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11-08-01

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TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY UPDATE

A weekly newsletter for families and educators committed to
building brighter futures for kids in a technology-rich society.
THIS WEEK: Part VII, the final installment in our "Technology
for All Americans" series introducing the ITEA's educational
standards. This week, we introduce you to the seven standards
addressing different design technologies. Our next series,
beginning next week, will address each of these standards in
depth, providing you with examples of how to introduce them to
your students.

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TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY THIS WEEK

This is the final week in our introduction to the ITEA's 20
Standards for Technological Literacy. This week, we list the
final 7 standards that help you identify and address the
significant technologies embedded in our day to day lives.
Beginning next week, we will delve into these in more detail
and provide learning extension ideas for each one. Our
learning extension this week provides you with a kick-off
for you and your students to begin building your awareness
of the technologies that surround us.

ITEA STANDARDS THIS WEEK
"The Designed World"

Standards 14 through 20 address the many technologies that are
prevalent in today's society. Here they are!

Students will develop an understanding of and be able to select
and use:

14. Medical Technologies
15. Agricultural and Related Biotechnologies
16. Energy and Power Technologies
17. Information and Communication Technologies
18. Transportation Technologies
19. Manufacturing Technologies
20. Construction Technologies

TRY THIS AT HOME OR IN YOUR CLASS!

A great way to kick off an awareness of the many technologies
that surround us is a short game. Try this:

1) Break your students up into small groups of four to five
individuals.

2) Provide the seven categories of technologies as identified
in ITEA standards 14 - 20.

3) Challenge the teams to identify as many items as possible in
each category. Provide some small incentive for the winning
team to spur on the competition. The team with the most
"approved" items on their list wins!

4) Conclude your activity by collectively organizing all the
named items on a spreadsheet,on your classroom board, etc. and
discuss them with the class. You will be amazed at how much
discussion and awareness this simple exercise will generate!

SEVEN DESIGN TECHNOLOGIES SERIES STARTS NEXT WEEK!

We hope that this introduction to the 20 standards for
technological literacy, as outlined by the ITEA, has been useful
to you and your educational efforts. Our next series, beginning
next week, will evaluate in more depth each of the seven
technologies of the design world introduced this week.

Try to find a moment to integrate some of this information into
your daily routine with your students or family this week.
Together, we can build a brighter future for students around the
world by preparing them to use technology as naturally as they
use a pencil and paper!

Until next week!

Technological Literacy Update

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