The Importance of Technology Education

As the era of new technology is emerging, children's exposure and their dependency towards new technology are increasing. For some educators, parents, and guardians, this can be concerning, especially with social media, but as their world is changing, it is important to adapt and prepare their children to the new world. This is not to say that technology is a new concept in the 21st century, in fact, many misconstrue technology and electronic devices interchangeably. However, technology is an umbrella term for any object that has been man-made (such as glasses, tables, fishing poles, etc.). Which leads to the importance of technology education in the early years.

Image from Free Wix (2017)

As stated previously, technology is not isolated to just electronic devices, it can be applied to any sort of invention. This is beneficial to early years children because it promotes innovation and creativity to be able to invent things. It can also help with their problem-solving skills if assembling a device together. Growing up, my middle school offered a Design and Technology course where we were able to work with tools and manufacturing machines to build things from candle wicks to fridge magnets. My version of technology education was surrounding the basis of hands-on creation whereas when my younger siblings enrolled in that same Design and Technology class, it was more computer coding and architectural designing. By having a balance between hands-on technology program and new technology education, it will support the future technological generation and allows the children to build an appreciation of the advantages of technology.

I have stated in my earlier blog post that spreading awareness of the dangers of social media and over-exposure to electronics, it is essential that with the easy access to the Internet children must be educated on how to safely 'surf the net'. Overall, families and educators should be accepting of the new ways of living with technology and rather than isolating their children from it, they should be able to talk about the benefits and proper use of new technologies.