What is Technology?

1. What I Thought Before? When I hear the word "Technology", my first thoughts were

1.1. Smart Devices such as :

1.1.1. Cell phones

1.1.2. Tablets

1.1.3. Smart watches

1.2. Machines such as:

1.2.1. Cars

1.2.2. Robots

1.2.3. Airplanes

1.3. Programming such as:

1.3.1. Software development

1.4. Digital companies such as:

1.4.1. Google

1.4.2. Apple

1.4.3. Social media

1.4.4. Advertisement

2. Why Do We Need New Technologies?

2.1. Communication

2.1.1. Technology has improved the way we communicate and has enhanced our daily life. It has shortened the distant between people making communication easier without the need to travel and meet others physically. Whether the communication for business meetings or for personal life connecting with family members, technology has many apps such as Skype, WhatsApp and Signal to facilitate our life.

2.2. Security

2.2.1. Based on Elanine Selna (2021), "Advancements of modern technology are actually making us safer—not only can new forms of password protection help to safeguard our digital files and documents, advances in voice recognition and gesture control also create a heightened degree of security for our devices and homes"(SELNA, 2021).

2.3. Health

2.3.1. There is no doubt that technology has improved the human well-being as well as has advanced medicine industry. The more further we move toward the future, the more technology development that is found to help cure illness and invent new machines to do surgeries. Especially nowadays, technology has helped scientist to find vaccines that fight the spread of COVID-19 virus.

2.4. Education

2.4.1. According to University of The People (2020), "The cost of education has significantly reduced, with options like online degrees and by eliminating the need to buy physical textbooks. By accessing scholarly articles from your university’s database, for example, you can easily choose to continue your studies from another country or without leaving your home"(People, 2020).

3. References

3.1. Arthur, W. B. (2011, January 11). The Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It Evolves. Retrieved from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Technology-What-How-Evolves/dp/1416544062 Kelly, K. (2010, Feb 22). Kevin Kelly tells technology's epic story. Retrieved from youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS1xL1qcBa4&feature=youtu.be Li-Hua, R. (2007, October 2). What is technology? Retrieved from Emerald Insight : https://www-emerald-com.library.sheridanc.on.ca/insight/content/doi/10.1108/jtmc.2007.30202caa.001/full/html People, U. O. (2020). The Growing Importance of Technology in Education. Retrieved from University Of The People: https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/the-growing-importance-of-technology-in-education/ SELNA, E. (2021, JANUARY 21). 11 Ways Technology Will Keep You Safe. Retrieved from mentalfloss: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/639933/diy-amazon-cabin-kit-less-10000?utm_content=infinitescroll1 Toon, P. (2019, Nov 14). What is Technology. Retrieved from You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px5z-dG531c&feature=youtu.be Tuck, C. (2019, Jul 22). What is technology? Retrieved from You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9CzjdrFgiY&feature=youtu.be

4. How Have my Ideas Changed?

4.1. My knowledge about technology was limited only to smart devices, machines, programming, and social media. After reading the course materials, my knowledge has expanded. Now I know that technology is any tools or materials that facilitate our life and make it function more efficiently and easily.

5. What I Think Now?(New definitions I learned from the course materials)

5.1. I agree with Chuck Tuck (2019), "Technology is knowledge or a set of tools that helps make things easier or resolve a problem"(Tuck, 2019). Tuck (2019) also mentioned that an example of technology is a pen which help people to record and reference thoughts and actions.

5.2. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has explained technology by stating that, "Technology is bought and sold as capital goods including machinery and productive systems, human labor usually skilled manpower, management and specialized scientists. Information of both technical and commercial character, including that which is readily available, and that subject to proprietary rights and restrictions"(Li-Hua, 2007). This article also mentioned that technology is consist of four inter-linked elements:

5.2.1. Technique

5.2.2. Knowledge

5.2.3. Organization of the production

5.2.4. The product

5.3. According to W. Brian Arthur (2011), “More than anything else technology creates our world. It creates our wealth, our economy, our very way of being,”(Arthur, 2011).

5.4. As mentioned by Kevin Kelly (2010), "It is the force that is the most powerful force that has been unleashed on this planet,...it is become who we are"(Kelly, 2010). Kelly (2010) also stated that by eliminating the technology from our lives, human would not survive and would not live for very long.

5.5. According to Pow Toon (2019), some technologies such as microphones and laptops have wires and need to be bulged in the walls to work. However, as mentioned by Pow Toon (2019), "some technologies do not have wires at all. Umbrellas help to keep us dry in the rain, and the lock helps to keep our things safe, a pencil helps us to write down information, and a fork helps us to eat food" (Toon, 2019).