This page has some brief definitions of some key terms. After doing all the readings and exploring the additional activities, resources and videos – have a look at the Interactive Concept Map below definitions at the bottom of the page. Ecology is all about relationships – so we invite you to help us visualize the interdependent relationships between all the elements of the Ecology of Technology.
Ecology: Ecology is the study of how living organisms interact with each other, and with their habitat.
Ecosystem: The sum all of the relationships between living organisms and the components of their environment.
Niche: A subset of an ecosystem which an organism can occupy, where that subset is determined primarily by resource availability and competition.
Habitat: Where a species lives due to the presence of environmental factors which the species needs in order to survive.
Biotic: The living component of an ecosystem (animals, plants, bacteria, etc…).
Abiotic: The nonliving component of an ecosystem (sunlight, space, soil, etc…).
Dominant Species: The most abundant species within an ecosystem and the species which may define an ecosystem.
Homeostasis: In an ecological sense, homeostasis describes when a component of an ecosystem reaches equilibrium (i.e. birth rate equals death rate)
Keystone Species: A species which can have a disproportionate effect on an ecosystem; not necessarily the dominant species (i.e. the keystone species in the Great Lakes mussel ecosystem is a small invertebrate, but that invertebrate is not the dominant species of the ecosystem).
Diversity: In ecology, diversity describes the number of different species and niches found in an ecosystem.
Metaphor: is a comparison that show how two things that are not alike in most ways are similar in one important way. Many scientific models and descriptors are metaphors – for example the ecology of mind, ecology of technology.
Technological evolution: A theory which describes how technology can replace physical labour with mental labour and this, ultimately, allows for greater control over an environment.
INTERACTIVE CONCEPT MAP
After completing the readings and exploring the additional resources and videos – have a look at the Interactive Concept Map below. Ecology is all about relationships – so we invite you to help us visualize the interdependent relationships between all the elements of the Ecology of Technology – the artifacts, the students, the buildings, the IT specialists – and you as teacher, or administrator.
Ecology of Technology Concept Map