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

broaderissues. This author concurs with Ollis35 that, for the individual taking on the course, this can be avery rewarding experience. At this time, there is significant diversity among courses beingoffered in this area.5 Even with the push for development of common standards for thesecourses,6,7 there should still be room for the instructor to adapt a course to the specific needs oftheir institution. Attracting students to the course may be a challenge, however, there is benefitfor the instructor, the department or school, and to society when this challenge is met.Bibliography 1. Technically Speaking – Why All Americans Need to Know More About Technology, National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 2002. ISBN 0-309-08262-5. 2. Bugliarello

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

of collaborative effortThe end-of-semester student questionnaire results appear in Table 1. Page 12.54.5 Proceedings of the 2007 American Society of Engineering Education Conference and Exposition Copyright @ 2007 American Society of Engineering EducationTable 1Student Survey Form and Results Summary:Did the lab component enhance achievement of course learning objectives ?________________________________________________________________________This brief survey explores the degree to which the addition of a ‘hands-on” laboratorycomponent to your course, “Spanish for Engineers: Language, Culture, Technology”, hasenhanced the

Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Engineering Students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Devon, Pennsylvania State University; David Ollis, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

they exist both within and around technology.3While persuasive in general, there are many caveats to these propositions: 1. It is not possible to be literate about all, or even most, technologies. Doctors, electrical engineers, and chemical engineers, for example, typically live in largely mutually exclusive worlds.2 2. It may be more important to be able to think sensibly about a technology, its costs and benefits and for whom, than to understand how it works.4 3. In a diverse world, there will be people whose talents and lives do not require “technological literacy,” and whose views of technology may be valuable precisely because of that.4 4. Technology has become increasingly idiot proof for users, even

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

developed for the class and the results of theworkshop held in August 2006. The desired outcome of the class is that technologically non-proficient citizens will be better prepared to function in a global, technology-intense world.Introduction/ Motivation “Are we providing students with the intellectual skills and background they will need toappreciate and continue learning about SME&T [Science, Mathematics, Engineering andTechnology] throughout their lives?”1. There is a growing need to build a broad base ofunderstanding and appreciation of engineering principles that lies behind much of our technologytoday. These skills need to be established in those students who would never take an engineeringclass. The new liberal education must include

Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Engineering Students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Shayna Stanton, Student; Michael Bailey, Brigham Young University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

willhave on society in the future.What is Being DoneMany companies and organizations are working to alleviate the growing problem oftechnological illiteracy. There are resources for those seeking education. The NationalAcademy of Engineering and National Research Council have established a committee ontechnological literacy. This committee produced a report entitled Technically Speaking: Why AllAmericans Need to Know More about Technology4. Through their research they developed threedimensions of technological literacy: Knowledge, Capabilities, and Ways of Thinking andActing. Competency in these dimensions moves from limited to extensive, low to high, andpoorly developed to highly developed respectively (see figure 1

Conference Session

Engineering for Nonengineers: Ideas & Results

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Vince Bertsch, Santa Rosa Junior College

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

://busapp02.santarosa.edu/SRCurric/SR_CourseOutlines.aspx?mode=1&CVID=7203&Semester=20087Vince Bertsch1/18/08 Page 13.1185.3 ENGR 12 Course Outline as of Fall 2008ENGR 12 HOW STUFF WORKSFull Title: How Stuff Works - The Science Behind ThingsUnits Course Hours per Week Nbr of Weeks Course Hours TotalMaximum 4.00 Lecture Scheduled 3.00 17.5 Lecture Scheduled 52.50Minimum 4.00 Lab Scheduled 3.00 17.5 Lab Scheduled 52.50Title 5 Category: AA Degree ApplicableGrading: Credit Course for Grade or CR/NCRepeatability: 00 - One

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

context.IntroductionIn publishing “Technically Speaking [1],” The National Academy of Engineering hasemphasized the need for all Americans to understand and appreciate our technologicalinfrastructure. The National Science Foundation’s “Shaping the Future” challenged science andengineering faculty to insure that: “All students have access to supportive, excellentundergraduate education in science, mathematics, engineering and technology [2].”This call for technological literacy has resulted in some action; however, the national efforts arethus far directed largely toward the pre-college population. The International TechnologicalEducation Association (ITEA) with support from the NSF and NASA has produced a set ofstandards that help define the concept of

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

. In addition to thesethree cognitive dimensions, four content areas were defined: (1) technology and society, (2)design, (3) products and systems, and (4) characteristics, concepts, and connections. Finally, anassessment matrix was proposed that combined the four content areas (the rows of the matrix)with the three cognitive dimensions (the columns of the matrix), and it is this matrix that spurredthe development of the proposed framework (see Section 3).Simultaneously, the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) also developed aset of standards (ITEA 2000) for technological literacy, which was published in their report Page

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

ethical responsibility; andunderstanding the impact of engineering solutions within a contemporary and societalcontext. Furthermore, IUPUI, like many universities, explicitly recognizes theimportance of critical thinking as a component of undergraduate education by identifyingit among the university’s Principles of Undergraduate Learning (PULs). However, theability to think critically and independently is cited by employers as one of the greatestdeficiencies in recent engineering graduates [1, 2]. We may believe we are fosteringcritical thinking skills in our engineering and technology curricula – but are ourundergraduates developing those skills as we intend?Background and Motivation“Critical thinking” is the ability to analyze carefully and

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

AC 2008-1732: TECHNOLOGY IN CONTEXT: INTEGRATINGTECHNOLOGICAL "LITERACY" WITH SCIENCE REQUIREMENTS FORNON-MAJORSKathryn Neeley, University of VirginiaW. Bernard Carlson, University of Virginia Chair of Technological Literacy Constituent CommitteeSarah Pfatteicher, University of Wisconsin - Madison Former chair of Liberal Education Division of ASEEBruce Seely, Michigan Technological UniversityDouglass Klein, Union CollegeRonald Miller, Colorado School of Mines Page 13.1190.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Technology in Context: Integrating Technological “Literacy”1 with Science Requirements for Non

Conference Session

Engineering for Nonengineers: Ideas & Results

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Deborah Mechtel, U.S. Naval Academy; Andrew McCue, U.S. Naval Academy; Keith Kintzley, U.S. Naval Academy; Robert Voigt, U.S. Naval Academy

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

literacy ofstudents with majors as diverse as English, Political Science, Economics, Mathematicsand Chemistry by offering a two course overview of fundamental Electrical Engineeringtopics. The goal of this course sequence is not to train engineers, but to introducestudents to the language and concepts of electrical engineering so that they are effectivein their role as future Navy or Marine Corps Officers. An additional goal is animprovement in their problem solving and critical thinking skills. These goals correspondto some of the traits that characterize the knowledge and capabilities components oftechnological literacy.1 As pointed out by Ollis and Pearson2, it would be difficult to findany person that exhibited all the characteristics

Conference Session

Engineering for Nonengineers: Ideas & Results

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Ollis, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

examplesJacquard’s invention of automated weaving, and the modern computer A computer program is a non-repetitive series of instructions which can beexecuted by an appropriate machine to produced a desired outcome. The origins of themodern computer hark back to Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace, his companion. Atthe base of all calculating machines is ultimately a binary system, typically represented aszeroes and ones. The earliest use of such an information encoding system occurred not incomputing but in weaving, and was promulgated in Lyon, France, during the industrialrevolution. Lyon was Europe’s silk capital, and the weaving of silk produced remarkably softfabrics. The fineness of the silk thread meant that, at 1/20,000 of an inch in

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

accomplishment of ourinstitution’s IT literacy goal, which states that “Graduates understand and apply informationtechnology concepts to acquire, manage, communicate and defend information, solve problems,and adapt to technological change.”1 The course accomplishes this by emphasizing both thetheory and the practice of information technology. From a theoretical perspective, it is criticalthat our students understand the general concepts involved with acquiring, communicating,managing, and defending information. From a more pragmatic viewpoint, though, we strive toalso produce students who have the skills necessary to apply various IT tools in finding practicalsolutions to diverse problems in often unpredictable problem domains. Ideally, we want

Conference Session

Engineering for Nonengineers: Ideas & Results

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregory Zieren, Austin Peay State University; John Blake, Austin Peay State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

who specialize in other fields can point tocases where a technological innovation was a critical element in the course of history. The paperwill also explore areas where the engineer’s ability to understand how technology works isneeded, and how the expertise of the engineer and the historian can complement each other.IntroductionIn the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) publication “Technically Speaking,”technological literacy is described as giving people the knowledge necessary to understand, thinkcritically about, and make informed decisions about technology.1 The report describes this ashaving the dimensions of knowledge, ways of thinking and acting, and capabilities. In thisdescription, knowledge includes understanding of how a

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

has shifted and technologicalliteracy depends on what they learn in the classroom and from the media.Technological literacy has been defined in many ways. "Technological literacy requires theability of an individual to code and encode technological messages.... It means being able to Page 14.759.3understand and use words and their meaning" (Waetjen13, 1993). "Technological literacy can bethought of a comprising three interrelated dimensions that help describe the characteristics of atechnologically literate person... (1) knowledge; (2) ways of thinking and acting; and (3)capabilities" (National Academy of Engineering9, 2008). "Technological

Conference Session

Engineering Courses for Non-engineers

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bradley Bishop, United States Naval Academy

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

aforementioned three fundamentalquestions: Page 14.1132.2Question 1: What is possible, based on our current understanding of the laws of the universe?This is projection, and is important in that it prevents the students from discussing their favoriteFaster-Than-Light travel methods and techniques for perpetual motion as part of the class, andalso makes them question closely the science behind current projects aimed at extremely esotericobjectives. Projection is rarely a negative, in that it is very difficult to say with certainty thatsomething is not possible. Rather, projection typically results in either a positive (a thing ispossible) or a neutral (it

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

Engineering and Technology for Everyone

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Patricia Carlson, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

educators to try out web-basedresources to which they might not otherwise have convenient access. Moving toward 6,000registered members, the user community has grown dramatically since its inception in September2003. On peak days, the site receives close to 1,200 unique visits. Assessment of PRISM’seffectiveness has been reported elsewhere.1,2At its core, PRISM’s mission is to help teachers embrace digital learning tools as extensions oftheir own dynamic presence in the classroom. The objective is to move beyond mere surfaceappeal in order to integrate computer-mediated resources into traditional STEM curricula. Tothis end, we provide two complementary services: (1) A library of over 2,300 online teaching resources (e.g. simulations, scientific

Conference Session

Engineering Courses for Non-engineers

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert J. Gustafson; Bruce Trott, Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

14.1286.2in Autumn Quarter of 2009. Page 1 of 9Working Definition for Technological LiteracyA review of literature and existing programs showed that there is no universally accepteddefinition of technological literacy. However the college chose to work from the basicdescription and general learning objectives developed by a recent Technological Literacy TaskForce in the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences1. “In the broadest sense, technology is the process by which we modify nature and society using knowledge of science and engineering to create new ways to meet our needs and wants2. Technology comprises the entire system of people and

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

literacygives people the knowledge necessary to understand, think critically about, and make informeddecisions about technology.1 The report describes this as having three dimensions: “knowledge, Page 14.1328.2ways of thinking and acting, and capabilities,” and specifics for each of these dimensions (quoteddirectly from the report as follows).2 Knowledge - Recognizes the pervasiveness of technology in everyday life. - Understands basic engineering concepts and terms, such as systems, constraints, and trade-offs. - Is familiar with the nature and limitations of the engineering design process. - Knows some of the ways

Conference Session

Engineering and Technology for Everyone

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mani Mina, Iowa State University; Ryan M. Gerdes, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

programs at alllevels are responsible for educating nonengineers about technology,1–10 we, as engineers, have aduty to provide effective technological literacy for the other 99.5% of U.S. citizens. Most of thecountry’s leadership usually comes from this larger group of citizens and generally has only avague understanding of engineering and the use of technology for the national interest.Engineering concepts are pervasive in decision making within industry, government, education,and health care, and yet people make most decisions in these sectors with little or no formalengineering education. It is thus apparent that there is a national need for programs that trainnonengineers to understand technological issues and possibilities and to be ready to

Conference Session

Engineering and Technology for Everyone

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Krupczak

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

individuals with experience relevant to improving thetechnological literacy of undergraduates 6,7. Participants included individuals who successfullyimplemented courses on technological literacy for undergraduates, representatives of otherdisciplines such as Science Technology and Society (STS), History of Technology, Education,and the humanities, and representatives of the National Science Foundation and the NationalAcademy of Engineering. The participants are listed in Tables 1 and 2.Table 1: Developing Standard Models Workshop: Participants from Academic Institutions.Vince Bertsch, Santa Rosa Junior CollegeCathy Brawner, Research Triangle Edu. ConsultantsTaft Broome, Howard UniversityBernie Carlson, University of VirginiaStephen Cutcliffe, Lehigh

Conference Session

Potpourri

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Krupczak, Hope College

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

engineered or human-builtproducts.Outline of Functional Analysis PrinciplesFunctional analysis uses block-diagram type of structure to represent a technical system. Infunctional analysis or functional decomposition a product is represented as a functionalsystem26,34.The “black box” function transforms input into outputs. Figure 1 illustrates the basicfunctional analysis representation. Energy Energy Device Represented Materials as a Functional Materials SystemInformation InformationFigure 1: Basic Functional Analysis Representation.The overall function of a

Conference Session

Defining Technological Literacy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kathryn Neeley, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

” February 15, 2004I. Introduction The opening sections of Technically Speaking: Why All Americans Need to Know Moreabout Technology (2002), a joint publication of the National Research Council and the NationalAcademy of Engineering, make it clear that the initiative called “technological literacy” isconcerned with a sophisticated and heterogeneous combination of “knowledge, ways of thinking,and capabilities” and focused on ambitious goals: “To take full advantage of the benefits and torecognize, address, and even avoid some of the pitfalls of technology. . . [to help citizens]become better stewards of technological change”.1 To borrow from the quote that begins this paper, it is unfortunate to see such a promisingconcept saddled with a

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

implications of those technologies for theworld? This paper addresses the concept of technological literacy for 21st centuryundergraduates and proposes an agenda for a new liberal arts curriculum which we call“Converging Technologies” which emphasizes both “technology” and “literacy.”I. Introduction It is high time to address and bridge the historical gulf between engineering and theliberal arts in higher education. Both engineering and liberal arts educators should not merelyview this as an interesting sideline, but rather as an educational imperative in order to introducestudents to the new interdisciplinary ideas that are changing the landscape of global society, andto “minimize the threat of terminal incompetence.”1 How long can we produce

Conference Session

Defining Technological Literacy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

W. Bernard Carlson, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

their livesand their culture, I have selected these themes and examples because they are provocativeand would hopefully get students thinking and talking about how people use technology. Page 11.1238.2Theme 1: People use technology not only to pursue economic goals but also spiritualgoals2 To help students think about how people use technology to pursue noneconomicgoals, I find it advantageous to use the Shakers as a case study. By looking at theShakers, students can readily appreciate how people manifest their spiritual beliefsthrough technology. In many ways, the Shakers represent what David Nye has called a"counternarrative" to the

Conference Session

Installing & Assessing Technology Literacy Courses

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew Ohland, Clemson University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

Engineering Education, 2006 First-Year Engineering Programs and Technological LiteracyI. AbstractThe importance of technological literacy is briefly reviewed. The remainder of the paper focuseson the promotion of technological literacy through connections with first-year engineeringprograms: involvement of engineering faculty and students in K-12 classrooms, the involvementof engineering faculty and graduate students in K-12 teacher preparation, and engineering facultyinvolvement in improving the technological literacy of college students.II. Technological literacy and why the engineering profession is concerned about itTechnological literacy is the ability to use, manage, assess, and understand technologicalsystems,1 requiring both

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

includemechanical dissections and/or design challenges, as well as a final team-based design project inwhich they are asked to design an approach to the problem of technology literacy on the Smithcampus. In addition, each student completes a thirty hour machine shop module in which shelearns how to use all major tools in the shop in the fabrication of her own hand-held tool (acombination hammer and screwdriver). Accompanying these design activities and relateddiscussions on teamwork and creativity are a set of readings and discussions on the philosophicalaspects of engineering as a profession in service to humanity and the impact of technology onsociety [1-5]. Each student writes and revises (twice) a narrative essay in which she explores herevolving sense

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

range ofissues (historical, economic, technical, social) inherent in design instruction and problemsolving. In consequence, we propose instruction in technological literacy as a newopportunity for design faculty. Through this activity, these faculty will be among the firstto be viewed by non-engineering students, not just the last instructors to be encounteredby undergraduate engineers. This situation could provide design instructors with a newand professionally rewarding territory for representation of both the design process anddesigners themselves.Introduction More than ten years ago, Edward W. Ernst 1 discussed the technological literacyof students in non-technical majors: “Within the past decade (approx. 1985-1995

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

lab’ core course or can be incorporated into a sophomorelevel mechanical or electrical engineering course with additional advanced options.A technology-literate population is a critical national asset in the global market, and it isnecessary for every person in the U.S. to “be all they can be, technically”.1 In 2002, mechanicalengineering positions were among the most numerous available to bachelor's degree students.2The cold facts are that few U.S. citizens are selecting technical careers, particularly engineering.Reasons for this lack of interest in engineering are systemic, starting with pre-college studentsand their teachers, who either do not know what engineering is or who avoid it based on theirnegative perception of what engineering