💻 TechnologyLevel 1Lesson 8
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Talk About How Humans Control Technology

Lesson preview: the Mini Lesson and Vocabulary are open to everyone. Guided practice, exercises, the parent checklist and the printable PDF worksheet come with full access (free 7-day trial or membership).

What you will learn

  • 1Explain that humans are always in control of technology
  • 2Tell who decides when and how technology is used
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Mini Lesson

Did you know that every machine you use has a boss — and that boss is always a human?

Humans make the decisions

  • A human decides when to turn technology on and when to turn it off.
  • Example: You press the button to start the tablet — the tablet does not start by itself.
  • You also choose what to do with it: watch a video, play a game, or draw a picture.

Machines follow instructions

  • A machine only does what it has been told to do by a human.
  • Without instructions, a machine sits still and waits.

Humans keep technology safe

  • People decide if technology is being used kindly and for a good reason.
  • If something goes wrong, a human can always switch the machine off.

Words to know

Control

To choose what something does and when it does it

e.g. Humans control technology by pressing buttons.

Human

A person, like you and me

e.g. A human always decides if a machine is being used kindly.

Decide

To make a choice

e.g. I decide when to turn the tablet on or off.

Instructions

Steps that tell a machine or person what to do

e.g. The robot only follows instructions a human gives it.

Power button

The button you press to turn a device on or off

e.g. I tapped the power button to start the laptop.

Human in control of a tabletA child's hand pressing the power button on a tablet. An arrow points from the hand to the button, labeled "Human decides". The tablet screen shows a star to indicate it is turning on.*Human decides!
A child pressing the power button on a tablet — the human is always the one who starts the machine.
Human giving instructions to a robotA stick figure person on the left with a speech bubble saying "Go clean!" and an arrow pointing right to a simple robot on the right. Below the robot is the label "Machine does the job".Go clean!Machine doesthe job
A person tells a robot "Go clean!" — the human gives the order and the machine carries it out.
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Ask yourself: "Who decided to start this machine? Can the machine make choices on its own? Who turns it off?"

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