In their view, Fox-Turnbull and Snape (2011) note that technological activity is influenced by factors such as the social, cultural, and political. .
Crompton and Jones (2004) assert that the relationship between social or cultural development and technological advancement is complex and in some way, inseparable. To this end, simply giving students access to new information in the classroom is not enough to encourage learning if they perceive such information as lacking relevance to their technological culture. This may happen if they are unable to make connections between the new information and issues or practices within the society (Absolum, 2006; Fox-Turnbull & Snape, 2011). However, Hennessy (1993) suggests that giving students problems that allow them to work within a specific technological culture may bring about motivation to learn because of the direct and perceivable relevance to their learning. The perceivable relevance, according to Hennessy (1993) may be brought about through activity and reflection which connects to real and authentic needs, issues and practices within a society. Turnbull (2002) argues that technological education within the classroom needs to reflect authentic technological practice as much as is practical. The author determines that for students to be able to understand technological process, they must be able to actively engage in practice that reflects the culture of real technological experiences: Fox-Turnbull and Snape (2011) called this practice, situated cognition and authenticity. They defined situated cognition as encompasses thinking as part of a culturally organized activity carried out within a community of practitioners. The process, according to Bereiter, (1992) involves following laid down procedures and the ability to conceptualize what is being learned.
It is important that the style of teaching and learning in the current social dispensation take a significantly different form from that of the past centuries.