Conference Session

Defining Technological Literacy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Greg Pearson, National Academy of Engineering; David Ollis, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

2006-695: WHAT IS TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY AND WHY DOES ITMATTER?David Ollis, North Carolina State UniversityGreg Pearson, National Academy of Engineering Greg Pearson is a Program Officer with the National Academy of Engineering in Washington, D.C. In that role, he develops and manages new areas of activity within the NAE Program Office related to technological literacy, public understanding of engineering, and engineering ethics. He currently serves as the responsible staff officer for the NSF-funded study, Assessing Technological Literacy in the United States, and the State Educators’ Symposium on Technological Literacy project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. He previously

Conference Session

Installing & Assessing Technology Literacy Courses

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Krupczak, Hope College; Greg Pearson, National Academy of Engineering; David Ollis, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

gauging the impact of efforts to enhance technological literacy and to planning future efforts. This is troubling, since substantial federal as well as private monies and expectations are being invested in such things as curriculum, instructional materials, museum exhibits, and television programming that are meant in part or whole to boost understanding of technological issues. With this problem in mind and with funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council embarked in 2003 on a major study of assessment for technological literacy. The goal of the project was to determine the most viable approach or approaches for assessing technological literacy in

Conference Session

Installing & Assessing Technology Literacy Courses

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Voss, Smith College; Borjana Mikic, Smith College

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

our technology.” Perceptions of Technology Mini-Project sketchfrom a humanities-affiliated student.Figure 2: Page 11.567.10“Explanation for you analytically-minded future engineers: swirling vortex of death. Period.”Perceptions of Technology Mini-Project sketch from a humanities-affiliated student.Figure 3:“Unlike some who feel that it is extremely bad or absolutely good, I see both sides in a balancefor I recognize what we have gained in our daily lives as well as what we have lost at the handsof technology. My picture thus represents this balance: one side has the negative aspects and theother has the positive. On the left is the negative

Conference Session

Defining Technological Literacy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Douglass Klein, Union College; Robert Balmer, Union College

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

creating the technical literacy. We view increasing technical literacy as more than an opportunity. We, too, feel a sense ofurgency.Bibliography1 K. Eric Drexler, Engines of Creation: The Coming Age of Nanotechnology, 19862 See http://www.union.edu/CT 3 George Bugliarello, “A new Trivium and Quadrivium,” Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society, 2003. 4 Traditional liberal learning is generally recognized to include the arts, humanities and the sciences. In the minds of many today there is little difference between the terms “science” and “technology,” with technology often being viewed simply as applied science. However, historically these terms have very different meanings. The meaning of the word “science” comes from the

Conference Session

Installing & Assessing Technology Literacy Courses

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Ollis, North Carolina State University; John Krupczak, Hope College

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

plane,” Produced by WGBH Boston, (2003).19. Macaulay, David, The New Way Things Work, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1998.20. Fountain, H., editor, The New York Times Circuits: how electronic things work, New York : St. Martin's Press, New York, 2001.21. Brain, Marshall, editor, How Stuff Works, Hungry Minds Press, New York, 2001.22. How Stuff Works Website, HSW Media Network, http://www.howstuffworks.com/.23. Byars, N.A., “Technology Literacy Classes: The State of the Art,” J. Engineering Education, Jan. 1998, pp. 53-61.24. Ollis, D. “Installing a Technology Literacy Course: Trials and Tribulations”, Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, June, 2004, UT.25