The United States is facing a crisis in terms of meeting demands for a highly skilled technical workforce. Workforce preparation must begin in primary and secondary educational settings. Teachers are perfectly positioned to increase student awareness of and interest in careers in engineering and technology; unfortunately, they are often not well…

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,…

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,…

During this time of educational reform, many technology educators forget that they need to provide decision makers with a sound rationale for justifying the continuation of their programs. The most compelling argument for continuing technology education programs today is to assist students in becoming technologically literate. (Author)

Survey responses from 131 technology education leaders (88%) ranked preferred methods for elementary, middle school, and high school technology education in public schools. They preferred technology education as method for elementary students and from an organizational (modular) standpoint for middle schools. There was no clear consensus about…

Asks which components comprise a sound technology education activity and which are needed to provide the best experience for students. Identifies 10 essential items that will enable teachers to improve activities in the classroom and select new ones. (Contains 12 references.) (Author/JOW)

Technology education as a profession is in a tenuous situation. With budgets becoming increasingly tighter, schools across the country are forced to make tough decisions regarding which programs will be supported and which will not. If technology education programs cannot demonstrate a tangible relevance for today's students, they will quite…

Looks at the primary components of a technology-education program and offers details of the ways in which a middle school revamped its program. (JOW)

In March 2004, the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) will introduce a series of addenda to the technological literacy standards documents that will provide concrete tools for making technology programs standards based. Standards for Technological Literacy (STL) provides the content for technological studies. Advancing…

Employers like the problem-solving approach of technology education because it develops team building, discipline, content and process, knowledge of the capitalist system, and multidisciplinary skills. (JOW)

"Realizing Excellence: Structuring Technology Programs" (International Technology Education Association, April 2005) is a pivotal addition to the ITEA Addenda to Technological Literacy Standards Series. In ITEA's graphic model of an educational program, first introduced in the standards document, Advancing Excellence in Technological Literacy:…

The purpose of the technology fair is to enhance technological problem-solving skills. This article discusses a technology fair centered on a university/school partnership, which raised the level of complexity both with administrative and scientific issues. The end result of such partnerships is that schools have the opportunity to demonstrate an…