What is Technology Education about?

How are the Tech. Ed. classes graded?

Why do we use Planners?

What is with the all the Keyboarding?

What do I do if I am absent?

Who is the Technology Education Teacher?


If you are interested in the classes
FOLLOW THESE LINKS
6th Grade - Tech. Ed. 7th Grade - Tech. Ed. 8th Grade - Tech. Ed. A 8th Grade - Tech. Ed. B























What is Technology Education?

Technology has been defined as "Anything that we have created or changed to help us interact with our environment." Throughout time we have been using what we have learned through science and helped us to solve problems or take advantage of opportunities to make our lives easier. Where would our culture be if no one took advantage of the pulling power of beast of labor to pull a plow through a field? Providing, for the first time, the ability for one person to produce more food than just their family needed. Allowing for someone else to specialize in another field, such as blacksmithing, baking, carpentry, animal husbandry, and so on.

In this day, and age, we have an abundance of specialties within our culture. The field of Technology Education has been developed in order to meet the needs of this changing world that we live in. Just a few years ago, most schools had a Industrial Arts program, which specialized in training students in the use of tools they would need to build, construct, or otherwise work with raw materials. We were in the Industrial age and people everywhere were being able to finish school and walk into profitable jobs in factories. Now, as we move fully into the Information age, computers and robots are taking over where human labor once worked to build the "things" that we want and need and the number of jobs available to students walking out of High School with a working knowledge of trade tools are limited. In response to this trend, Industrial Arts teachers are slowly being retrained and classes that once focused solely on the teaching of tools and following directions, and are beginning to create what today’s businesses are asking for; technologically literate students.

If you think of illiteracy as being a person inability to understand the written word, than Technological Literacy, is the ability to understand the languages, systems, and functions of technology. In reality, technological literacy is only one of three areas that you will need to understand in order to be successful in the future. Just like if you needed to pay someone to fix your car, or repair your house in the Industrial Age you would have paid a premium price. In today’s world and in the near future those who are not Computer Literate, Media Literate, and Technologically Literate will pay for services and knowledge that they themselves cannot obtain on their own.

Computer Literacy, is the knowledge of computers. How they work, what they can do, and how to fix them when they stop working.

Media Literacy, is the understanding of how to obtain information through media resources, and the ability to judge if an information resource is reliable and/or creditable.

Technological Literacy, is the understanding of the Resources of Technology used to solve technological problems and take advantage of opportunities we may encounter to better ourselves and our ability to interact with our environment. It is also the comprehension of the Universal Systems Model and how it can be used to understand technological systems. Finally, it is the knowledge that all technology has an effect of the world, and that any given technology is neither good nor bad, but that its future should be determined by its Impact.


























Why and How do we use the planner?

In the field of Technology Education we recognize that jobs that require a person to work independently or outside of the office are growing in great numbers. Because of this, employers are looking for workers who are proficient at accurately tracking their time, as well as, being able to report back that time use in detail validating that they were on task and being profitable. In order to help you develop this necessary skill, the following situations exist in the Tech. Ed. Room:
If you want to know how is the planner is graded, please look at the Grading Rationale.


















Why do we practice keyboarding?

Anyone who has worked with computers knows that the most common way to put information onto a computer is to type it in. Current technologies exist to transfer text and images into the computer by scanning them into the computers memory. However, text recognition software is still pretty rough and requires a document to be thoroughly checked over after scanning. Additionally, new technologies like voice recognition software are just now being used commercially and will not likely come into common use for several years.

As a result, we can assume that you will be using the keyboard to type in your required assignments and reports for at least the next five years. Over which time proficiency in typing will be able to save you hours of time that would have otherwise be spent doing your homework.

For example, if you were an average sixth grade student assigned a 2 page double spaced report, you would be able to type your rough draft into the computer in about 35 minutes, with your average typing speed of 20 WPM (Words per Minute.) If instead, you could type just a bit faster, say 30 WPM, then you would be able to type the same report in about 22 minutes. Which leaves you 13 more minutes for doing whatever you like.

For information about how to type correctly, see here



















What to do if your absent?

Every day in class we move closer to our goal. Every minute, of every day, of each marking period has a specific purpose leading you to your end result and the end of the class. The class is set up so that we do not waste any time that could be spent learning. This is because TIME is second only to PEOPLE as the most valuable resource we have to solve problems. As a result any time that you miss will have an effect on what you are able to learn and achieve in a Technology Education class.

If you haven’t read the section in the classes grading rationale on attendance it can be found here.

If an absences cannot be avoided, please follow the following procedures.
First, Turn in an excuse note to your first hour.
Second, Ask someone in the class what you missed.
Third, Make up the missed work by completing the assignments and recording what was done in your planner.
Fourth, Turn in the missed work to the teacher.






































Who is the Technology Education Teacher?

MR. HINDERER

Mr. Hinderer has been teaching since 1999 when he graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Technology & Design. In 2001, Mr. Hinderer started teaching here at North Middle School where he plans to stay. At the time North was in the midst of changing from Industrial Arts to Technology Education a change that Mr. Hinderer was eager to continue. Over the past years, Mr. Hinderer has been updating the workshop and drawing room with computers, new tools, organization, and safety equipment. In 2004, Mr. Hinderer completed his Masters in "Teaching and Learning" from NOVA South-Western Florida University, and has incorporated many new teaching styles into his curriculum. With a new connection to how students learn, Mr. Hinderer is showing his students how to be the best they choose to be.


















































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