Embodying the past, designing the future: technological determinism reconsidered in technology education

Abstract

From a philosophical viewpoint, technological design is about connecting what is desirable with what is technically possible. Technology itself plays a major role in design processes, not only because technology development is what designing is all about, but also since the existing technology at any given point in time frames what is possible to achieve in terms of new outcomes. A limiting role of technology in design, education and other societal activities goes under the concept of technological determinism and has arguably been one of the most significant points of debate in the social sciences in the last decades. The aim of this article is to investigate how philosophical, sociological and historical research, as well as design and innovation research about technological determinism, could be fruitfully reconsidered in technology education. The analysis yielded three novel findings about the nature of technological determinism. First of all, technological determinism can take the form of an idea, theory or a way of explaining technology development in history or the present, but it can also take the form of actual material structures that-implicitly or explicitly-permeate and influence society, or, at least, this is what some researchers claim. Secondly, technological determinism is not just something that is the result of a bird's eye view of technology and society or when we study technology as part of the macro level of society. Determinism can appear on all levels, even the micro level. Thirdly, like its counterpart social/societal determinism, technological determinism is not necessarily a "bad" thing, but a natural result of design being a balance between what is societally desirable and technically possible. The most critical issue from the point of view of technological literacy is to promote the idea that it is humans that design and retain control over technology.

An Educational Model for Teaching About Technological Systems

“…With these and the other concepts presented in this chapter it is possible for students to compare technological systems with each other so as to gain knowledge of similarities and differences between systems in different time periods, systems in different geographical areas or institutional-economic contexts, and systems of different kinds. In this way students learn to generalize knowledge of technological systems, so that they can take on, understand and critique different kinds of systems, even ones that have not been devised yet (Hallström, 2020;Williams, 2017).…”

Machine Learning Models to Predict Students’ Study Path Selection

“…The analysis indicated that DSD students have higher mean ratings on these statements than SWD students. Hallström [54] elaborates that technological determinism appears at all levels and is not limited to specific fields. Based on Figure 7a and b, we have identified that DSD factors are viable predictors for study path selections.…”

Determinisme Teknologi: Penggunaan ICT dalam Pembelajaran Daring

“…Namun penelitian ini akan fokus dalam melihat determinisme teknologi dalam konteks Pendidikan, secara khusus pembelajaran daring. Meski begitu, dari beberapa penelitian tersebut, dapat ditarik satu benang merah yang saling mendukung, yaitu bahwa teknologi memiliki peranan penting dalam berbagai aspek kehidupan Selain itu, penelitian terkait determinasi teknologi dalam dunia Pendidikan yang ada saat ini, sebagian besar melihat penggunaan teknologi dalam pendidikan dari sudut pandang kritis (Hansen & Froelich, 1994;Oliver, 2011;Hallstrom, 2020). Beberapa penelitian sebelumnya mencoba untuk menawarkan alternatif baru, karena adanya ketidakjelasan terkait signifikansi teknologi dalam pendidikan (Kirkwood, 2014).…”

“…Salah satu peran teknologi bisa dimulai dari bagian paling mendasar dalam pembuatan kelas, yaitu proses perancangan sistem atau desain kelas. Hallstrom (2020) menekankan bahwa untuk dapat memproduksi desain pembelajaran yang inovatif, proses perancangan pembelajaran harus dimulai dari analisa informasi yang ditentukan oleh teknologi dan faktor lingkungan. Peranan teknologi dalam proses perancangan ini bukan hanya karena perkembangannya menentukan desain pembelajaran, namun teknologi telah menjadi bagian dari masyarakat yang tidak dapat dilepaskan.…”