What is technology?

    On pondering 'what is technology' a common instinctual association is with the digital realm, even though technology spans the existence of humanity and digital technology is but a fragment of the human experience. Regardless of how we understand its' definition, our usage of and reliance on the tools designed to aid in our interactions with our worlds remains at the heart of our relationship with the world around us. In this sense, contemporary technology has not swayed much from it's origins, in that it continues to represent the tools designed and used by humanity to aid in day to day tasks. It just so happens that many of the tools designed and used over time are now accessible through a singular device: the smartphone.

     I remember well the introduction of the World Wide Web during my grade 12 year. Honestly, the piercing sound of the dial-up connection as my family desk top computer gained access to this new phenomenon actually creeped me out at the time. I come from a generation of kids that played in the streets until dark, didn't where bike helmets, and used rotary land lines to call up friends, and so there is a large part of my value system which is still greatly influenced by the reality that shaped me. As a result, I believe that kids nowadays (including my own) spend far to much time on devices and that developing a healthy media balance is beyond their scope of understanding, partially because we as adults don't even have a handle on our own.

    From an educational standpoint, I have witnessed the benefits of using digital technology in the classroom. I believe that using digital technology and teaching students about digital citizenship should be a priority in our schools simply because of it's inevitability in our lives. The social responsibility that we now have within the digital landscape is far reaching and requires new ways of responding to and interacting with the things around us because it is on record. Teaching students about their digital footprint and the ways that the decisions that they make online can have lasting effects on their identity is an overwhelming but necessary concept to explore.

    Like any tool, digital technology should be taught and used to aid in or enhance our awareness and understanding and as it continues to grow and evolve, so will our relationship with it. It is important that our ability to problem solve and think creatively is not lost, and thinking critically about the wealth of information that we are faced with is more important now than ever before. Digital technology is here to stay and our responsibility as educators to help students navigate their responsibility and place within their changing world does not come with a 'one size fits all' criteria. Students must be taught to consider their relationship with digital technology and the impact that it has on their relationship with themselves and others in the material world.