Conference Session

Teaching Technological Literacy - College Courses and Minors

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Austin Talley, University of Texas, Austin; Christina White, Columbia University; Kristin Wood, University of Texas, Austin; Richard Crawford, University of Texas at Austin

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

of 10 4innovation.3. I understand the basics of the 57% 42%engineering design process. 8 64. Having an instructor with an 42% 42% 7% 7%education background makes the 6 6 1 1class more diverse.5. Concept generation with 7% 64% 14% 7% 7%historical innovators is a useful 1 9 2 1 1technique.6. How satisfied are you with the 57% 42%real world examples presented in 8 6 Page 15.366.21class.Results

Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Non-Engineers

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Barbara Oakley, Oakland University; Lorenzo Smith, Oakland University; Yin-ping (Daniel) Chang, Oakland University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

technology. Real world applications. Hands-on laboratories using digital signal processor kits. Occasional. Annual Enroll: Course rarely taught—enrollment n/a. EGN 1360 Materials in Today’s World: A survey of the properties, manufacture, and uses of metals, ceramics, and polymers in today’s world with emphasis on modern developments and new

Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Engineering Students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Camille George, University of St. Thomas; Elise Amel, University of Saint Thomas; Christopher Greene, University of Saint Thomas

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

security. In short, our way of life depends on refrigeration. Without it oursociety would be in crisis. It is a technology “by which humans have modified nature to meettheir wants and needs”.7Explanation of physical lawsMany engineering students have difficulty understanding and connecting the fundamentalrelationships of thermodynamics and the physical behavior of real systems.8 Mathematicalmodels seem abstract and counterintuitive. For the average person, refrigeration appears complexand beyond their comprehension. Also, most people have limited real world experience with thebehavior and consequences of phase changes or with multiunit cyclic systems. However,refrigeration is an excellent example of how man has utilized the natural laws to create

Conference Session

Technological Literacy for K-12 and for Community College Students: Concepts, Assessment, and Courses

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steve Macho, Buffalo State College

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

and culture; of which the school is a part.Design (observe, choose & create) Design includes the acts of PLANNING WHAT WE WANT. Design, as aprocess referred to in this paper, can be best defined in the works of Victor Papanek.Papanek was the author of Design for the Real World (1971, rev 1984). All Men are designers. All that we do, almost all the time is design, for design is basic to all human activity. The planning and pattering of any act towards a desired, foreseeable in constitutes the design process. … Design is the conscious effort to impose meaningful order. (1971, p. 3) Dr Andrew Horton has established himself as an expert practitioner of the use ofdesign as pedagogy. He has

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

, abilities, and the application of both knowledge and abilities to real-world situations. Citizens of all ages benefit from technological literacy, whether it is obtained through formal or informal educational environments. While TfAAP focuses it activities on achieving technological literacy in K-12, its vision isclearly universal. It goes on to state: Technological literacy is far more than the ability to use technological tools. Technologically literate citizens employ systems-oriented thinking as they interact with the technological world, cognizant of how such interaction affects individuals, our society, and

Conference Session

Improving Technical Understanding of All Americans

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Engstrom, ITEA/Cal U

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

• Journaling • Math Skills • Assessing Technology • Scientific Inquiry SkillsTeachers were also asked to identify three key benefits to students of the I3 unit. Several keybenefits were noted consistently and most frequently by teachers throughout the piloting andfield testing phases of this project. These were as follows: • Understanding and applying the Engineering Design Process • Working in Group • Understanding of Technology • Problem solving • Constructing/Building a product • Creative Thinking/Creativity • Real World Application of Learning • Integration of Subjects • Student Excitement • Learning New VocabularyComments from teachers from

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

based on desired results and cost. The gradedevent for this portion of the course requires the student teams to create three different designs fora provided scenario and to compare and contrast the designs based on criteria they develop.Criteria may include cost, security, expandability, redundancy, flexibility, etc.Near the completion of this module, students are brought into a lab where they construct anetwork that includes routers, switches, a server, multiple laptops, and voice-over-IP phones.They see the network principles they have just learned in a live environment. Additionally, theyhave a guest lecture on real-world network and communication infrastructures.Managing InformationThe next part of the course covers the design and

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

studentsbelong to groups under-represented in engineering such as women and minorities, andthose who have a poor preparation in math. 9. Focus on four or five key concepts 10. Choose topics relevant and familiar to students. Focus on “real world”applications and technologies that make a difference in daily life ( computers,transportation , heating and cooling, xerography, aviation, communications … ) 11. Draw on introductory engineering textbooks in your field as a source ofsimple problems for the class to tackle. 12. Use computers for more than word processing. Introduce students toprogramming, CAD/CAM and computer modeling. Have students use email and explorethe Internet. 13. Arrange visits

Conference Session

Installing & Assessing Technology Literacy Courses

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew Ohland, Clemson University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

worldto the fun and experience of solving real-world problems by applying math, science, andtechnology.18New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Center for Pre-College Programs is a multi-facetedprogram that includes crossover interaction between first-year engineering and pre-collegeoutreach to elementary and secondary schools. The Center was founded in the ChemicalEngineering and Chemistry department. The involvement of first-year engineering in the pre-college efforts includes the use of first-year engineering design modules in secondary education,participation of engineering faculty and graduate students in in-service secondary teacherdevelopment, development of bridge programs to specific engineering disciplines, assignment ofengineering

Conference Session

Engineering Courses for Non-engineers

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Loendorf, Eastern Washington University; Terence Geyer, Eastern Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

Motorola. His interests include engineering management, real-time embedded systems, and digital signal processing.Terence Geyer, Eastern Washington University Terence L. D. Geyer is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Engineering & Design at Eastern Washington University. He obtained his B.S. in Manufacturing Technology and M.Ed. in Adult Education in a specially combined program of Technology and Education at Eastern Washington University. His interests include collecting and re-manufacturing older technologies. Page 14.759.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2009

Conference Session

Improving Technical Understanding of All Americans

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elaine Cooney, Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis; Karen Alfrey; Steve Owens, Indiana University - Purdue University-Indianapolis

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

introduction to sustainabledevelopment, students were asked to evaluate an open-ended, real-world design problem– relieving congestion along Interstate 25 from Denver north to Wyoming, an area ofrecent significant growth in population and jobs – with an eye toward sustainabledevelopment. Course activities related to the feasibility study were designed to leadstudents through the stages of critical and reflective thinking articulated by King andKitchener [12] as depicted in Table 2. The goal is to help students achieve the higherstages of development of critical thinking as a result of their experiences. These stages ofdevelopment also provide a useful rubric to evaluate a student’s current stage of criticalthinking, by examining the student’s

Conference Session

Technological Literacy and the Educated Person

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michele Dischino, Central Connecticut State University; James DeLaura, Central Connecticut State University; Patrick Foster, Central Connecticut State University; David Sianez, CCSU

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

reached the proficient level inmathematics in 2005, and the rates were lower for mathematics at grades 8 and 12, and at allthree grades for science. International comparisons of student mathematics and scienceperformance indicate U.S. students perform below average in mathematics and science forindustrialized countries.4 U.S. 15-year-olds ranked 27th out of the 39 countries participating inthe 2003 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) examination, designed to assessstudents’ abilities to apply scientific and mathematical concepts to real-world problems.5At the same time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 6 forecasts that total employment in fieldsthat the National Science Foundation classifies as science and engineering will

Conference Session

Engineering Courses for Non-engineers

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Blake, Austin Peay State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

in particular, that of the ill-fated California Development Company and theuncontrolled flooding of the Imperial Valley due to the failure to include proper controls in ahastily constructed irrigation channel,23 gives a real example of negative consequences from atechnological project. By tying the movie in with other course materials, it is hoped that both theoptimists and the pessimists find a balance between the pursuit of benefits and the managementof risks.Detailed Synopsis Highlighting Specific Examples Used in the CourseThe movie is set in a world of new technological marvels, such as a spacecraft that can carrypeople through interstellar space. As if this interstellar spacecraft was not enough of a marvel, itlands on a planet that

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

was designed as an independent unit of instruction. The lesson plan for eachmodule included: title, objective, connection to SCANS (skills, reading, math, science Page 12.12.5objectives), the essential concepts, vocabulary words and terms, background information andknowledge base, real-world connection, activity, materials, and assessment. The modules were:Introduction (to class and LEGO MINDSTORMS), Gearing Principles, Flight Controls,Engineering Graphics, Information Transmission and Storage, Sensors, and Production Systems.Each of these modules used a consistent format. Day 1 (scheduled for 2 hours) had a lecture andsome basic hands-on. Day 2

Conference Session

Technological Literacy and K-12 Engineering

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nataliia Perova, Tufts University; Chris Rogers, Tufts University; David Henry Feldman, Tufts University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

Engineering Curriculum Framework and its inclusion in Massachusetts’scurriculum standards.IntroductionIn a world where technology plays a very important role, technological literacy becomes one ofthe important goals in our education. In 2002, the Technological Literacy Committee of theNational Academy of Engineering issued a report stating that “technological literacy is essentialfor people living in a modern nation like United States” and defined technological literacy as “anunderstanding of the nature and history of technology, a basic hands-on capability related totechnology, and the ability to think critically about technological developments”.1 One of therecommendations followed from the Committee’s report was to strengthen the presence

Conference Session

Teaching Technological Literacy - Engaging Students

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Loendorf, Eastern Washington University; Terence Geyer, Eastern Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

include engineering management, technological literacy, and real-time embedded systems.Terence Geyer, Eastern Washington University Terence L. D. Geyer is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Engineering & Design at Eastern Washington University. He obtained his B.S. in Manufacturing Technology and M.Ed. in Adult Education in a specially combined program of Technology and Education at Eastern Washington University. His interests include collecting and re-manufacturing older technologies. Page 15.1004.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 Promoting Technological

Conference Session

Engineering and Technology for Everyone

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Patricia Carlson, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

that they believe the teaching methods enabled by PRISM engage female and minoritystudents better than traditional instructional approaches.Table 5Active Learning and Inquiry-Based Pedagogy______________________________________________________________________________ a b c d e SA % A% D% SD % NE % By using the electronic resources delivered through Moodle, my students are able to link real-world applications with the more abstract 37.9 50

Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Engineering Students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Krupczak, Hope College

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

locations and, by Hooke’s law, reduces the strain. A number ofauthors use this heuristic approach, a typical example is Holtzapple and Reece.21Students have now acquired an intuitive and visual understanding of the I-beam as animportant mechanical design element. There is little possibility that this explanation canbe misunderstood. A foundation of accurate prior knowledge has been established forlater study at a more advanced level. They can also now do basic I-beam design problemsusing algebraic equations.Understanding and using the I-beam mechanical design sub-function provides the senseof empowerment and connection to the “real world” that engineering majors are seekingfrom their education. The I-beam is a familiar, easily recognized mechanical

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

which supports self-efficacy to foster technological literacy inboth the high-school and undergraduate students. This approach is also preparing engineeringundergraduates for success in professional practice as well as facilitating future successfuloutreach and mentoring strategies for these students to further technological literacy in futuregenerations.IntroductionIn the ITEA Standards of Technological Literacy, the author’s [3] state that “…One of the greatbenefits of learning about technology is also learning to do technology, that is, to carry out in thelaboratory-classroom many of the processes that underlie the development of technology in thereal world…” The partnership program described here accomplishes this concurrently for high

Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Non-Engineers

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Ollis, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

Engineering EducationTable 2Lab experience assessed by Industrial Design students________________________________________________________________________Things that worked to help them learn Visualizing how things fit into space, “making it real”. Feedback from the engineering student lab assistants during progress display (pin- up) session. Having the lab assistants present as a resource, especially in the studio. Engineering assistants were not conceptually limiting; they used their imagination. Working in a (design student) group at the beginning when in the engineering lab. Prepared design students for real world where designers and engineers work together. Engineering instructor was

Conference Session

Technological Literacy and the Educated Person

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Heywood, Trinity College Dublin

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

enter the world; or the needs of society. This is in the sense that thereis no real understanding of the implications of technological development for life andsocial structure; or that economic survival depends on the ability of industry to utilisethe technology of organizations and artefacts for its efficiency in generating wealth.Engineering brings all these things together as the simplification of the activity inexhibit 2 illustrates. The base of the stool represents the power of human beings thatresides in their minds. It is the mind that is the source of ideas and decisions.Information is passed from and to the mind along the legs that contain thetechnologies of action that support the economy and embrace society. The horizontalsupport

Conference Session

Technological Literacy for K-12 and for Community College Students: Concepts, Assessment, and Courses

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen O'Brien, The College of New Jersey

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

, only minimal calculus is covered in this course. This course emphasizes effective problem-solving using basic mathematical skills and not on “memorizing the right equation for every problem.” Topics include calculating and graphing with Excel, units analysis, measurement & error/variability, probability/statistics (with applications in both engineering and education research), polar coordinates, the math of statics and dynamics (ballistics) with associated basic trigonometry, exponential functions (often in the context of financial or biological processes) and basic calculus processes with Excel. This course includes a variety of active “math labs” with the intent of making our future teachers capable and

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

organizer and as a stimulus for learning. As a content organizer, the statement ofthe problem raises the concepts and principles relevant to the content domain [12] and identifieskey parameters for the scope or depth of coverage in that domain. In PBL, authenticcontemporary problems are deliberately selected because they require students to examine real-world data and engage in professional practices. The authenticity and relevance of this problemserves as a powerful stimulus for initiating and sustaining self-directed and collaborativelearning. Page 13.1187.5In the PBL approach taken to examine technology assessment, the instructor selects an