I (Cathy) looked up the definition of technology the other day because I had lost track of the meaning outside of my association of technology with computers. According to Dictionary.com, technology is “the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry. This refresher helped me to better grasp the technological clothing my husband has been wearing as of late.
For Father’s Day my husband was given an UnderArmour shirt (from our son-in-law) and challenged to wear it for a day. My husband has been a stanch believer in wearing cotton for many, many years, yet our son-in-law insisted that the new technology in fabric was far advanced in comfort and temperature control. I was intrigued. Fabric technology? I had to look it up and found this on the net…
“As a fullback at the University of Maryland, Kevin Plank got tired of having to change out of the sweat-soaked T-shirts worn under his jersey; however, he noticed that his compression shorts worn during practice stayed dry. This inspired him to make a T-shirt using moisture-wicking synthetic fabric. After graduating from the University of Maryland, Kevin Plank developed his first prototype of the shirt, which he gave to his Maryland teammates and friends who had gone on to play in the NFL. Plank soon perfected the design creating a new T-shirt built from microfibers that wicked moisture and kept athletes cool, dry, and light”
My husband agreed to try the shirt and fell in love with the texture, weight and maintained coolness of this new technologically advanced fabric against his skin. He has several shirts now and is looking at other forms of apparel. My husband may not be up to date in computer technology, but he is sure ‘in’ when it comes to fabric technology.
My new awareness of technological fabric has given me pause to reconsider what technological advances are in store for us in education that are not computer based. What will change? Desks? Art materials? Windows? Will the entire classroom environment transform? Will we dress differently as a result of technology? The possibilities are endless… and exciting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_Armour#Early_history
Literacy Teaching and Teacher Education 