Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Engineering Students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Byron Newberry, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

appreciation of ethics, societal impact, globalissues, and current events, coupled with the current push toward preparing students for a “flatearth”, I believe we will see increasing progress in producing engineering graduates with greaterawareness of the technology’s relationship to society.Engineers’ Contributions to Technological IlliteracyThe National Academies report, Technically Speaking, notes several factors that contribute totechnological illiteracy.2 These factors include the complexity of modern technology, thespecialization of societal roles, the urbanization of the population, the automation of theworkplace, and a shift to a service economy. An additional factor is described as follows: “Mostmodern technologies are designed so users do

Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Non-Engineers

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Blake, Austin Peay State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

number of sources are available for stories of technological development;the author has included a listing, albeit incomplete, of sources consulted for this course. Takentogether, these stories can help students recognize the positive and negative outcomes fromtechnological change, and the process of society influencing technological change and oftechnological change influencing society. It should also help the students to understand theprocess of technological change, including issues in engineering practice, design, manufacture,and operation.The course should help students recognize problems facing human society that are related totechnology. The course includes material on energy, the environment, and sustainability.Material on these topics

Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Non-Engineers

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lawrence Whitman, Wichita State University; James Steck, Wichita State University; David Koert, Wichita State University; Larry Paarmann, Wichita State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

of a product. There is a strong need to exposeundergraduate students to engineering concepts to enable a stronger, more engineering literateworkforce among non-engineers. “We must do this for all students, both those who do and thosewho do not aspire to be scientists, mathematicians, and engineers”2. According to Wulf, “[Everycitizen] should also be familiar with the methods that engineers use to evaluate designalternatives in search of the one that best satisfies constraints related to cost, functionality, safety,reliability, manufacturability, ergonomics, and environmental impact” 3.In summary, we need to improve the technological literacy of our non-scientific workforce. Acourse that exposes non-engineering undergraduates to engineering