Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

The chapter presents a review of foreign and local literature and studies that are
related to the present study. This reading serves to strengthen the theoretical frame of
reference on which this study is premised.

On Technology

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 it was used either to
refer to the description or study of the useful arts or to allude to technical education, as in
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (chartered in 1861).

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 the study of the industrial arts but to the industrial arts themselves.

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." Bain's definition
remains common among scholars today, especially social scientists. Scientists and
engineers usually prefer to define technology as applied science, rather than as the things
that people make and use. 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).

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. W. Brian Arthur defines technology in a similarly broad way as "a means
to fulfill a human purpose."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology

On Periodical Examination

Todays assessment landscape is changing, but remains dominated by large-

scale testing which, as indicated by the lead article in this issue, is fraught with
problems that are not always in sync with the needs of the classroom teacher. The
current state test reports give information that is generally broader in scope than the
information a classroom teacher needs to help students improve in the learning
expected by the instruction given to them directly and specifically.
The nature of state test reports do not lend themselves to diagnosis or focusing
on specific needs of students in a way that lets teachers plan to meet those needs in
their day-to-day practice. The information is not provided in a timely manner, often
received months after students take tests. Where teachers can look at the results of
their current, not last years, class, the information is generally too broad to be of
practical use. Further, the type of tasks provided for students to work on in most state
testing situations rarely tap deep understanding.
While much is wrong with the current system, the new consortia for assessing
the Common Core State Standards are making attempts to correct some of the current
flaws, including enhanced item types and an emphasis on formative assessment during
the school year. Currently, for both consortia, the formative assessments are optional,
and outside the formal accountability measurement, but their value is clearly
recognized. Whether the fact that they are optional, and dont count in a final
accountability score, will weaken their impact is yet to be seen.
The new item types, however, are bound to make an impact on classroom
instruction, where so much time is spent on prepping for the annual accountability tests.
If those tests are significantly different than the ones currently used by most states, then
the impact will undoubtedly be positive. Nonetheless, the system is still plagued with the
issues surrounding the need for continual feeds of information on how well students are
learning what they are being taught. The need for formative assessment will still be as
critical as it is now with the current individual state testing systems.

http://www.educationaldesigner.org/ed/volume2/issue5/article17/

Relationship between Technology and Periodical Examination

In recent years, computers have been used extensively for various reasons by
wide user groups. School-age children use computers for entertainment, communication,
and education, etc. Over the past few years, due to improvements in technology,
computers and related technologies have become cheaper and more sophisticated. That
is why households are both able and willing to buy computers for their children. They
hope to give them the chance to become advanced computer users. Lauman (2000)
stated that not only is the number of computers in education growing exponentially, but
also the number of computers in the home is growing at a rapid rate (p. 196). Despite
the increase in the number of computers and related technologies, everyone does not
have the same access to these technologies: Media availability varies depending on
such things as childs age, gender, race/ethnicity, family socioeconomic status, and so
forth (Roberts et al., 1999, p.9). The economic level of the countries might also affect the
availability of media for school-age children either at school or at home.

Parents believe that using computers may increase their childrens academic
achievement and future job opportunities (Ortiz et. al, 2011); therefore they buy
computers with an internet connection to help their children succeed in school (Turow,
1999). Todays computer revolution provides cheaper and better home computers that
allow students to practice what they have learned at school (Stock and Fishman, 2010).
Although there is an agreement among researchers that computers are useful for learning
opportunities, Becker (2000) found that students are more likely to use home computers
for entertainment than for school related purposes. There are countless things that can
be done with computer applications, and some of these applications might have latent
impacts on childrens development. For instance, computer games might be considered
a waste of time by some parents. However, they may have positive effects on childrens
cognitive development (Hamlen, 2011; Li and Atkins, 2004). By spending time with the
computers, children can learn how to read and utilize the information on computer
screens (Subrahmanyam et al., 2001, p. 14). Using computers can also improve
childrens visual attention because some applications require users to keep track of or
control many activities at the same time. Durkin and Barber (2002) also found that
computer games have positive impacts on adolescents.

http://www.tojet.net/articles/v10i3/10336.pdf