I found this article particularly relevant to our own work on antiquated technology. I know the question of "why?" we were taking the time to learn the history of these devices was raised during our class discussion, and I found the rationale or relevance points raised by the author to be very poignant.
The author breaks the need for teaching technological history into three questions.
The first question an educator should ask themselves is what they want their students to know about technological change? The second question one should ask themselves in teaching historical technology is if the technology in question is relevant to the student's learning? Finally, is this information being used to analyze the history or development of this technology?
As a Fine Arts Teacher, I work through the entire spectrum of traditional, hands-on learning all the way to digital instruction. Because of this, a large part of my instruction can be walking the line between traditional and technological techniques, so I can definitely relate to the relevance of new methods and technology, noting past procedures and techniques and the dreaded "WHY are we learning this?" question. Most of the time, I simply explain to my students the importance of history and understanding where this knowledge comes from. Still, sometimes I can't help but ask myself the same questions. "WHY are you teaching this?" "Is it relevant?" "How are we going to use this information?"
In any event, this article has opened my eyes to these questions, and hopefully I can come up with the right answers when preparing my next historical lesson.
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