[...]... from start to finish ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xv Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 1 INTRODUCTION How Technologically Literate Are We?, 20 Benefits of Assessing Technological Literacy, 22 Obstacles to Assessing Technological Literacy, 24 Charge to the Committee, 25 References, 27 19 2 DEFINING TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY The Designed World, 30 Technological Literacy, 32 Attitudes Toward Technology, 36 Visualizing Technological. .. Committee on Assessing Technological Literacy was to determine the most viable approach or approaches for assessing technological literacy in three distinct populations in the United States: K–12 students, K–12 teachers, and out-of-school adults.”1 The committee was not asked to develop assessment tools but to point the way toward their development Assessing Technological Literacy Technological literacy. .. types of technological literacy are bound to differ among people from different social, cultural, educational, and work backgrounds For K–12 students to become technologically literate, their teachers must also become technologically literate To this end, colleges of education will need assessment tools to gauge the level of technological literacy of teachers-in-training Even teachers of nontechnical... of technological literacy, and performance levels should be based on a detailed assessment framework K–12 Teachers Although many students have sophisticated technological capabilities, they cannot be expected to be fully technologically literate unless their teachers are Technology is integral to all educational disciplines, from history to art to science, and teachers should be able to discuss technology-related... literacy is an understanding of technology at a level that enables effective functioning in a modern technological society To assess technological literacy, one must have not only a clear idea of what it is, but also a good deal of knowledge about assessment Basically, technological literacy is an understanding of technology at a level that enables effective functioning in a modern technological society For... individuals knowledgeable about technological literacy, the committee concluded that confusion about the word “technology” and the term technological literacy is a major challenge to improving technological literacy in the United States Although defining technology was not included in the statement of task for this study, the committee is aware that many people define technology as computers (and sometimes... must be technologically literate to make connections between their subject areas and technology Many other institutions and organizations—such as media outlets, museums, government agencies, and associations that represent industries—would benefit from knowing the level of technological literacy of their customers, patrons, or target audiences Levels and types of technological literacy are bound to differ... is difficult to do without a good measure of technological literacy Until technological literacy is assessed in a rigorous, systematic way, it is not likely to be considered a priority by policy makers, educators, or average citizens Existing Assessment Instruments As a context for discussion, the committee collected examples of assessments that can measure an aspect of technological literacy, even... Americans are not as technologically literate as they should be (e.g., Rutherford, 2004), these statements are based on general impressions with little hard data to back them up Therefore, the starting point for improving technological literacy must be to determine the current level of technological understanding and capability, which areas require improvement first, and how technological literacy varies... some of which could be relevant to the assessment of technological literacy (Lemke, 2004) In addition, ALL measures a cross-curricular area of competency related to problem solving, which is a distinguishing feature of the technological design process Recommendation 6 The International Technology Education Association should continue to conduct a poll on technological literacy every several years, adding . x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" Committee on Assessing Technological Literacy Elsa Garmire and Greg Pearson, Editors APPROACHES TO ASSESSING TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY TECH TALLY ii NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS. Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tech tally : approaches to assessing technological literacy / Committee on Assessing Technological Literacy in the United States ; Elsa Garmire and Greg Pearson, editors. p. cm. . Assessing Technological Literacy, 24 Charge to the Committee, 25 References, 27 2 DEFINING TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY 29 The Designed World, 30 Technological Literacy, 32 Attitudes Toward Technology,