The author mentions “the fallacy of total revolution”, which is the assumption that new technology will completely replace previous technology used for a given purpose. I found this confusing because I believe that there are several examples of new technology replacing old technology. Today, items like VCRs, record players, cassette decks, CD players, etc. are virtually defunct as a result of modern technology. How can this assumption be labeled a fallacy if the timeline of innovation shows that new technology displaces older technology in most instances? — Yousef M Nasser 2017/01/18 14:52

Webster defines technology as the use of science in industry, engineering, etc., to invent useful things or to solve problems. Pursell spoke about the pros and cons of new technology through an example of self driving cars. Self driving cars would be a new piece of technology aimed to lower crash rates and slow automobile injuries and deaths. The flip side to introducing this new technology would see collision shops see exponentially less clientele, leading to the extinction of the business, and leaving more than thousands of people without a job. I found it pretty interesting to look at technology from a negative light from those who used to work on assembly lines, but have now been replaced by machines, or any industry that has continually updated their technology, making it difficult for people to continue their blue collar or outdated jobs. It seems to be the blue collar jobs that are being increasingly squeezed out of existence, in my opinion, and it would be interesting to see if others agree. — McGowan Khayla J. 2017/01/18 15:27

Culture is defined (by Webster) as “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group, and/or the characteristic features of everyday existence shared by people in a place or time.” In relation to technology, Pursell defines cultural history as focusing on what technologies mean or represent (4). – Megan P.

Pursell also quotes historian Lynn Hunt who writes “the accent in cultural history is on close examination - of texts, of pictures, and of actions - and on open-mindedness to what those examinations will reveal.” Pursell uses the example of automobiles to describe cultural historians in relation to other historians. A social historian might be interested in how quickly African Americans were able to buy and use automobiles while a cultural historian would be interested in what the fact of being able to buy and use the car meant to African Americans. - Helen Salita

Pursell defines technology determinism as the assumption that technology determines what happens in society. He points out that advertisers use this assumption in order to sell their product. For instance, advertisers sell their product by suggesting this new technology changes lives. However, Pursell argues that society influences technology more directly. While technology does impact and influence society Pursell suggests that technology mirrors society's needs and norms. — James, Emily B. 2017/01/18 12:57

Just as Emily stated Pursell tells us that technological determinism is the assumption that technology determines what happens in society. There is also a key part of technological determinism that is not always recognized—us. Consumers influence the market more than anything else. The consumer's needs wants, and culture brings about new inventions, technology, ideas, and understandings. Though new technology and gadgets are invented by a few people, the need for that product must be present. Otherwise, there would be a drive to make it. We create the future of technology with the needs of today. — Brooks Anna R. 2017/01/18 16:31

It is impressive to see the advancements we have made in classroom technology since the beginning of the 20th century. We didn’t even have mass-produced pencils and papers until 1900, followed only 25 years later by the Filmstrip Projector, and the Overhead projector in 1930. The way teachers and students interact with knowledge has changed dramatically over a relatively short period. Especially in the past few years, our relationship with digital technology in the classroom has flourished. For example, when I was learning basic arithmetic in elementary school (early 2000's), my teacher told us we wouldn’t always have access to a calculator for computations. Today, smart phones and iPads function as pocket super computers, able to crunch any simple or complicated equation. Nonetheless, as stated in the reading, technology like the calculator joins the existing methods (computing by hand) and presents a consequence (less students able to solve basic equations) for the sake of the benefit (instantaneous computations at your fingertips). -Heather Taylor

I thought that this article was extremely interesting because it allowed for me to see all of the different types of technology as well as how far we have come throughout the years. Many of the items that it showed were items that I never would have considered to be a form of technology. The ferule was an example of this, but after reading the description of the object it made sense as to why it could be considered a form of technology. I was also surprised by how much some of the items have evolved in such a short time period such as calculators, CD-Rom Drives, interactive whiteboards and iclickers. It's crazy to think that these items were all created fairly recently and have evolved drastically in such a short time. -Emma Baumgardner

This article was incredibly fascinating to see how technology has changed in the classroom over time. One of the objects in particular stood out to me, and that was the Filmstrip Projector. What stood out to me was the quote the author used to accompany it, where Thomas Edison predicted that “books will soon be obsolete in schools.” It reminded me of when Pursell explained the three mistakes that are made when predicting the future of technology according to Joseph Corn. Pursell wrote, “first, we assume that the new technology will completely replace the technology we used to use for that purpose” (Pursell, 2). Not only does Edison's comment demonstrate that attempting to predict the future of technology is nothing new, but it also provides a great example of the mistake Pursell mentions. Books are still incredibly important/relevant in the classroom today, despite the increase of technology in classrooms. In fact, books and technology are often used together in order create effective and richer lessons for students. The Filmstrip Projector (and the descendants of the Filmstrip Projector) did not replace books in the classroom, but rather now work alongside books to enrich the education of students. - Shannon Keene

I think that technology has advanced so much in the past century, that it is allowing people to re-invent how they can discover new ways of learning. When comes to a classroom setting, teachers can explore other technological settings for their students to grasp the material in a new way. We should be incorporating these types of technological advancements worldwide rather than trying to ban it. If we start to accept this type of technological transformation, then we can begin to do more good rather than harm. - Rachel Kosmacki