how the invention of household appliances created social change

Technology – a catalyst for social change

Over the next few weeks we examine the subject of technology and how it can be taught within a primary school context. Let’s first consider the broader concept of technology and why it is such an important part of our past, present and future lives.

The story of technology is the continual invention of new objects and materials in order to create solutions to our most basic problems. Flint stone knives were made to help us cut, while the wheel helped us transport heavy loads. Our ability to create and perfect the use of tools has been an integral part of human history for thousands of years. The list of historical changing technological inventions is extensive, including: the printing press, the combustion engine, and the silicon chip, to name but a few. Each wave of major technological change has become a catalyst for significant social change.

To see the impact of technological change on a familiar context, take a look at the The History of Household Technology (LibraryOfCongress, 2009) summarising how technology has changed domestic life over last 150 years.

As you watch the video, consider:

• how the invention of household appliances created social change
• why these inventions were solutions to social problems.

The introduction of new technology creates new opportunities and ways of thinking that are sometimes difficult to see beforehand. In our lifetime we have witnessed massive technological change through the exponential growth of the Internet and mobile communication. These have produced a new wave of social change that has led to the creation of new ways that we live and work.