Technology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology https://wiki.uiowa.edu/display/edtech/Advantages+and+Disadvantages+of+Technology http://www.studymode.com/essays/Advantages-And-Disadvantages-Of-Modern-Technology-99813.html https://wiki.uiowa.edu/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=42008699 http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-technology-advances-12579.html http://www.useoftechnology.com/modern-technology-advantages-disadvantages/
10 ADVANTAGES OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY:

Easy Access to information: It has become very easy to get access to relevant information at any time anywhere. This has been possible because of modern technologies like broadband internet. Lots of data is being published and indexed online, sites like Wikipedia and Youtube have great original content which can be used in research or entertainment. Information is power, and those who find information and use it well always succeed. With smart gadgets like the ipad , iphone , galaxy tablet , users can easily have access to information through these smart gadgets because they use internet. So a user on a train can easily read breaking news while traveling, they can also buy and sell stocks while in the bedroom using the internet. These smart gadgets make it easy to access internet and this simplifies the way we get information. Encourages innovation and creativity – Since technology is challenging, it sparks the brain to work to its full potential. In the past, it used to be very difficult to start a business, one had to have lots of capital and they even had limited access to business information. Today, it is very easy to start a business while at home. Let’s look at companies like Etsy.com which enable creative people sell their works online, this encourages creativity. Another good example is kickstarter.com which helps creative people get funds for their projects through crowd funding. On this platform, creative developers post projects seeking for funding from the community, this helps them generate lots of cash for their good ideas which latter leads to creation of new Jobs. The other creative works which have been facilitated by modern technology include Google , Apple , Facebook , Microsoft , Amazon , etc Improved communication: Communication is like water to life. We can not develop without communication. Modern technology has blessed us with advanced communication technology tools. These can include e-fax machines, electronic mail, mobile phones,videoconferencing, instant text messaging applications, social networking applications. All these modern communication technology tools have simplified the way humans and businesses communicate. I can easily talk to my relative oversees using a mobile phone or video chatting services like Skype. Convenience of Traveling: Modern transportation technology makes it very easy to travel long distances. Transport is a very important both in our lives and in the business world. Transportation technology has evolved with years. In the past it used to be slow and expensive to move long distances. Now days, I can cover a 10 miles distance with in a few minutes or hours using electric trains or airplanes. Improved housing and lifestyle: This is another great way how modern technology has simplified our lives. If you compare the type of housing we used to have in 1900 and the architecture of houses today, the difference is very big. New architectural technology has improved the types of housed we build now days. People with money can afford town floating housed and glass homes. Most of the items in our house are now automated, for example, doors use finger prints which guarantee security. Remote webcams which you can use to monitor what goes on at your home. Improved Entertainment: Modern technology has played a big role in changing the entertainment industry. Home entertainment has improved with the invention of video games and advance music and visual systems like smart televisions which can connect live to internet so that a user can share what they’re watching with friends. Easy access and storage of music, services like iTunes allow users to purchase and download music on their ipods at a small cost, this is a win – win situation for both musicians and the users. Because musicians can easily sell their music via iTunes and the user can also have a wide selection of which music to buy without having troubles of going to a physical music store. Efficiency and Productivity: Modern technology has helped businesses increase production. Humans are slow and some times they fail to deliver on time. So many businesses have integrated modern technology in their production line, most of the hard workhas become so simple and the results are better than those of humans. Let’s look at a farmer who uses modern technology right from the day of preparing the farm land to the day of harvesting. They save a lot of time and money during this process. Convenience in Education: Learning is a process and it is part of our daily lives. Modern technology has made it simple for students to learn from any where through online education and mobile education. Also students now use modern technology in classrooms to learn better. For example, students use ipads to share visual lessons and examples with peers in the classroom. This has made learning more convenient and fan. Also new modern educational technologies support individual learning which gives a chance to students to learn on their own with no need of tutors. Social Networking: Modern technology has made it simple to discover our old friends and also discover new people to network with. This is a benefit to both individuals and businesses. Many businesses have embraced the social networking technology to interact with their customers. Users of social networks can share information with friends, live chat with them and interact in all sorts of ways. Changed the health industry: Now days most hospitals have implemented modern technology in surgical rooms, this has reduced on mistakes made by doctors. Humans can easily make mistakes because of work overload and stress factors. Also the business community has developed health applications which can enable us monitor our health and weight. These applications can be used on mobile phones, so users can have them at any time of the day. 6 DISADVANTAGES OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY:

Increased loneliness – Social Isolation is on the increase, people are spending more time playing video games, learning how to use new modern technologies, using social networks and they neglect their real life. Technology has replaced our old way of interacting. If a user can easily interact with 100 friends online, they will feel no need to going out to make real friends which at a later stage leads to loneliness.
Job Loss: Modern technology has replaced many humans; robots are doing of the jobs which used to be done by humans. Many packing firms have employed robots on production lines to increase on production and efficiency, this is good news for businesses because it helps them make more money and serve customers in time, but it is bad news to employees because they get replaced by a robot.
Competency - Increased dependency on modern tools like calculators has reduced on our creativity. You can find a student when they can solve a very simple mathematical equation without using a calculator. This affects the way this student uses their brains and reduces on the level of creativity.
World destruction weapons: Modern technology has been the main aid in the increasing and endless wars. It aids the manufacturing of modern war weapons which will require testing. So when these weapons get into the hands of criminals, they will use them for their selfish reasons. 4 EXAMPLES OF MODERN TECHNOLOGIES WHICH CAN SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE:
Ultra-thin Quad-band Watch Mobile Phone:

Disadvantage: Less Value In Human Workers
At the same time, human workers retain less value, which is a disadvantage of technological advances. Because machines automate processes and do the work of 10 people with one computer, companies find they don't need to employ as many people to get the job done. As machines and computers become even more advanced and efficient, this will continue to be a growing disadvantage of technology and an issue that has a global impact.

Benefits
Costs
Institutional
No more constraints on time and space for scheduling.
Can maximize monetary resources
Can reach a larger audience and more diverse, from greater geographic regions.
Decreases overcrowded classrooms---can offer more classes at peak demand times of the day and week.
Can more effectively communicate
Increases size of enrollment, so it makes it harder to effectively serve students
Lab space
Choose the appropriate software and hardware
Student with lower-income are harder to recruit and reach
Takes time for faculty, students to learn technology
Periodic upgrades, regular repairs
Faculty
Help train students for using technology well (will serve them well in career)
Interactions through technology
Collaborative work easier because relative anonymity provides for more open discussions
Flexibility and control can lead to higher motivation
More active, student-centered teaching
Less time-consuming, can focus on other parts of the job like research
Difficult to motivate students and help them when they’re so far away
Difficult to start because they have to learn new technology and make a new, different curriculum
Communication expectations (information overload)
Greater structure needed
Need to only use written communication and visual, no body language, etc.
Tough to grade online materials and time-consuming, so it makes some teachers lazy
Difficult to find cheating
Technological difficulties with dispersing information and receiving assignments
Students
Can eliminate misunderstanding because no verbal miscommunication, only written communication
Universal mediums
Flexible for times or locations
Less costs because no parking or transportation, only basic educational fees
Less peer distractions
No worries about biases because never meet students/teachers
Can work full-time and go to school easily
Promotes fair treatment
Crosses cultural barriers
Easier for students with special needs
Helps practical skills for the job market like time management, technology skills, critical thinking skills and problem solving
Not everyone has access to the right technology
Usually have to pay a technology fee
No face-to-face interactions, so some things may take a long time to become clear
Need patience for technological difficulties
A LOT of online communication may be overwhelming
May require more work than other courses because there is less time in lecture
Requires more self-motivation, self-regulation, less reliance on other students
Impromptu questions are not answered, delayed feedback
Non-verbal communication eliminated
Cost may be higher because of computer and software PLUS textbooks, but no costs otherwise

Advantages reach a much larger audience from greater geographic locations help disabled and geographically isolated students help students with busy schedules, freedom to work at home on their own time decrease overcrowded classrooms offer more classes at peak demand times of day and week, increasing flexibility in class scheduling decrease paper and photocopying costs, promoting concept of "green revolution" access to students of everything instructors present in the classroom train students to learn new technology skills they can use later in the work place
Disadvantages
selecting appropriate hardware and software programs incompatible technology issues challenges when submitting assignments some students can't afford modern computer technologies students usually pan an online technology fee instructors and students need training to learn how to use online technology possibility of cheating on tests and quizzes difficult to motivate students, requires self-discipline and self-motivation
Advantages and disadvantages of modern technology.
Technology can be defined as science applied to practical purposes. Nowadays, when the rapidness of development and research is so impressive, it is easy to think about the advantages of modern technology. Nevertheless some people argue that science can destroy mankind. It is also obvious that we are close on an era where technology is limited only by our imagination. Therefore the most frequently asked question is: Does technology go the right way and will it save or ruin our civilization?

It can be argued that modern technology makes life easier and more dignified for most of people. The first and the major advantage is that medical science is very progressive and vastly available. Without the needed technology a lot of people would struggle with their health. In addition it saves many innocent lives. The point is to spread it and reach with medicine help to the poor nations of the Third World. Secondly, the advanced technology improves industry by making it more effective and, what is vital today, safer for environment. Moreover when we look at TV, personal computer, mobile phone or internet for instance is quite obvious that all this inventions have been made in the last 20 years. Thus the speed of improvement is huge and unpredictable.

On the minus side there is weaponry which is the inseparable issue of the new technologies. Hence the main problem is the proper use of this knowledge. Nevertheless, weapon engineering propels and provides a huge advance. Also, the industry despite highly developed machinery pollutes the globe. On the other hand while many people live in horrible conditions and famine governments spend a lot of money on developing weapon industry. Is it the right way? Maybe the modern technology should either stop or prevent social disproportions. Lastly, do new technologies make us happier? It is not an easy question and each person should consider it.
Technology (from Greek τέχνη, techne, "art, skill, cunning of hand"; and -λογία, -logia[1]) is the collection of tools, including machinery, modifications, arrangements and procedures used by humans. Engineering is the discipline that seeks to study and design new technologies. Technologies significantly affect human as well as other animal species' ability to control and adapt to their natural environments. The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples includeconstruction technology, medical technology and information technology.
The human species' use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools. The prehistoric discovery of how to control fireincreased the available sources of food and the invention of the wheel helped humans in travelling in and controlling their environment. Recent technological developments, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons.
Technology has affected society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many societies, technology has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and deplete natural resources, to the detriment of Earth's environment. Various implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new technology often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms.
Philosophical debates have arisen over the present and future use of technology in society, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or worsens it. Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar movements criticise the pervasiveness of technology in the modern world, opining that it harms the environment and alienates people; proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition. Indeed, until recently, it was believed that the development of technology was restricted only to human beings, but recent scientific studies indicate that other primates and certain dolphin communities have developed simple tools and learned to pass their knowledge to other generations.

The use of the term "technology" has changed significantly over the last 200 years. Before the 20th century, the term was uncommon in English, and usually referred to the description or study of the useful arts.[2] The term was often connected to technical education, as in theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (chartered in 1861).[3]
The term "technology" rose to prominence in the 20th century in connection with the Second Industrial Revolution. The term's meanings changed in the early 20th century when American social scientists, beginning with Thorstein Veblen, translated ideas from the German concept of Technik into "technology". In German and other European languages, a distinction exists between technik and technologie that is absent in English, which usually translates both terms as "technology". By the 1930s, "technology" referred not only to thestudy of the industrial arts but to the industrial arts themselves.[4]
In 1937, the American sociologist Read Bain wrote that "technology includes all tools, machines, utensils, weapons, instruments, housing, clothing, communicating and transporting devices and the skills by which we produce and use them."[5] Bain's definition remains common among scholars today, especially social scientists. But equally prominent is the definition of technology as applied science, especially among scientists and engineers, although most social scientists who study technology reject this definition.[6] More recently, scholars have borrowed from European philosophers of "technique" to extend the meaning of technology to various forms of instrumental reason, as in Foucault's work on technologies of the self (techniques de soi).
Dictionaries and scholars have offered a variety of definitions. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers a definition of the term: "the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area" and "a capability given by the practical application of knowledge".[7] Ursula Franklin, in her 1989 "Real World of Technology" lecture, gave another definition of the concept; it is "practice, the way we do things around here".[8] The term is often used to imply a specific field of technology, or to refer to high technology or just consumer electronics, rather than technology as a whole.[9] Bernard Stiegler, in Technics and Time, 1, defines technology in two ways: as "the pursuit of life by means other than life", and as "organized inorganic matter."[10]
Technology can be most broadly defined as the entities, both material and immaterial, created by the application of mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value. In this usage, technology refers to tools and machines that may be used to solve real-world problems. It is a far-reaching term that may include simple tools, such as a crowbar or wooden spoon, or more complex machines, such as a space station or particle accelerator. Tools and machines need not be material; virtual technology, such as computer software and business methods, fall under this definition of technology.[11] W. Brian Arthurdefines technology in a similarly broad way as "a means to fulfill a human purpose".[12]
The word "technology" can also be used to refer to a collection of techniques. In this context, it is the current state of humanity's knowledge of how to combine resources to produce desired products, to solve problems, fulfill needs, or satisfy wants; it includes technical methods, skills, processes, techniques, tools and raw materials. When combined with another term, such as "medical technology" or "space technology", it refers to the state of the respective field's knowledge and tools. "State-of-the-art technology" refers to the high technology available to humanity in any field.

The invention of integrated circuits and the microprocessor (here, an Intel 4004 chip from 1971) led to the moderncomputer revolution.
Technology can be viewed as an activity that forms or changes culture.[13]Additionally, technology is the application of math, science, and the arts for the benefit of life as it is known. A modern example is the rise of communicationtechnology, which has lessened barriers to human interaction and, as a result, has helped spawn new subcultures; the rise of cyberculture has, at its basis, the development of the Internet and the computer.[14] Not all technology enhances culture in a creative way; technology can also help facilitate political oppression and war via tools such as guns. As a cultural activity, technology predates both scienceand engineering, each of which formalize some aspects of technological endeavor.