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2. Technological Systems / Inputs |
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Welcome back to the study of technology. This presentation explores systems and how they relate to technology. Back in elementary school your science teacher probably introduced you to the term system. |
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Yeah, we learned about the solar system, you know, the sun and all the planets. |
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Yeah, science teachers are always talking about systems. They have a system for everything. |
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My Uncle Henry has a system for winning the lottery, except it never works! |
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Let's get back to a more scientific approach to systems. A system can be defined as a set of parts that form a complex whole. Lots of things can be a system. Who can name an example of a system? |
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In the United States our system of money has pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and all those different bills like ones, fives, tens and fifties. They work together as a system. |
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The metric system. |
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My Mom just finished designing a filling system for her office. |
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What about the respiratory system and how our lungs work with our heart to bring oxygen to the cells of our body and release carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. |
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You're right. But I want to make a distinction between the systems we observe in nature and the systems we as humans design and use. |
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Well what about a home entertainment system, that's pretty hi-tech, right? |
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Yes. A technological system, such as an entertainment system, is a group of parts working together in a predictable way designed to achieve a goal. |
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That sounds like the other definition for a system, you know, parts and a whole. |
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You’re right, they're close. They do mean about the same. But the important thing to emphasize here is that technological systems are designed by human beings to achieve a desired goal. |
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So, the solar system is a system, but not a technological system. I get it. But an automobile engine is a technological system because it is designed to work together in a predicable way. |
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Right. Now let's take a closer look at how technological systems work.
A technological system have 4 main parts - inputs, processes, outputs and feedback.
Check out this chart that shows how they relate.
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Technological System
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Let's start with inputs. Inputs are the resources that go into a system and are used by the system. There can be at least 7 different kinds of inputs. |
Inputs
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Let's try to explain how each one of the 7 inputs operate in a technological system. |
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People
Since technological systems are made by people to solve human needs, people are always part of a system, right? |
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Yeah, People come up with the idea for the systems, they provide management and technical know-how, they work at factories to make them, sometimes governments have to regulate them and finally people use the products that the systems provide. |
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Materials
Nowadays technology can be made from lots of different materials, from traditional natural materials like wood and stone to newer materials like plastic, high tech ceramics and metals. |
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Tools and Machines
When you are talking about technology, tools are what started it all. Tools extend the abilities of humans. Whether a primitive hammer or a high tech laser engraver, tools and machines allow us to do the things that we would not be able to do with our eyes, hands and brains alone. |
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Energy
Energy is the stuff that makes any kind of work possible. It can take the form of human energy, water power, electricity, nuclear, or even wind power. |
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An important thing to remember about energy is that you can change it from one kind to another. |
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You mean like how they use flowing water to generate hydroelectric power? We saw that on vacation when we visited the Hoover Dam. |
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Information
Information is the facts and ideas, thoughts and opinions that people know and share. |
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When it comes to technological systems, information can start as data. Data is raw, unorganized facts and figures collected by people and machines. But it really becomes useful when it is organized - then we can call it information. |
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Finances
Each of the inputs mentioned so far: people, materials, tools and machines, energy and information all have value and that means money. And money means Finances. |
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Time
Everything takes time. Rome wasn't built in a day. Developing a video game might take only a few months but developing a cure for cancer will take many years. |
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There you have it. The seven possible inputs into a technological system. |
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Next time we will explore the processes involved in technological systems. |
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