Work in progress - Development of an organizational infrastructure to facilitate the creation of courses on technology and engineering for non-engineers

Abstract

The need for technological literacy is important for both individuals and the nation in general. Creating a population with a more empowered relationship with technology will require a significant and extensive initiative in undergraduate education. Curricula and course materials that are easily adoptable in diverse and varied institutional environments are vital in this effort. The National Academy of Engineering in two reports: Technically Speaking: Why All Americans Need to Know More about Technology (2002), and Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy (2006), outline the characteristics of a technologically literate citizen. The International Technology Education Association (ITEA) has also developed standards for technological literacy. In this work a framework is established for specific course outlines consistent with the content areas established in Tech Tally of: technology and society, design, products and systems, and technology core concepts and the ITEA technology topic areas. To make it possible to accommodate the diverse requirements of curriculum committees on varied campuses, the framework offers flexibility to faculty in planning courses within each proposed model while still accomplishing the goals of the standards. This framework will form the organizational infrastructure for creating a repository of course materials as well as an online community for course developers and instructors.