Describes the national robotics competition sponsored by For Inspiration and Recognition of Science & Technology (FIRST). (JOW)

In this article, the author describes an activity he introduced to his engineering drafting students that involved a Tootsie Roll product. In this particular activity, he assigned his students to find out how many licks are needed to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop. He first asked his students to do some research if an answer exists for…

This article describes the 2006 Technology Education Collegiate Association (TECA) Eastern Regional elementary competition, wherein teams of technology education students from nine different universities designed and built cardboard chairs. The competition required the teams (four or five to a team) from universities up and down the East Coast to…

A technologically literate individual should be able to use, manage, and understand technological concepts and systems. A technologically literate individual should also have the capacity to design, develop, control, use, and assess technological systems and processes. These abilities are essential elements of the universals of technology, as…

"High technology" is merely the latest technological advances of the day in any technology area. Technology is divided into three broad categories: the physical, information/communication, and biotechnologies. The best way to clear up the confusion surrounding "high technology" is to substitute the term "advanced…

Sketches the history of automobile design, current design considerations, and social/cultural aspects of car design. Provides a design brief that challenges students to develop an electric vehicle. (SK)

Provides information regarding technology education for elementary students using roller coasters as examples of technology principles. Includes a design brief and student quiz. (JOW)

People interact with products and vehicles in a physical manner. They push lawn mowers, they hold mixers, and they drive cars and trucks. This interaction is greatly improved when there is a physical, dimensional match between the people and the products and vehicles they use. However, people vary in size and shape. The study and application of…

In Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll established an absurd world that tickles the reader's mind with reversals and twists of the ordinary. Occasionally, in one's day-to-day encounters with other persons, one comes across people with an oppositional personality that suggests that they live in a Lewis Carroll world of…

In this article, the authors discusses Visualization in Technology Education (VisTE). VisTE units are designed to enhance students' knowledge in science, develop good visual and presentation skills, understand emerging technologies, and most of all help with the integration of standards that promote technological literacy. Technological changes…

This article presents two viewpoints on creating change through politics. Frawley argues that every teacher can be an agent for change at the local level by first changing the way they think about the profession and embracing the concept that they need to take part in the conversation. Change will happen when technology teachers take greater…

Discusses (1) the historical phases of educational computing, (2) the future impact of computer technology, (3) the merger between computer-based instruction and technology education, (4) the ramifications of computer technology upon work, (5) the integration of computer-based instruction and technology curricula, and (6) teachers' roles. (CH)

Tools for studying the social and environmental effects of technology include case studies, community-based studies involving real local problems, role playing, cost-benefit analysis, technology assessment, and lab experiments. (SK)

This article features the British Schools of America and describes the curriculum these schools offer. The British Schools of America offer a broad curriculum based on the International Primary Curriculum, the National Curriculum (England) and the International Baccalaureate, and focus on the whole development of the child, aiming to equip every…

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], n.d.) has shown that workers involved in accidents have little, if any, instruction on the equipment they were using while injured. Keep in mind that instruction on the safe operation of a piece of equipment may take place early in the school year,…