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The Nature of Technology

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Critical Questions in STEM Education

Part of the book series: Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education ((CTISE,volume 51))

Abstract

Technology is an important part of the STEM acronym and unites and provides processes to tie all of the STEM disciplines together. Science, Engineering, and Math all depend on Technology to visualize and solve problems. Technology assists the other STEM fields to be creative but also carries with it its own social and cultural implications. To discuss the nature of technology we must first come to a shared definition of technology. This task can be difficult because there are many different lenses through which technology can be viewed. For example, technology can be a thought process, a way of knowing, and a tool. Definitions of technology are influenced by how it is used in practice and the professional organizations like IEEE, ISTE, CSTA, and NCTM that provide guidance and standards for how technology can and should be used. As our lives become more dependent on technology, and jobs become possible only by its use, the ethical nature of technology grows more important to both our present and our future. This chapter ends with a discussion of the work to be done including research on how technology and its affordances interacts with the work and creative activity in the other STEM fields and how technology could be leveraged to support curriculum in the other STEM areas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA

    Theresa A. Cullen

  2. Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, Arkansas, USA

    Theresa A. Cullen

  3. Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Meize Guo

Authors
  1. Theresa A. Cullen
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  2. Meize Guo
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Correspondence to Theresa A. Cullen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Curriculum & Instruction, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Valarie L. Akerson  & Gayle A. Buck  & 

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Cullen, T.A., Guo, M. (2020). The Nature of Technology. In: Akerson, V.L., Buck, G.A. (eds) Critical Questions in STEM Education. Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education, vol 51. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57646-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57646-2_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-57645-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-57646-2

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