A Gallup poll conducted in the spring of 2001 asked a sampling of Americans what course of action the United States should take if there were a shortage of qualified workers in a particular area of technology: (a) bring in technologically literate people from other countries, or (b) take steps through our schools to increase the number of technologically literate people in this country.

Ninety-three percent said that steps should be taken through our schools to increase the number of technologically literate people in the U.S. The poll, commissioned by the International Technology Education Association (ITEA), also revealed that the American public is virtually unanimous in viewing technological literacy as an important goal for people at all levels.

That technological literacy is taking on a new significance in this country is further evidenced by a 2002 report from the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. The report calls for a “broad-based effort to increase the technological literacy of all Americans.” It states that technology education should begin as early as kindergarten and should involve all subjects.

What Is Technological Literacy?

A technologically literate person, according to ITEA, is “one who understands—with increasing sophistication—what technology is, how it is created, how it shapes society, and in turn is shaped by society.”

Technological literacy is being able to use, manage, and understand technology:

• Using technology involves the successful operation of state-of-the-art systems. This includes knowing the components of existing macro-systems, or human adaptive systems, and how systems behave.
• Managing technology involves ensuring that all technological activities are efficient and appropriate.
• Understanding technology involves more than possessing knowledge; it also involves the ability to synthesize information through new insights.

Do Technological Literacy Standards Exist?

ITEA and its Technology for All Americans Project developed Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology in April 2000, defining what students should know and be able to do to be technologically literate.  It provides standards that prescribe what the outcomes of the study of technology in grades K-12 should be.

This document, along with Michigan Technology Content Standards and Benchmarks, provides the foundation for Technology Education in Michigan.

How Is Michigan Advancing Technological Literacy?

Michigan supports the teaching of technology in a number of ways. Public schools offer structured technology learning activities in the elementary grades that provide real-world examples in math, science, and other core subjects. At the middle and high school levels, Technology Education is offered in specific courses and also as contexts in core subjects.

Michigan initiatives that support Technology Education include:

• The Michigan Curriculum Framework, which includes the standards and benchmarks for core academic subjects, the Michigan Technology Content Standards and Benchmarks, and Career & Employability Skills Content Standards and Benchmarks.  The Curriculum Framework emphasizes hands-on, problem-solving activities to help students make connections between what they are learning and the real world.
• Aligned Technology Education structure and resources within Michigan Department of Education and Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth initiatives in general and career education for kindergarten through 12th grade.
• Past membership in the Center to Advance the Teaching of Technology and Science (CATTS) Consortium. This membership permitted Michigan to provide direct input into the policies and direction of research and development for standards-based Technology Education at national and international levels—keeping Michigan in a leadership position in the technological literacy arena.
• Materials developed through the CATTS membership are free and available to all Michigan schools and teachers. The materials cover all aspects of K-12 technology teaching and learning – standards, curriculum, instructional materials, and assessment.

• Natural and man-made materials
• Tools, products, systems
• Meeting peoples' wants and needs
• Steps in a process or parts of a system
• Impact of technology (benefits, risks, environment, economic)
• How science and technology are similar, different
• The design process as a problem-solving tool

• Ways of meeting basic needs
• How technology has changed lives:
  • Transportation - ships, railroads, canals
  • Exploration technology - navigation, maps, ships, space
  • Communication
  • Structures, architecture, settlements
  • Food collection, preparation, and storage
  • Manufacturing - Industrial Revolution
  • Key inventions - printing press, farming, calendar,
• How cultures have used technology to interact with their environment
• How cultures have used technology to help them politically, socially, economically
• Products of different cultures

• Similarities and differences in cultures - food, clothing, communication, art
• Cultural products and practices in different areas of the world and at different historical eras
• Contributions of artisans, inventors, scientists, architects, explorers

• Measurement: length, area, volume, weight, temperature, pressure, force
• Creating and exploring three dimensional objects
• Scale drawings
• Problem solving, decision making
• Tables, charts, graphs, patterns

Language Arts

• Communication
  • Informational, technical, and persuasive texts
  • Read informational texts
  • Read diagrams, charts, graphs, maps, displays
  • Organize, analyze, and draw inferences from information
• Use electronic resources and graphics (email, distance learning, computer aided design)
• Write informational reports
• Develop and write persuasive pieces
• Locate, organize, evaluate, communicate and present findings in a variety of methods including multimedia and other technologies

1. Almost everything around us has been made or modified by man.
2. Technology impacts our culture, economics, politics, environment and our personal lives every day.
3. The world is dependent upon technology. Our society needs to be technologically literate to be wise consumers, to be educated decision-makers, and to be competitive in the world's marketplace.
4. Technology fosters investigating, creating, planning, making, testing, evaluating, improving, presenting.
5. Technology education fosters group cooperation, perseverance, resourcefulness, divergent thinking, self-esteem, and reflective thinking.
6. Learning through meaningful, engaging activities is more productive, especially for girls.
7. Technology education helps develop technical readers, writers, and communicators.
8. Technology education gives students the courage and the right to take chances. Failure is seen as an acceptable way of learning.
9. Technology concepts can be easily integrated into other curriculum areas. Lessons become more exciting, subject matter is connected to real life situations, and knowledge is better understood and retained for a longer period of time.
10. The future of our children and of our world depends upon a technologically literate population.