Soc Midterm

Technology Change in Education

The major social institution that I chose to analyze for this paper is that of the education institution. I chose to observe the technology aspect of education and how the advancement in technology has changed the way that education is carried out. The advancement in technology has been responsible for multiple changes throughout the education system consisting of changes in norms, values, societal needs, and roles. These advancements have changed in numerous ways that education is delivered. Such as, how worksheet handouts are distributed, computer learning, research, writing and revising papers, and enhanced learning. Throughout this paper I will discuss the social changes that technology has produced through the five specific advancements.

Over the past fifty years, education has evolved or changed dramatically. One specific example of this is the way that handouts and tests are distributed. Before the advancements, handouts were hand written and/or produced on a typewriter (Lytle, 2010). There were not any copy machines 50 years ago and tests were individually written up which was very time consuming. Today, we are able to make one document on the computer and make as many copies of it as needed. This norm, as we can see, has changed drastically. Values have also changed since the typewriting days. Now that computers have been developed, the system has valued efficiency and consistency. The ability to copy makes sure that the documents are as efficient as possible. Before copy machines, mistakes were made frequently when each document was written individually. The act of copying saves a considerable amount of time that can be used towards something more effective in the educational institution. There have been new societal needs that have been introduced and fulfilled throughout the education institution over time. The time that has been gained from having the ability to make copies has been used where it is needed and has...