What is Technology (Integration)?

What is technology? Plainly put, technology should be any technological advance that improves our lives for the better. This includes the medical field, communications, education and science just to name a few areas in which technology seems to consistently affect our lives. One can argue that many technological advances have failed, but this is not necessarily true. I believe that if a new technology improves the quality or processes in our lives, if only for a short period of time, then it is successful, regardless if a new technology eventually replaces it. Does technology have to be necessary to be a valuable tool? I do not think so. If technology makes any person’s life easier or more enjoyable, than it has some value. Therefore, from my perspective, technology is any advancement that improves the quality of a person’s life.
On the other hand, the integration of technology should only be implemented after careful and thoughtful planning, as well as in-depth training. The implementation should also include input from all stakeholders, not just those making the final decision. If the entity responsible for integration does not consider all of the ramifications of implementing a new technology, often times schools find themselves regressing, rather than progressing. Last year our county implemented new grading software that is on-line. This seemed a good idea that teachers could enter grades at home. However, they failed to consider what would happen when all of the teachers tried to enter grades on the day before progress reports. The system was overloaded and literally locked down every time progress reports were due. The county office had to manually update grades because the system could not do it. Nobody thought to question if the system could handle high volume.