ABSTRACT NUMBER 1

CITATION:

Hook, Paul. (May/June 2001). The standards for technology literacy: a needed change for technology education. The Technology Teacher, 31-32p.

SUMMARY:

Cooperation between the International Technology Education Association, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation, technology education now has the guidance that has always been missing on a national level. There are several standards that identified in the field of technology and goes as follows: identity, recognition, organization, and direction. These standards have the ability to change the current conditions and influence a paradigm shift for our future if we embrace and promote them. Many schools and states moved from the old methods and content of shop and forged ahead with the “new” technologies, our field of study became even more varied, complex, and nondescript to those outside the filed, both within and outside of education. The 1980’s and 90’s was times were necessary growth, change, pain, and confusion took place. Now the time is to move beyond that and reclaim our identity and our position of relevance to all students. The standard for Technological Literacy is our best vehicle for achieving this goal. By instituting their standards all across the country, in all states and in all districts, our identity crises will end and the importance of technological literacy to the future of our students and in this country will once again become apparent to all. As a whole, technology education as not received the recognition it deserves in many areas of the country. The International Technology Education Association is the only national voice our profession possesses. ITEA is a great organization and resource for technology education, there has been no overriding device to bind our collective skills, our knowledge base, or our profession together. In years of work leading the most scrutinized set of educational standards ever produced in any discipline, the STL standards have been presented to Congress and the President, along with all state education departments. Now it is up to the professionals in the field of technology education to embrace, implement, and promote the standards that can insure a bright future for our field of study.

PERSONAL REACTION:

I think that this particular article was interesting that three groups of people got together to see where we are and where we need to go with technology in the education. If a group of people can get together and discuss educational technology why can a group of people get together and decided a plan that every high school student needs in order to graduate. This part really gets me tickle because I moved around and my sister and always had a problem with us getting placed in the correct class. If each state, district and school have the same classes that are defined the same way and taught the same material (except for the state government and history) this would make transfer students’ lives lot easier. This concept would help the colleges as well that way do not have to find what exactly does the class of Computer II do. Since the field of educational technology has a set goal and is understood countrywide, how about the rest of the courses? It is not that hard just matter of a group of people getting together and doing it. We have enough resources out there that can solve this problem. If computers are here to make peoples’ lives easier why not use them to communicate with other with the respect to other subject areas. We have videoconferencing, electronic mail (e-mail), and online chat services. Educators out there, wake-up and smell the burnt toast.