The realization of information and communication technology (ICT) literacy is a global and complex objective. It has been argued that it cannot be accomplished by single-focused, stand-alone curricula. Instead, it has been recommended that ICT education be integrated into the instruction of other disciplines to effectively promote technical…

In Alberta, 167 elementary students completed an awareness of technology survey in years 1 and 3 of a study. Even before technology education, children had ideas about testing structural strength. Development of testing knowledge was not sequential. Results may have been influenced by the various ways design technology was taught during year 2.…

Describes the nature and characteristics of experiential learning processes. Reflects on the dramatic changes required in the curriculum if teachers were to draw on life and work experience in designing learning activities. (SK)

Sketches the history of the New Zealand educational system and the ways in which the English and Welsh technology education curriculum model was revised to reflect indigenous conditions and culture. (SK)

Technology education involves procedural knowledge related to technology activity and conceptual knowledge related to content. Technology processes include design, problem solving, systems approach, invention, and manufacturing. Using a range of processes in teaching can accommodate various learning styles. (SK)

Elaborates on the need for research to focus on specific concepts and processes related to technological literacy, students' conceptions or misconceptions about technology, and curriculum integration. (SK)

Responses from 98 secondary technology education/industrial arts teachers in New Mexico identified the following best predictors of adoption of technology education: teacher perceptions, change agents' and opinion leaders' influence, optional vs. authority decision making, teaching endorsements held, and years of teaching. Barriers included fear…

Personal Construct Theory framed a study of three secondary design/technology teachers and six students. Teachers were insecure about their understanding of creativity and professional role. Risk-taking teachers felt prepared to challenge students. Concerns that students avoid failure resulted in less challenge and risk. (Contains 32 references.)…

Finnish fifth-graders (n=26) used materials to explore balance and counterweights. Analysis of interview data revealed how they expressed technological concepts, acquired analytic skills, and synthesized technological thinking. Their technology work focused on making meaningful connections between what things are for and how they work. (Contains…

Uses interactive science and technology centers as an example of the application of Heidegger's ideas about technology. Discuses Heidegger's concerns about uncritical acceptance of technology. (Contains 27 references.) (SK)

A survey of 23 principal investigators of National Science Foundation-funded projects identified the chief facilitating factor to be direct contact with program officers. They had difficulties conceptualizing and envisioning their projects, finding time and confidence for writing proposals, and dealing with the complexity of the guidelines and the…

This quantitative study used the Learning/Adoption Trajectory model of technology adoption as a scaffold to investigate whether a faculty adoption level of instructional technology in the College of Education (COE) at a large midwestern university in the US can be predicted by the faculty members' responses to questionnaire items in four areas:…

The purpose of this study was to determine if modeling by university professors and practicum and cooperating teachers was related to preservice teachers' perceptions of their computer technology skills and if preservice teachers' use of technology in academic and other settings was related to those perceptions. Seventy-nine preservice teacher…

This study compared student learning outcomes and student perceptions of and satisfaction with the learning process between two sections of the same class--a web-based section and a traditional face-to-face (f2f) section. Using a quasi-experimental design, students were randomly assigned to the two course sections. Group equivalency was…

Teacher educators have a dual responsibility. They must not only deliver the content of their courses but also model the pedagogical beliefs and instructional strategies they espouse. Perhaps no area more explicitly demonstrates the difference between "talking the talk" and "walking the walk" than the integration of technology into teacher…