When one mentions the word engineering, most people think immediately of high-tech items such as computers, or large-scale projects such as bridges, buildings, and roads. While these products represent the products of engineering, there are clear challenges to having students work directly on any of these projects in the context of a science…

West Springfield High School sits on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., in Fairfax County, Virginia. WSHS is home to a thriving and growing technology education program. In recent years, the program has exploded from less than 175 students to well over 425. These numbers are expected to continue to grow in the foreseeable future. In 2002, the…

Discusses a variety of sensors--specifically those of the NASA Mars Pathfinder Lander--and identifies other kinds of sensor technologies used in the industrial and scientific world. Suggests that using sensors to solve technological problems is limited only by one's creativity and imagination. (JOW)

In an effort to develop an engineering design project that would deliver the necessary content and reach out to the English Language Learner (ELL) community, faculty in the Engineering Academy at Springdale High School in Springdale, Arkansas instituted the ELL Engineering Collaborative. The ELL Engineering Collaborative has four primary goals…

After attending a conference session about marketing, the author and his colleagues were inspired to start their own marketing program for the technology education program at Unionville High School in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. When they started, they had no idea how much that simple marketing program would pay off. Over the past seven years,…

This article describes and discusses the broad goals of the research program, "Technology Education Research Symposium Pilot Program: Growing the Research Base in Technology Education," that took place in 2002. This research effort was designed to introduce students to research at an early stage in their academic careers and encourage them to…

"Technological Issues" is one of a series of standards-based curricula being developed through the Center for the Advancement of Teaching Technology and Science (CATTS). This curriculum has been developed by the author of this article over the past year and a half. In this article, the author describes what it takes to develop a curriculum that…

In Putnam County, Ohio, an integrated curriculum applies science and math through enhancements to hands-on laboratory components and linkages with local manufacturers. The high school students learn to apply theories to real-world situations, develop teamwork skills and computer literacy, and learn about local employers. (SK)

The International Technology Education Association (ITEA) conducted research on the status of technology education in the United States in 2006-2007. This was the third study conducted by ITEA on the condition of the study of technology in all 50 states. The previous studies were completed by ITEA's Technology for All Americans Project in…

In classroom settings, most problems are usually well defined, so students have little experience with open-ended problems. Technological design problems, however, are seldom well defined. The design process begins with broad ideas and concepts and continues in the direction of ever-increasing detail, resulting in an acceptable solution. So using…

Technology teacher educators across the nation are considering what changes will be made to their pre-service teacher education programs to implement the standards in Standards for Technological Literacy (STL) (ITEA, 2000/2002) and to help future teachers learn to develop and teach curriculum that is based on those standards (Custer & Wright,…

Appropriate Technology (AT) concepts have been discussed throughout this past century by notable leaders and scholars such as Mohandas Gandhi and Julius Nyerere; however, the undisputed founder of the AT movement was E. F. Schumacher, a British economist who worked extensively in India and Burma during the 1950s and 60s. Schumacher encapsulated…

This article presents a text of a speech delivered by the author at the Foundation for Technology Education (FTE) Spirit of Excellence breakfast in Salt Lake City, Utah. In this speech, the author talked about the meaning of excellence. In order to pursue excellence, the author suggested that people in the field of technology education should…

Starting a new course can be intimidating, especially if the person is the first to teach it in his or her school district. A teacher must take many things into consideration when constructing the content for a new course. The primary focus should be on the development of student technological literacy. The International Technology Education…

Across the USA, technology education has faced many challenges over the past several decades. Educational changes and reform at all levels seem to have had a positive effect on the required classes or "core" courses. As a result, "elective" courses seem to be delegated to a secondary role in a student's education. In…