"Here's to the crazy ones".

Glimmerati - Warren Berger

I agree with Hall (2001) who expresses her frustration by lamenting: ”We seem to be throwing buckets of money and reams of paper at this issue, trying to put a fence around technological literacy, but do we truly know what it is when we have it” (An Elusive Target Section, para 2)?

Technology is anything that is designed...so let's make this assumption off the bat. We need a broader definition of technology that includes things beyond just computers and apps.

For this talk, technology and design are synonymous. Why - by the way - is design such a buzz word in education. I think it is because design gives us - teachers and learners - permission to be changemakers. That mindset alone makes kids feel smart.

Too often teachers fill students with knowledge until, hopefully, the student "measures up" to the teacher's level of expertise.

"The vertical stroke of the “T” is a depth of skill that allows them to contribute to the creative process. That can be from any number of different fields: an industrial designer, an architect, a social scientist, a business specialist or a mechanical engineer. The horizontal stroke of the “T” is the disposition for collaboration across disciplines." - Tim Brown

Knowledge - curiosity - can't be confined to a book -even a series of books. Can't be confined to a class, subject, or even small group of subjects. There is no "Encyclopedia Universale".

Tech Ed offers a "breadth of uniqueness" (Zuniga) that can support students for general education purposes.

Does a renewed focus on technology devalue science teaching?

"talented students with an interest in the sciences can succeed in university science-related programs irrespective of the students' experiences in school science" - Aikenhead

Human centered design begets altruism. If we design with specific human users in mind, then we begin to develop an empathetic point of view whose importance was highlighted in the passage by Tim Brown above. The altruistic component is critical to teaching and engaging students with technology education. It elevates technology from a study of things to a study of the interactions, ethics, and consequences that technology has on our society and gives students a sense of self-efficacy.

Permitting students to work towards complex, real world, ‘wicked’ problems creates a sense of meaning for students where the on-demand technological learning is a fortunate happenstance.

It is rare in life that you feel wholly prepared for new and complex situations. Perspective is everything.

While academics may argue the similarities and difference between STEM, technology education, and technological literacy, it seems to me that all three would embrace a transdisciplinary approach. William Dugger (n.d.), a senior fellow for the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) defines STEM as the “integration of [science, technology, engineering, and math] into a new transdisciplinary subject”. Dugger’s association with the ITEEA, the creators of the Standards for Technical Literacy, would suggest that a transdisciplinary approach, led by an overarching complex problem appeals to both STEM and technological literacy sentiments.

One anectdotal example: Amazon. Read and article recently...what is their business? Retail? Service? Tech hardware? Software & code? Answer: yes (to all). Could Amazon be a transdisciplinary company?