ITEA has prepared a new set of ten videos on one compact disk (CD) that does a great job of explaining the ITEA Standards for Technological Literacy (STL). Advancing Excellence in Technological Literacy (AETL), the four Addenda publications to STL and AETL, and other topics relevant to the standards. These are called the Technological Standards Briefings.

Click here to view the Technological Literacy Standards Briefings videos.

Attention: Most of the links on this page lead directly to files in PDF format. If you are unfamiliar with the format, please read Opening Files in Specialized Formats before clicking on the links. The PDF files containing key TfAAP documents are locked to enforce Copyright. They may not be printed or reproduced in any way, whether whole or in part. If desired, printed copies of most TfAAP publications can be purchased from ITEA (see Ordering Information).

Standards |  Addenda |  Rationale & Structure |  Gallup Polls |  Full Glossary

Technological Literacy Standards (Two Publications)

Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology © ITEA, 2000. Reprinted 2002.(PDF format, 258 pages, 3.39 MB)	Advancing Excellence in Technological Literacy: Student Assessment, Professional Development, and Program Standards © ITEA, 2003 (PDF format, 152 pages, 1.89 MB)

Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology, commonly called STL, and Advancing Excellence in Technological Literacy: Student Assessment, Professional Development, and Program Standards, commonly called AETL, are companion publications that together articulate* a complete set of technological literacy standards* and identify a vision* for developing a technologically literate citizenry.
 
STL identifies content* necessary for K—12 students, including knowledge*, abilities, and the capacity to apply both to the real world. The standards in STL were built around a cognitive* base as well as a doing/activity* base. They include assessment* checkpoints at specific grade levels (K—2, 3—5, 6—8, and 9—12). STL articulates what needs to be taught in K—12 laboratory-classrooms* to enable all students to develop technological literacy. The goal* is to meet all of the standards through the benchmarks* which are included in STL. Standards are written statements about what is valued that can be used for making a judgment of quality. STL is NOT a curriculum.
 
AETL identifies the means for the implementation* of STL in K—12 laboratory-classrooms. AETL contains three separate but interrelated sets of standards: student assessment* practices to be used by teachers, professional development* to assure effective* and continuous* in-service* and pre-service* education for teachers of technology, and detailed program* standards that delineate educational requirements used to promote the development of technological literacy.
 
For information regarding the development of STL and AETL, visit Phase II and Phase III respectively in the TfAAP History section.
 
When this page was archived (January 2006) STL had been translated into Finnish, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and German. The translations could be viewed by visiting the web site of the relevant ITEA International Center. Links to the ITEA International Centers could be accessed by resting the cursor on the About ITEA link in the ITEA navigation on the left side of this page (near the top), and clicking the link labeled ITEA International Centers in the fly out menu.
 
For your convenience the following STL and AETL summaries are provided.

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Addenda to the Standards (Four Publications)

Developed during Phase III of the TfAAP History, the Addenda to the technological literacy standards* were written in response to needs indicated to ITEA by states. They contain practical, specific strategies* for standards implementation.

Realizing Excellence: Structuring Technology Programs (© ITEA, 2005) is intended to help educations implement the program standards in Chapter 5 of AETL. It offers educators and other concerned individuals practical suggestions and hands-on* tools for planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating* standards-based* technology programs. Realizing Excellence may be considered the “umbrella” addendum to all the other technology standards addenda.   View ten sample pages from Realizing Excellence (PDF format, 111 KB).	Measuring Progress: Assessing Students for Technological Literacy (© ITEA, 2004) is a resource* for teachers to use as they plan and implement standards-based student assessment. It is intended to help users implement the student assessment standards in Chapter 3 of AETL. The step-by-step approach presented is a closely aligned modification* of the widely-accepted backwards design* model* outlined in Understanding By Design (Wiggins & McTighe). The modification enables the approach to be applied to many levels of the program—course,* unit,* or lesson.* Measuring Progress also provides a handy resource for information about a variety of assessment tools and methods, including descriptions, guidelines for use, and lists of advantages and disadvantages.   View a sample page from Measuring Progress (PDF format, 2.36 MB).
Planning Learning: Developing Technology Curricula (© ITEA, 2005) provides curriculum developers with a multi-step approach to developing and revising standards-based technology curricula, including practical suggestions and worksheets. The approach is a modification of the widely-accepted backwards design model outlined in Understanding By Design (Wiggins & McTighe). The curriculum guide is closely aligned with the approach for student assessment outlined in the addendum entitled Measuring Progress: A Guide to Assessing Students for Technological Literacy.   View three sample pages from Planning Learning (PDF format, 214 KB).	Developing Professionals: Preparing Technology Teachers (© ITEA, 2005) offers practical guidance for those who plan, implement, and/or evaluate the standards-based education of teachers of technology. This may include teacher candidates,* teacher educators,* teachers, principals, and supervisors. The publication is intended to help users implement the professional development standards in Chapter 4 of AETL by addressing professional development at both the pre-service and in-service levels, including the need for teacher candidates and teachers to become responsible for their own professional growth.   View a sample page from Developing Professionals (PDF format, 136 KB).

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding By Design. Alexandria, VA:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

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Rationale and Structure for the Study of Technology

Technology for All Americans: A Rationale and Structure for the Study of Technology (Rationale and Structure) © ITEA, 1996 (PDF format, 63 pages, 2.07 MB)   Rationale and Structure preceded the publication of the two standards documents (STL and AETL), providing the foundation for their development. It addressed such issues as: What does every student need to know and be able to do with technology? How should the articulated program in technology from Grades K—12 be organized? Is there a structure for teaching technology that can withstand the accelerating changes in our technological environment?   For information regarding the development of Rationale and Structure visit Phase I in the TfAAP History section.

Technological Literacy for All: A Rationale and Structure for the Study of Technology © ITEA, 2005 (PDF format, 50 pages, 3.02 MG)   Technological Literacy for All is a major revision of Rationale and Structure providing a greatly expanded explanation of what technology and technological literacy are, and why everyone needs to be technologically literate. It also provides a logical transition from the 10 universals (processes, knowledge, and contexts) identified in Rationale and Structure into the 20 standards found in STL. Included in Technological Literacy for All are new sections on the teaching of technology in Grades K—12 and beyond, and a call to action to garner support for the study of technology for all Americans in the future.   For information regarding the development of Technological Literacy for All visit Phase III in the TfAAP History section.

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ITEA-TfAAP Gallup Polls

During Phase III of TfAAP, ITEA commissioned the Gallup Organization to conduct two separate surveys (2001 & 2004). Both surveys researched the question of what “Americans think about technological literacy.“ In general the results of both Gallup Polls indicated Americans think technological literacy is important and/or they supported the need for mandatory Technology Education in the U.S. Documents containing the survey reports, data tables, and survey questions are available through the Gallup Poll page.

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Full Glossary

The Condensed Glossary provided in the TfAAP web area contains the applicable meanings of terms used on the TfAAP web pages, only. To insure clarity while reviewing ITEA’s TfAAP publications the complete, downloadable Glossary Terms for STL, AETL, and Addenda is available in printable PDF format (30 pages, 124 KB). When the complete glossary is open in Adobe® Reader®, search for a specific term or phrase by clicking “Edit” on the menu bar, then “Find” in the drop down menu. Type the word or phrase in the text box in the Find window, and hit “Enter” on the keyboard until Adobe® Reader® locates the desired definition.

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TfAAP was initiated and administered by ITEA, and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
 
* Consult the Condensed Glossary for the applicable meaning(s) of the denoted term(s) on this web page.