The Role of Technology

Technology has changed the world faster than many of us could imagine and continues to change the world at a daunting pace. Technological advances have had a tremendous impact on goods, services, jobs, and markets over the last 50 years. The Internet and electronic communication have changed the way we do business. While people still use stores for many goods and services, people are able to place orders for rare or unusual goods that can be filled quickly, from the comfort of their home. Children born in the last decade often do not have an understanding of how things have changed. This lesson focuses on those changes and will introduce the students to some of those changes. Because of scarcity, we are not always able to satisfy our wants. We have to choose some things and give up others. Anytime we make a choice, there is something that is not chosen. The value of the next best alternative is called the opportunity cost. Every decision has an opportunity cost.

Students will examine and analyze photographs that show life in the past, list the objects and people in the photos, compare life and technology today to the past, and identify ways technology has changed or lives. Students will interview an adult to gain information about how goods, services, and technology have changed over time.