Conference Session

Improving Technical Understanding of All Americans

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kara Harris, College of Technology - Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

, and it suggests that the profession is for someone “like me.” Girls want their future job to be enjoyable, have a good working environment, make a difference, offer a good salary, and be flexible. (p.12) 8With this obvious need present to recruit individuals into ETTE, specifically females andan understanding of what motivates young women to choose certain career paths, theresearcher has identified specific factors that influenced females to choose ETTE as acareer path. Research Questions 1. What are the basic demographic data of females pursuing degrees in ETTE in the United States? 2. What factors influenced females to peruse degrees in ETTE?Methodology This study was conducted in the fall semester

Conference Session

Improving Technical Understanding of All Americans

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Kasarda, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Brenda Brand, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Michael Collver, Montgomery County Public Schools; Gabriel Goldman, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

during the process. This aspect is particularly appropriate and critical for the success of courses and experiences focused on achieving technological literacy in young students.While it can be argued that the application of Bandura’s (and other’s) educational components forself-efficacy should be applied to all levels of STEM education, the authors believe it isparticularly critical in scenarios where one of the major goals is to achieve technological literacyand comfort with STEM subjects in younger students. By achieving self-efficacy of students intechnological literacy, the door is opened for many students to pursue STEM careers who wouldnot have considered this path otherwise. Assessment of this hypothesis is underway, but

Conference Session

Service Courses for Non-Engineers

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Krupczak, Hope College; Timothy Simpson, Pennsylvania State University; Vince Bertsch, Santa Rosa Junior College; Kate Disney, Mission College; Elsa Garmire, Dartmouth College; Barbara Oakley, Oakland University; Mary Rose, Ball State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

between theNAE and ITEA approaches, but first we review other related work in this area.Engineering and Technology Courses for Non-Engineers.The engineering education community has begun developing a broader scope, becoming activebeyond its traditional boundaries. Engineers have embraced the need to increase the awarenessand understanding of engineering as a career by initiating a number of programs aimed at the K-12 audience. A recent example is the American Society for Engineering Education’s (ASEE)publication, Engineering Go For It,[9] and a website [10] aimed at a K-12 students and teachers.Most major engineering societies now have outreach activities for K-12 [11-14]; meanwhile,ITEA is working to develop program and assessment standards, and

Conference Session

Engineering for Nonengineers: Ideas & Results

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mani Mina, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

devices and systems • Understand the capabilities and limitations of basic manufacturing processes and engineering systems.Who is it for? and who is in it?The program is design to be an effective minor to supplement the student’s non-engineeringdegree programs. This proposed program is designed to help students who are not engineeringmajors but are interested in understanding “how things work” • Are looking at directorship, management, technical marketing, sales, and related careers in an industry that continues to involve more technology • Are possibly interested in public policy—decisions impacting government, education, industry, religious institutions, health care • Are thinking about working in bioengineering

Conference Session

Service Courses for Non-Engineers

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

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

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

technologicalliteracy is defined as the broad understanding of all types of technological devices and processnot just computers. Educators in Computer Science, Engineering and Technology have aresponsibility to educate all students not just those intending technical careers. Despite the needfor all Americans to become technologically literate, technical literacy is not likely to gain wideacceptance until the scholarly community develops standard courses that are supported bytextbooks and other course materials. This National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsoredworkshop sought to identify and define several models of technological literacy courses. Basedon a review of courses already developed and comparisons to other disciplines, four candidatestandard models

Conference Session

Engineering for Nonengineers: Ideas & Results

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kathryn Neeley, University of Virginia; W. Bernard Carlson, University of Virginia; Sarah Pfatteicher, University of Wisconsin - Madison; Bruce Seely, Michigan Technological University; Douglass Klein, Union College; Ronald Miller, Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

and careers. The answers to both these questions have rootsdeep within academic culture. Changing that culture is a significant challenge, but one that seemsclearly worth making.A third possible area of research would focus on service learning and community-based studentresearch, another area where multiple forms of expertise are required for effective course designand meaningful research.ConclusionTechnology in Context offers an incremental approach to integrating courses that achieve theaims of TL into undergraduate curricula. With a relatively small investment of faculty time, theapproach should result in a much larger number of courses that both function as and areexplicitly recognized as TL courses. Perhaps more importantly, designing

Conference Session

Service Courses for Non-Engineers

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Suchan, United States Military Academy; Susan Schwartz, United States Military Academy; Edward Sobiesk, United States Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

studentswho embrace and believe in IT, and who are confident from their current experiences that theywill have the ability to successfully employ future, not-yet-developed IT tools throughout theirprofessional career. We accomplish this goal by emphasizing hands-on learning, with studentscompleting numerous in-class exercises and labs as well as several team projects, all of whichare designed to help them learn how to learn IT.Even though this course is for non-engineers, we receive an abundance of anecdotal evidencefrom our former students that the technological literacy gained in this course has made asignificant difference in their chosen fields.A Foundation Based on CyberspaceThe concepts of the World Wide Web (WWW) and electronic media permeate

Conference Session

Improving Technical Understanding of All Americans

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Rose, Ball State University; Jim Flowers, Ball State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

Course Management Systemas its primary delivery and collaborative venue.With the successful implementation of this online course and the results of a national needsassessment which demonstrated a perceived need for and interest in an online masters degreeprogram in technology education [4], the department received approval to transition twograduate programs to complete online delivery, including the Master of Arts in TechnologyEducation and the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education. Since 2000, Technology:Use and Assessment has served both technical and technology teachers from these programs, aswell as graduate students from audiology, wellness and gerontology, computer science, policystudies, and school administration. After 12