and so on, but he or she can learn enough about
a product to put it to good use or to choose not to use it.
Americans are not only consumers; they are also workers, members of families and
communities, and citizens of a large, complex democracy. In all of these spheres, they face
personal decisions that involve the development or use of technology. Is a local referendum on
issuing bonds for the construction of a new power plant a wise use of taxpayer dollars? Does a
plan to locate a new waste incinerator within several miles of one's home pose serious health
risks, as opponents of the initiative may claim? How should one react to efforts by local
government to place surveillance cameras in high-crime areas of the city? Technologically
literate people will be much better able to address these and many other technology-related
questions.
Decision making is not only personal. Leaders in a variety of sectors, including business,
government, and the media, make decisions daily that affect what others -- sometimes
thousands or even millions of people -- think and do. These individuals in particular will benefit
from a considerable understanding of the nature of technology, and an awareness that all
technologies involve trade-offs and may result in unintended consequences. With a higher level
of technological literacy in the nation as a whole, people in positions of power will be more
likely to manage technological developments in a way that maximizes the benefits to
humankind and minimizes the negative impacts. Of course, there is no hard-and-fast line
between purely personal concerns and business interests, the needs of states, and the needs of the
nation. In most cases the personal interests of everyday Americans do influence decisions by
policy makers and company CEOs.
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Supporting a Modern Workforce
One of the obvious benefits of technological literacy is in the economic realm. Technology,
particularly in the high-tech sector, has been driving much of the economic growth in the
United States and elsewhere, and an increasing percentage of jobs require technological skills. Although technological literacy and technical competency are not the same thing, they are
related. Increasing the overall level of technological literacy would almost certainly improve the
climate for technology-driven economic growth. A technologically literate population would, for
example, understand that science and technology are the foundation of our economic strength
and would be more likely to support the research, education, and economic policies that would
support that foundation. Conversely, technologically literate citizens would be less likely to
support policies that would undermine the technological basis of the economy.
Improving technological literacy would also help to prepare individuals for jobs in our
technology-driven economy, thus strengthening the economy. Technologically literate workers
are more likely than those lacking such literacy to have a broad range of knowledge and
abilities, such as the critical skills identified by the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving
Necessary Skills (SCANS).
The study of technology involves evaluating how others have successfully solved problems and
provides experience in hands-on problem solving; hence, technologically literate workers are
likely to be able to identify and solve problems. They are also more likely to put things in a
broad context, because the study of technology emphasizes systems thinking. They are more
likely to be comfortable with complex interrelationships, which are common in technological
systems. And they may be able to troubleshoot problems with equipment when necessary
because they have learned how to ask the necessary questions to understand why a technology
works -- or why it isn’t working.
Technology is everywhere in the business world. Doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel
depend on a growing number of medical devices for examination, diagnosis, and treatment.
Teachers are bombarded with new tools for preparing and delivering lessons, researching new
teaching techniques, and enabling students to learn outside the traditional setting. Farmers use
the Global Positioning System to keep track of the condition of their crops and must decide
whether or not to plant genetically modified seeds. Self-employed workers must set up home
offices and purchase and operate their own office technology. Technologically literate people
will tend to be more comfortable dealing with technologies that their jobs demand and will
find it easier to master new technologies as they come along.
The military is also becoming increasingly dependent on technology. The nation’s 1.4 million
soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines must be able to operate and manage technically complex
weaponry, transportation systems, and communications systems. The effectiveness of U.S.
fighting forces depends largely on how well they do their jobs. Their performance, in turn,
depends not only on their knowledge of the specific systems but also on their problem-solving,
critical-thinking, and teamwork skills. Improving the overall technological literacy of the
population will make it easier for the military to find men and women who can serve
effectively.
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Employers in all sectors are demanding workers with a mix of factual and conceptual
knowledge, critical thinking skills, and procedural knowledge. In this climate, technologically
literate workers may have a competitive advantage in the job market and may be more likely to
land better paying, more interesting jobs. For similar reasons, technological literacy can help
narrow the growing wage gap -- and related shortage of skills -- between salaried workers with
higher educations and hourly workers without it.
At the moment, the United States does not produce enough technically skilled workers to
support certain sectors of its high-tech economy. Therefore, we must depend on workers
brought in from other countries. A campaign for technological literacy could lessen our
dependence on foreign workers by encouraging young students to pursue scientific or technical
careers. Boosting the awareness of the importance of technology in the general population
may increase the esteem and respect accorded to jobs in the technology sector, which would
also encourage more students to pursue careers in science and engineering.
Enhancing Social Well-Being
Technology is changing so rapidly that people who are not prepared to deal with it can quickly
find themselves falling behind. Losing touch in this way can leave people with a sense that
they have somehow lost control of their lives, that the world is moving on without them.
For much of human history, changes in technology, were not a problem because changes
occurred slowly enough that people had plenty of time to adapt and get used to them. But eras of
rapid change-the Industrial Revolution in England, for example, or the United States in the late
1800s and early 1900s-have tested the limits of human adaptability. In times of rapid change,
many people struggle to adjust to a world that is suddenly quite different from the one they
have known.
Even for people who can cope with specific how-tos of modern life, living in a highly
technological world can be alienating. This idea has been studied by sociologists and historians
and explored in the popular media, including books, movies, and television programs.
In the next few decades, people's abilities to adjust to new ways of doing things will be tested
far more than they have ever been tested before. The more adaptable people-those who are
invigorated, or at least not threatened, by the new and the unfamiliar -- will do well. But many
people will find that their sense of well-being and their quality of life are diminished rather
than enhanced by new and improved technologies. They will wish that the world were not
moving quite as quickly toward the future.
Technological literacy can provide a tool for dealing with rapid changes. A technologically
literate person will find it easier to understand and assimilate new technologies and so will be
less likely to be left behind. Equally important, technologically literate people will have a high
enough comfort level with and broad comprehension of technology to put the changes in context
and accept them even if they do not fully understand them. Technological literacy, along with
many other types of literacy, can empower people by giving them the tools to make sense of
their world, even as it changes around them.
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Narrowing the Digital Divide
Most people who have access to the Internet, either at work or at home, and those most likely
to know how to take advantage of its resources are more affluent, better educated, urban, and
are not members of ethnic or racial minorities. Federal data from 2000 show that this "digital
divide" has been decreasing as Internet usage among most groups of Americans continues to
increase.
Although blacks and Hispanics have made significant gains in Internet access, large gaps still
remain for these groups when measured against the national average, and these gaps appear to be
growing. Large gaps in the ownership of computers between these two groups and the national
average of ownership have not narrowed since the last government survey.
Access to a personal computer is the single most important factor in whether or not a person uses
the Internet. Not surprisingly, people in higher socioeconomic brackets are far more likely than
those in lower brackets to have personal computers at home or have access to them at work. In
addition, people with higher levels of education were more likely to use the Internet, regardless
of their income level.
A number of remedies have been suggested for closing the digital divide. Most focus on
providing universal access to the Internet so that everyone can get online regardless of income
level or job status. Equally important will be improving technological literacy because the
better people understand the Internet and its value or are comfortable with technology, the
more likely they will be to make the effort to learn to use it.
A Technological Divide
A similar situation exists for technology in general. All technology, not just computers and the
Internet, empowers those who own it and understand it and puts those who don't at a
disadvantage. Thus, the nation's poor and minorities are hurt much more by the overall lack
of technological literacy; they find it more difficult to overcome their lack of preparation and
participate effectively in an increasingly technological world.
If overall technological literacy is not improved, particularly among the technological have-
nots, we can expect to see the growth of a "technological divide" more pervasive than today's
digital divide. Interesting, well-paying jobs that require a technological understanding and
skills will go mostly to well-educated upper- and middle-class Americans and foreign
nationals, while the American underclass continues to be stuck in low-wage, low-skill jobs. On
a deeper level, the needs and views of this underclass will, for the most part, not be taken into
account by those responsible for developing and setting policy about technology. Thus, new
technologies and new applications of existing technologies will be largely irrelevant to this
group, who will fall further and further outside the mainstream.