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

areappropriate; those that require geometric or visual analysis to reason about shape and fit;those that require economic or other quantitative analysis, and those requiring verbalstatement not easily expressed in formulas or algorithms. The teaching strategies fortechnological literacy listed in Table VI similarly argue for a “multiplicity or diversity ofrepresentations” for teaching technological literacy. Thus, design faculty areprofessionally aligned with such teaching strategies, and as such, are a natural manpowerpool from which to draw future instructors for this national need.Laboratories for Technological Literacy Instruction Laboratories for technological literacy explorations may contain many devices,most of which are suitable

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

on the results of surveysof student interests. Topics covered include the automobile, basic electrical appliances,telecommunications, medical imaging, and computers, Laboratories involve activities such asdisassembling a car engine, and building a simple electronic music keyboard. Enrollment isabout 48 students each semester. The lecture portion of the course is taught in a singlesection. There are two laboratory sections of 24 students each. Each laboratory section isrun by one faculty member assisted by undergraduate teaching assistants.Case Study Design A total of 139 students participated during the 2003-2004 academic year: 47 studentsin the Fall 2003 semester, 54 in the Spring 2004 semester, and 38 in the May Term (four-week

Conference Session

Defining Technological Literacy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

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

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

studies the wide variety of technology used in everyday life. Modernsociety would not exist without the aid of technology. We depend upon technologicaldevices for communication, food production, transportation, health care and evenentertainment. The course objectives are to develop a familiarity with how varioustechnological devices work and to understand the scientific principles underlying theiroperation. Topics covered include the automobile, radio, television, CD players,microwave ovens, computers, ultrasound, and x-ray imaging. Concepts from basicscience are introduced as they appear in the context of technology. Laboratory projectsinclude construction of simple objects such as radios, electric motors, and a musicalkeyboard. Since its

Conference Session

Installing & Assessing Technology Literacy Courses

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Camille George, University of St. Thomas; Elise Amel, University of St. Thomas; Karl Mueller, University of St. Thomas

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

impact on the world, are seldom addressedexplicitly. To many non-majors, energy technology seems huge, distant, foreign, and cold. In thislaboratory activity, the successful building of a decorative fountain is used to explain energytransformation and make it more accessible and understandable.Including an Environmental and Social Impact LensTalented high-school girls with the correct math and science pre-requisites tend to prefer healthscience to engineering5, probably because they seek socially important or beneficial work.6 Thecurrent solar-fountain laboratory was tested on forty 11th grade campers at an advanced STEPSsummer program to see if teaching technology through socially impacting topics would result ina behavioral outcome; would the

Conference Session

Defining Technological Literacy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kathryn Neeley, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology attempts to increase understanding of the human-built world. In this world,science and technology have broken through the walls of industry and of the laboratory tobecome an inextricable and determining element of nature, culture, and history. The STSProgram was founded at MIT in 1976 to address this unprecedented and momentousintegration of science, technology, and society. Faculty and students in the Program addresstwo basic, interrelated questions: how did science and technology evolve as human activities,and what role do they play in the larger civilization? The STS perspective is crucial tounderstanding major events of our time (war and conflict, the economy, health, theenvironment) and to addressing these and