Technology Education

1
Technology Education
at

• Neshaminy School District

2
A Brief Overview of Technology Education

• Technology Education (TE or Tech Ed) has evolved
  from Industrial Arts (Shop).
• The change in name and philosophy occurred in the
  1980's.
• Neither TE or Industrial Arts has ever been
  Vocational Training (Tech School).

3
Some Short Descriptions

• Industrial Arts - Evolved from Manual Training,
  IA concentrated on tools/ machines and their use.
• Vocational Education (Tech school) - An
  educational program that trains students for a
  specific trade or career.
• Technology Education - Evolved from IA as the
  need for Technological Literacy became apparent
  in the 1970's.

4
Technological Literacy

• A technologically literate person understands -
  with increasing sophistication - what technology
  is, how it is created and its positive/negative
  effects on society and the environment.
• A technologically literate person can hear a
  story involving technology on television, read
  about it on the web or study a product manual -
  then evaluate the information intelligently, put
  it into context, and form an opinion or plan
  based on it.
• A technologically literate person is comfortable
  with, and objective toward, the use of
  technology.

5
Technological Literacy

• Technological Literacy benefits students who plan
  to pursue technological careers engineers,
  architects, technicians, etc.
• Students form an opinion on many career paths by
  taking exploratory TE courses.
• Technological Literacy also benefits everyone
  corporate executives, teachers, farmers
  homemakers and small business owners are all able
  to perform their jobs better if they are
  technologically literate.

6
A Few Definitions

• Technology - The use of resources to meet
  peoples needs and solve problems. TE differs
  from the old Industrial Arts by stressing design
  and problem solving with less emphasis on the
  details of tool use.
• Science - The study of nature and natural
  phenomena.
• Science and Technology work hand in hand. What
  scientists discover, technologists put to use.

7
Technology Education at Neshaminy

• Neshaminy provides TE instruction to all students
  (both boys and girls) in grades 6-8 and is an
  elective for all students in grades 9-12.
• At the high school alone, there are 29 sections
  of TE. These classes help students attain the
  required number of elective credits.

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Technology Education at Neshaminy(continued)

• The areas of TE taught at Neshaminy are

Graphic Communication
Video Communication
Power Technology
Computer Aided Drafting/ Design (CAD)
Manufacturing/ Construction
Electronics
9
Technology Education at Neshaminy (continued)

• All of the areas of TE taught at Neshaminy fall
  under the PA organizers of Informational Systems
  and Physical Systems.
• The pending PA Chapter 4 requirements state that
  TE be taught in the middle grades and must be
  offered at the high school level.

10
Technology Education and PSSA

• Technology Education plays an important part in
  Neshaminys PSSA testing (Pennsylvania System of
  School Assessment).
• The newest PSSA test assesses Science
  Technology and was first given in the 06/07
  school year.
• TE addresses not only PA Standards
• and Anchors for Science Technology,
• but also others for Literacy, Math, etc.

11
Summary

• Technology Education and Vocational Education (as
  is taught at the Tech School) are two separate
  programs with completely different philosophies,
  curriculums and goals.
• TE standards are addressed in PAs Science and
  Technology Standards.
• TE at Neshaminy addresses about 65 of the
  States Science Anchors as well as anchors in
  Math and Reading.
• Technology Education is part of general education
  and contributes to Neshaminy students
  comprehensive education and PSSA performance.