Make sure the students understand that technology is the product of scientific research, and that usually those products serve industry, like machines, or people, like computers, stereos and televisions. After the group has had a chance to brainstorm definitions of their own, ask several students to look up the definition in print or online dictionaries, such as Discuss the various aspects of the definition, and form one definition on the board for the class to learn and use. Write the word "technology" on the board or on a flip chart and ask students how they would define technology. Understanding and Identifying Technology Today Through comparing and contrasting life and technology in the early part of the twentieth century with technology found in their own homes and experiences, students will gain a greater understanding of how far the fields of industry and entertainment have progressed since Edison's day and of how Edison's work was the foundation for technology they enjoy today. The purpose of this lesson is to familiarize students with life and technology around 1900 in order to better understand how Edison influenced both. Without some understanding of Edison's time, it is unclear just how significant an impact Edison had on the world, both then and now.
While the incandescent light bulb and the phonograph may be familiar, other of Edison's inventions, such as the kinetoscope, are so strange in name and appearance that students might not make the connection between that machine and today's motion picture industry. Students may find it difficult to study Thomas Edison's inventions because his work seems so far removed from today's technology.