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Attention ITEA Members:
2009-2010 ITEA Board of Director election ballots have been emailed to all members. If you haven't received yours, please email lprice@iteea.org.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Quote of the Day
"At the end of the day, you bet on people, not on strategies."
Larry Bossidy, CEO, Allied Signal

Topics in This Issue
01. Mission Green
02. On Your Mark, Get Set – GO – ITEA is Going to Louisville!
03. Delivering the T&E in STEM Through the Teaching Technology Showcase
04. The Hofstra University Center for Technological Literacy (CTL)...
05. Governing Board Awards WestEd $1.86 Million Contract to Develop First-Ever Technological Literacy Framework
06. TECC Award Nominations Now Being Accepted
07. ITEA Membership Benefits You...and Others, Too!
08. Design Squad: Engineering Activities, Energizing Kids
09. The Biggest News in Invention Since...
10. ExploraVision Makes Its 17th Call for Great Student Ideas
11. From Indiana
12. New Jersey News
13. From NSTA Reports, October 2008, Vol. 20, No. 2
14. NASA News
15. Teachers Apply for New Astronaut Program
16. From IDSA's "Design Bytes"
17. Corporate Efforts in Education
18. ITEA Technological Literacy Standards in Singapore
19. Cable's Leaders in Learning Awards™

On Your Mark, Get Set – GO – ITEA is Going to Louisville!

Any day now, you should receive via mail your ITEA preliminary program for ITEA’s March 2009 conference. In the meantime, please explore the ITEA conference website, which will tell you everything you need to know to make your decision to attend ITEA's 71st Annual Conference in Louisville—March 26th will be here before you know it. 

Just in case you need a fast update, you won't want to miss:

• Specialized preconference workshops, focusing on multimedia, robotics, manufacturing, design and automation, gender equity, and engineering.
• *** NEW *** Engineering by Design™ Learning Labs – 10 to choose from.
• Educational tours, from the Geek Squad to the Kentucky Horse Park to the Louisville Slugger Museum—and even a distillery!
• Professional Development Learning Sessions – over 100, offering hands-on information that you can use in your daily classroom activities (see list of sessions at www.iteea.org/Conference/sessions.htm).
• Thursday's private event at the Kentucky Derby Museum.
• Meal functions where you not only learn but socialize with your colleagues, including the International and Yearbook lunches, and the FTE and EPT breakfasts.
• Exhibits, exhibits, and more exhibits for you to explore—and enjoy a free lunch in the exhibit hall on Friday as well.
• Action Labs, where you'll learn specifics from vendors about tools to help you in the classroom.
• Leading-edge keynote presentations from our star keynote speakers, Alfie Kohn and Nate Ball.

Housing and Registration are both open NOW. Check the ITEA website at www.iteea.org/Conference/conferenceguide.htm for complete details. And don't forget that your ITEA membership must be current through the end of March 2009 in order to qualify for member rates, which offer terrific discounts.

This is the ONE educational event in 2009 that you won't want to miss. An important professional development and networking opportunity awaits you next spring in downtown Louisville. Make plans NOW to attend.

Delivering the T & E in STEM Through the Teaching Technology Showcase

Planning to attend ITEA’s 71st Annual Conference in Louisville? If so, consider presenting at the Teaching Technology Showcase (aka Tech Fest). The Teaching Technology Showcase is an interactive session where you share and describe ideas with others. This is an exhibition of best practices in the teaching of technology education. Showcasers include, but are not limited to, K–12 technology teachers, teacher educators, administrators, undergraduate and graduate students, and informal educators.

The Showcase provides a forum for those concerned with advancing technological literacy to feature an idea, technique, or best practice related to learning activities, marketing materials, career guidance, facility design, program design, assessment methods, equity, or classroom and laboratory management techniques, among other unique practices. Plan now to be a part of the Teaching Technology Showcase in Louisville, Kentucky by completing the online application at www.iteea.org/Conference/TeachTechShowcaseForm.pdf before March 13, 2009.

We are seeking lessons, projects, and activities for elementary through high school and university level as well. If you have something, please share it with us. If you know someone who is doing something interesting, please let us know so we may contact them.

This is a great chance to gain some valuable recognition for your program and the hard work you do. So, don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to collaborate with your peers and celebrate the future of our profession. See you in Louisville!

The Hofstra University Center for Technological Literacy (CTL)…

…is pleased to cosponsor a special funded workshop with ITEA (March 26, 2009)
This special workshop invites 20 teachers who are teaching eighth grade technology education classes to participate in a research and development activity that is a component of the NSF-funded MSTP Project (Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education Partnership) led by the Hofstra University CTL. MSTP is a five-year project that focuses on improving mathematics understanding by contextualizing and revisiting mathematics in middle school science and technology education contexts.

The ITEA workshop would engage participants in a “hybrid” design activity that includes a computer-based design experience (using Google Sketchup to design a bedroom), followed by a physical modeling experience where workshop participants would construct the model once they optimized the design on screen. When implemented with students, the activity would require five weeks of instructional time, and its focus would be on embedding eighth grade mathematics (scale, ratio and proportion, geometry). The research project in which teachers would participate would assess the efficacy of contextualizing mathematics in technology education.

Teachers will only be accepted into the workshop if they are able to bring a laptop computer with Google SketchUp installed (a free download is available at http://sketchup.google.com/), have become reasonably familiar with that program, and commit to field testing the materials with eighth grade students during the Spring 2009 semester and collecting data that the MSTP external evaluator would detail. The CTL will support ITEA conference registration for all participants, pay for a snack, and provide a $2000 honorarium once field test-data is received. Interested teachers should download the application or complete the online application (links are below). The application must be received by Hofstra no later than February 2, 2009.

Online Application – http://hofstra.edu/Academics/Colleges/SOEAHS/CTL/ITEA/itea_app_workshop.cfm

Download Printable Application – http://hofstra.edu/pdf/Academics/Colleges/SOEAHS/ctl/itea/ctl_form_iteaworkshop.pdf

Governing Board Awards WestEd $1.86 Million Contract To Develop First-Ever Technological Literacy Framework

For the first time ever, technological literacy will be part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation’s Report Card™. The first step toward this unprecedented assessment was announced October 6, 2008 by the National Assessment Governing Board, which awarded WestEd a $1.86 million contract to develop the 2012 NAEP Technological Literacy Framework.

Under this new contract, awarded after a competitive bidding process, WestEd—a national education research and development organization based in San Francisco—will recommend the framework and test specifications for the 2012 NAEP Technological Literacy assessment. Ultimately, this task will lead to ways to define and measure students’ knowledge and skills in understanding important technological tools. Governing Board members will then decide which grade level—4th, 8th, or 12th—will be tested in 2012.  
  
The NAEP Technological Literacy Assessment is the country’s first nationwide assessment of student achievement in this area. The work comes at a time when there are no nationwide requirements or common definition for technological literacy. Few states have adopted separate tests in this area, even as more business representatives and policymakers voice concern about American students’ abilities to compete in a global marketplace and keep up with quickly evolving technology.

Several groups will assist WestEd for this 18-month project, including the Council of Chief State School Officers and the INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION. With this assistance, WestEd plans to convene two committees that will include technology experts, engineers, teachers, scientists, business representatives, state and local policymakers, and employers from across the country. The committees will advise WestEd on the content and design of the assessment and make recommendations to the Board on the framework and specifications for the 2012 NAEP Technological Literacy Assessment. In addition, hundreds of experts in various fields and the general public will participate in hearings or provide reviews of the framework document as it is developed. Ultimately, the collaboration will reflect the perspectives of a diverse array of individuals and groups.

The Governing Board is slated to review and approve the technological literacy framework in late 2009.

TECC Award Nominations Now Being Accepted

Nominations are now being accepted by ITEA’s Technology Education for Children Council (TECC) for the following awards:

Mary Margaret Scobey Award
Awarded to a person who has demonstrated dedication to elementary school technology education on a sustained basis. This person has demonstrated a passion philosophically and through activities conducted on behalf of elementary children and teachers.

TECC Leadership Award
Awarded to a person who has demonstrated leadership and service to TECC in some significant way.

TECC Special Service Awards
Check out the TECC Awards page for past recipients: www.ncat.edu/%7Echildres/teccawards.html

Nominations should be sent to Dr. Marlene Scott, President of TECC, by December 1, 2008 (Marlene_Scott@ccpsnet.net). Please include a description (one-page minimum) of the particular contributions the individual has made to technology education .

ITEA Membership Benefits You…and Others, Too!

Did You Know…
…that many insurance plans are available to you through your membership in ITEA? Plans such as $1M Professional Liability coverage for only $99 per year, Group Term Life, Group Disability Income Protection, Comprehensive Health, Identity Theft Protection, and Personal Auto.

These plans are made available through ITEA’s participation in the Trust for Insuring Educators (TIE). The Trust consists of more than 60 professional associations comprising some 1.7 million individual members. Complete information and application for all products are available through ITEA’s carrier, Forrest T. Jones & Company, online at www.ftj.com/TIE. Or call 800-821-7303 for immediate service, a personalized quotation, or a detailed brochure.

Professional Services and Volunteer Opportunities
Are you looking for a way to connect with and help other ITEA members? Do you have valuable skills and perspectives to share? There is much to be gained, both personally and professionally, through getting involved. Here’s why you should consider it:

• Connect with people
• Enrich yourself personally  
• Affect change
• Gain experience outside of your job responsibilities 
• Enhance your professional image

ITEA has opportunities for talented, willing professionals to share their expertise. Review the volunteer opportunities at www.iteea.org/Membership/volunteer.htm. If you have questions about any of our volunteer opportunities please email lprice@iteea.org or call (703) 860-5032.

Design Squad: Engineering Activities, Energizing Kids

Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 4pm EST

ITEA is joining forces with PBS’ Design Squad to present a FREE interactive webinar for middle and high school teachers. Design Squad: Engineering Activities, Energizing Kids will introduce you to the popular reality competition show, its free resources for educators, and explain how you can use these resources to bring engineering to life for kids in your classroom. You’ll also get great tips on how to talk to kids about engineering, and hear firsthand from ITEA members about how they are using Design Squad in their classrooms.

To register, go to: https://wgbh.webex.com/wgbh/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=668602232

The biggest news in invention since...

...well, a long time.

Now Available from ITEA

Invention and Innovation, Second Edition, is a middle school course guide that provides students with opportunities to apply the design process in the invention or innovation of a new product, process, or system. In this course, stu­dents will learn all about invention and innovation. They will have opportunities to study the history of inventions and innovations, including their impacts on society. They will learn about the core concepts of technology and about the various approaches to solving problems, including engineering design and experimentation. Students will apply their creativity in the invention and innovation of new products, processes, or systems and learn about how various inventions and innovations impact their lives. Students will participate in engineering design activities to understand how criteria, constraints, and processes affect designs; they will be involved in activities and experiences where they learn about brainstorming, visualizing, modeling, constructing, testing, experimenting, and refining designs; and they will also develop skills in researching information, communicating design information, and reporting results. Invention and Innovation is an interactive electronic publication and is available on CD only. $24 for ITEA members/$29 for nonmembers. Order Code: P231CD Call 703-860-2100 to order.

ExploraVision Makes Its 17th Call for Great Student Ideas

The Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Awards program, one of the world’s largest K–12 science and technology competitions, is now accepting entries for its 2009 competition. Now in its 17th year, ExploraVision has provided an opportunity for students to envision a better future while providing educators with a valuable tool for helping motivate their students to excel in science. Up to $240,000 in savings bonds will be awarded this year to students whose innovative ideas combine imagination with the tools of science. ExploraVision, sponsored by Toshiba and administered by NSTA, challenges teams of two to four students in the United States and Canada to research scientific principles and current technologies as the basis for designing innovative technologies that could exist in 20 years. The deadline for the competition is January 28, 2009. For more information or an application, visit www.exploravision.org or email exploravision@nsta.org.
Source: NSTA Express, Week of September 22, 2008

From Indiana

Special Invitation From E/TEI  
The Engineering/Technology Educators of Indiana (E/TEI) would like to invite the international community of engineering and technology educators to our 77th annual conference, “Engineering Our Students’ Future,” November 8-10 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Embassy Suites North. The conference has sessions ranging from Career Trend for the Future Workforce, through Biotechnology and PLC, to Robotics. Members of other state engineering and technology associations are welcome to attend, and we will waive the E/TEI membership dues. Come join the fun.

Additional information is available at http://e-tei.org or www.indianapolisnorth.embassysuites.com.

Resources from Indiana’s Tech Flash

• Inside a Student-Built FIRST Robot: Interactive How It Works
  You don’t need an expensive lab to engineer a sophisticated robot—just the vision of a maverick inventor, the spur of competition, and a bunch of high school students armed with power tools. www.popularmechanics.com/science/robotics/4279827.html
• Adventures in Rocket Science Educator Guide
  The "Adventures in Rocket Science Educator Guide" is now available for download from the NASA website. The NASA Explorers Institute funded the development of this model rocketry guidebook for teachers. Directed by the Marshall Space Flight Center Academic Affairs Office, education specialists created the curriculum with members of the National Association of Rocketry (NAR). The material was tested in a workshop pairing NAR members in the MSFC area with informal educators from science centers, 4-H clubs, Girl Scout troops and after-school programs to introduce the groups to how to use the guidebook with students in informal settings. The Guide has activities for Grades K-12 and serves as a program to progressively prepare students for participating in TARC. www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Adventures_in_Rocket_Science.html

New Jersey News

NJTEA Fall Workshop Series Registration is OPEN!
Come share and learn while earning professional development in a fun, informal, and interactive manner with NJTEA’s fall area workshops. These workshops will be Professional Learning Communities. This fall’s topic is “Design it in your class…for FREE!” The PLCs will center on the concept of free design and modeling software that you can use in your technology education class. Topics will range from Google SketchUp, Google Earth, and Google Sketchy Physics to West Point Bridge Designer and much, much more. Have something to share? BRING IT! Want to discuss or learn about ANY topic fitting this description? SIGN UP! Get the registration flyer online at www.NJTEA.org. The charge is $10 for members, $60 for nonmembers (08-09 membership fees included). The remaining fall dates and locations are:
North Area – October 21st – Northern Highlands Regional HS
South Area – October 28th – Gateway Regional HS

TCNJ’s Annual Professional Conference
Join TCNJ on October 29 for its Professional Conference and earn four hours of approved Professional Development Credit. Conference offerings reflect a variety of contemporary technological topics of interest to elementary, middle, and high school teachers, supervisors, and administrators. The registration fee includes conference supplies and lunch. Teachers may request to bring a few selected students who are interested in either the Technology Education or M/S/T Elementary Education major. Visit www.tcnj.edu/~tstudies/conference.htm.

Free Stuff
FREE Resource for teaching transportation technology.
Check out www.intransitionmag.org/ for a free subscription to a transportation publication. This could be a resource for any professionals teaching transportation-related technologies. Link provided courtesy of Jim Novotny, supervisor of the Technology Education department, Livingston public schools. 

FREE Resource for teaching desktop engineering.
Check out www.deskeng.com/ and subscribe to their free newsletter related to design and engineering in real-world situations.
Source: NJTEA Update, September 12, 2008

From NSTA Reports, October 2008, Vol. 20 No. 2

Rubber Band Contest for Young Inventors
The contest encourages U.S. students in Grades 5–8 to create an invention incorporating rubber bands. Three finalists will be brought to Akron, Ohio, where the grand-prize winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on February 14, 2009. The grand-prize winner will receive a $10,000 savings bond, while the second- and third-place winners will receive $5,000 and $2,500 savings bonds, respectively. The top 12 semifinalists who are not chosen as finalists will each receive a $50 gift card. The teacher/mentor of each finalist will receive a $500 gift card. Access http://rubberbandcontest.org to apply by November 14.

U.S. Department of Energy Creates Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Kids Website
The EERE has created a website to teach kids about energy conservation. At www.eere.energy.gov/kids students can play interactive games showing them how to make their homes energy efficient and learn about alternative forms of renewable energy. Teachers will find links to more than 350 K–12-related lesson plans and activities.

Invent Now
Industry leaders created this program to encourage children to pursue inventing and innovating as part of their education and future careers. At www.inventnow.org students can explore a gallery of inventions created by children nationwide, a series of interactive games challenging children to imagine and create, and an inventor’s tool kit.

NASA News

NASA FIRST Robotics Grants Available 
NASA is pleased to announce the availability of sponsorship for teams participating in the FIRST Robotics Competition. Two types of grants are available: Up to 70 Regional Challenge Grants and approximately 100 Program Growth Grants. These sponsorships are not tied to any particular competition event. The grants will provide $6,000 funding to cover the registration costs for a team to attend one Regional Competition event and part of the cost of constructing the robot for the competition. To learn more about the NASA FIRST Robotics Regional Challenge Grants and Program Growth Grants, visit https://frc-grants.arc.nasa.gov/directions.php. Questions about this sponsorship should be directed to frc-grants@mail.arc.nasa.gov. Applications for this grant opportunity are due Oct. 20, 2008.

2008-2009 Fundamental Aeronautics Student Competition 
The Fundamental Aeronautics Program has announced its new competition for the academic year. Students from high school grades through graduate school are invited to research and design a small supersonic airliner that could enter service in the next decade. The competition has two divisions: High School and College/University. Teams or individuals may enter either contest, and the program encourages interdisciplinary partnerships.

• High school participants must be enrolled in an accredited high school, secondary school, or home school. For the high school division, a notice of intent is requested by Dec. 15, 2008. Final projects are due March 15, 2009.
• Undergraduate and graduate participants must be enrolled in an accredited college or university. For the college and university division, a notice of intent is requested by Jan. 15, 2009. Final papers are due April 30, 2009.
• International students may participate, but they are not eligible for certain prizes.

For more information about the contest, visit http://aero.larc.nasa.gov/competitions.htm. Questions about the contest should be directed to Dr. Elizabeth Ward at Elizabeth.B.Ward@nasa.gov.

NASA Launches New Hubble Website for Educators  
In conjunction with the upcoming space shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA Education has launched a new website with resources for educators. The site celebrates Hubble as a unique tool of exploration and as a catalyst of inspiration to wonder—to ponder new questions and to seek expressive responses to the magnificent visual imagery it enables people to "see." This site will continue to follow the Hubble journey into 2010, Hubble's 20th anniversary year.
 
The Hubble educational resource site offers activities and resources for three primary themes: Hubble Careers, From Galileo to the Great Observatories, and the Hubble Walk: Spacesuits and Spacewalks. Revisit this Website often throughout the next year for updates and added activities, resources, links to complementary sites, and notices of special events.
 
www.nasa.gov/education/hubble
 

Teachers Apply for New Astronaut Program

Teachers all across the country are applying for a new astronaut program.
Teachers in Space is seeking two Pathfinder Astronauts who will become the first astronaut teachers to fly in space and return to the classroom. Unlike the Educator Astronaut program, which takes teachers out of schools to join the NASA astronaut corps, this program will put astronaut teachers into American classrooms. Pathfinder Astronauts will train on weekends and during the summer, so they will be able to keep their full-time teaching jobs. There will be about three weeks of training in total, which will include both spaceflight training and professional development activities to improve their abilities as teachers. After they fly in space, Pathfinder Astronauts will be invited to return each summer to help teach the training course for new astronaut teachers. Eventually, Teachers in Space would like to fly 200 teachers a year, four from each and every state in the Union.

More information about Teachers in Space is available on the project's website: www.teachers-in-space.org. Pathfinder application forms and information about the application process are available at: www.teachers-in-space.org/apply/apply.htm. Teachers can submit applications for the Pathfinder program any time between now and December 4, 2008. Finalists will be announced and training will begin in 2009, with Pathfinder spaceflights expected to take place some time in 2010 or 2011.

From IDSA’s Design Bytes

Even Asia Is Going Green
Asian cities now produce 760,000 tons of waste a day, a figure expected to grow almost 140 percent by 2025. Designers in the Far East—particularly fashion designers in Hong Kong—are boarding the sustainability bus. But are Asian consumers riding with them? The International Herald Tribune has the story: www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/24/style/reco.php.
Source: IDSA Design Bytes, September 29, 2008

Eureka! We Failed!
Case studies of what didn’t work are often as valuable as case studies of what did work. Failure, as someone somewhere has surely written, is the precursor to success. The Wall Street Journal takes a look at five memorable design flops from the last 30 years: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121390461372989357.html?mod=googlenews_wsj.
Source: IDSA Design Bytes, June 23, 2008

Corporate Efforts in Education

"POWERUP" Game Lures Students to Engineering

IBM is counting on a free multiplayer online game to help lure students to careers in engineering. "PowerUp," a 3D virtual game, challenges players to save the planet "Helios" from ecological disaster. According to IBM, U.S. jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math are projected to grow 22 percent through 2014.

The game relies on students' interest in virtual fantasy worlds to teach them about engineering principles by letting them ride over rugged mountains in buggies to build solar towers or search through grim junkyards to repair wind turbines. They will also learn about energy conservation by the choices they make in completing their missions. "PowerUp," part of IBM's TryScience initiative, was launched at Engineer's Week 2008 and is available at www.powerupthegame.org.

Source: Triangle Coalition Electronic Bulletin, August 7, 2008 - Volume 14, Number 30

INTEL Creates ‘INSPIRE’ Community to Raise Awareness of Education Worldwide
New Website Fosters Sharing of Experiences, Involvement in Education

To raise awareness and support for improving education around the world, Intel Corporation launched the Inspire Community on Aug. 1, 2008. Designed to engage people in discussions about education on a global, national, and local level, the community encourages people to share experiences and offers opportunities for involvement in educational programs. The community highlights the elements of education, learning, and mentorship that people find inspirational, focusing on personal stories to motivate people to act to improve education. A key component of the community is a website that establishes a forum where open conversations among people who care about education can take place. The Inspire Community is located at www.inspiredbyeducation.com. Additionally, the community has a presence on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Intel-Inspire/32855637280 and Twitter: www.twitter.com/intelinspire.

ITEA Technological Literacy Standards in Singapore

Betty L. Rider, Ph.D., DTE recently wrote to tell us of an article written by Jim Diebley, a technology education teacher in Singapore. A short excerpt is below, and the full article can be found at http://ehe.osu.edu/af/letters/diebley.cfm.

Alumnus Jim Diebley connects kids to community service in Singapore
Greetings from Singapore! I am Jim Diebley, and I received my Bachelor of Science in Technology Education in 1990 from the college. Since many Ohio State alumni are scattered around the world, I wanted to chime in from the other side of the world to let you know what is happening here...

Submissions to Inside TIDE

To submit news or calendar items to Inside TIDE, email: kcluff@iteea.org.

End of Inside TIDE, Thursday, October 16, 2008