How is Technology Changing the Workplace and
Society?
Lesson Objectives
• Describe the impact of technology on
education.
• Describe the impact of technology on
science and medicine.
• Describe the impact of technology on work
and play.
Technological Changes
• Home
• School
• Workplace
Education
Factors affecting education are:
1. Internet
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2.
3.
4.
5.
Classrooms
Library
Web Quests
Online tests
Distance Learning
Computer-Based Learning
Simulations
Web Quests
• Definition: uses the Internet for
investigation and problem solving
• Created by Bernie Dodge at San Diego
State University.
• Check out this link:
– www.macomb.k12.dmis.us/wq/webqindx.htm
Distance Learning
• Definition: using technology, the Internet, as a medium for schooling
or learning
• Department of Education supports Star Schools Program
– Provides distance learning to millions of learners annually.
– Florida High School Online
• Any high school student who is a resident in Florida can attend
• Certified diploma-granting school
• Programs that provide guidance and testing for online courses
– WebCt
– Blackboard
Computer Based Learning
• Also known as Computer Assisted Instruction
(CAI)
• Definition: using a computer as a tutor.
• A special computer program used to help to
reinforce a difficult concept.
• Advantage: provides the opportunity to master
the idea by reviewing as many times as
necessary
Simulations
• Definition: models real-world activities and you learn by doing
• Examples
– Stock Market Game
• By playing the game you learn about finance and the American
economic system
• Go to www.smgww.org
– Rocket Simulation
• allows you to design any size rocket, and then you can simulate its
flight to see how high, and how fast it will fly.
– SimCity
• Great to enhance problem-solving skills. It allows the user to create
a city, including highways, buildings, homes, and so forth.
• Go to www.simcity.com
Scientific Discovery and
Technological Innovations
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)- processes information on
its own without human intervention.
• Examples:
– Games playing – where most advances have been made
– Natural Language – offers the greatest potential rewards by
allowing people to interact easily with computers by talking
to them
– Expert systems – computer programs that help us make
decision. May help your parents determine the best type of
insurance for their particular needs
– Robotics – used in assembly plants, such as for cars. The
newest type is called a bot which is used by search engines.
Scientific Discovery (cont’d)
• Genetic Engineering – refers to DNA in a living organism
• Benefits
– Increasing resistance to disease
– Enabling a plant or animal to do something it would not
typically do
– Enabling a fruit to ripen without getting squashy
• One of the most widely known projects is: Human
Genome Project coordinated by Department of Energy
and National Institute of Health
– Goal is to identify all of the approximately 100,000 genes in
human DNA
– Store and analyze the data
– Address the ethical, legal, and social issues
Scientific Discovery (cont’d)
• Virtual Reality – an artificial environment that
feels like a real environment created with
computer hardware and software.
– There is more of a feeling of being in the actual
environment using all or almost all of the 5 senses
– The user is immersed through some head-mounted
device (helmet).
– Used in education, training, medicine, research, and
other areas
Work and Play
Global Economy
• Banking, finance, commerce (printed money is on its way
to becoming obsolete)
– Affects the way information and money is transmitted
• Electronic commerce: having an online business
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Buy
Sell
Internet speed will increase because of cable modems and DSL
Digital cash
• Definition: allows someone to pay by transmitting a
number from one computer to another.
• Numbers are issued by a bank.
• Each number is unique
E-Commerce
Disadvantages:
– SPAM
– Junk mail sent to your email address
Advantages:
– New Jobs
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Webmasters
Programmers
Network managers
Graphics Designers
Web Developers
Personal Lives
– 21st century home becomes the center for work,
entertainment, learning and health care
• Technological advances that affect our personal
lives:
– Clothes that fight odor and bacteria
– Flying car
• SkyCar is able to operate in a less restrictive area than a
helicopter and is less expensive and safer.
– Voice recognition will allow us to talk to computers or
computer-like devices and they will respond.
– Nonlethal weapons - HSV Technologies Inc., of San
Diego, California developed a non-lethal weapon in
2000 that uses ultraviolet laser beams to harmlessly
immobilize people and animals at a distance
Personal Lives
• Technological advances (cont’d)
• Space travel
– Companies developing a fleet of space commercial
vehicles to provide public space travel
• smart shoes and seats – a technology called
expansive polymer gel uses a micro voltage to
expand or contract the gel to evenly distribute heat
and weight
• Smart houses
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Keeps a house comfortable
Monitors electricity being used
Helps plan and prepare healthy meals
Monitors devices and schedules maintenance
• Online shopping
– No longer having to fight crowds and search for
parking spaces
Summary
• Many people predict that technology will change the
entire structure of education.
• Technology is having a tremendous impact on education.
• The Internet and the World Wide Web are the biggest
factors affecting education today.
• Online courses through the Internet are becoming very
popular.
• Many schools use computer-based learning to reinforce
concepts.
• Simulations are models of real-world activities.
Summary (cont’d)
• Information is continuing to increase faster than
we can process it.
• Some people predict an anti-technology
backlash.
• Artificial intelligence is software that can process
information on its own without human
intervention.
• Genetic engineering refers to changing the DNA
in a living organism.
Summary (cont’d)
• Virtual reality is an artificial environment that feels like a real
environment and is used in education, training, medicine, research,
and other areas.
• In the new global economy, knowledge is the greatest asset.
• Electronic commerce is the buying and selling of goods andservices
using the Internet and is predicted to grow at an ever-increasing rate.
• Digital cash allows someone to pay online by transmitting a number
from one computer to another.
• New jobs and new job categories are being developed because of
the Internet and electronic commerce.
Summary (conclusion)
• In the 21st century, many people will work
from their homes.
• Some technological advances are clothes
that fight odors, flying cars, voice
recognition, nonlethal weapons, space
travel, smart shoes, and smart seats, smart
houses, and electronic shopping.