Teaching Technological Literacy K 12: “Preparing Future Engineers And Nurturing A Democratic Society” A Case Study Of Exemplary Practice

Shelly and Melanie stood outside the school staring at a handheld GPS in one pair of hands, and their “tech notes sheet” in the other. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon in Hailey Idaho. I watched as they discussed how they had seen Mr. Thode, their teacher, set the way points in the GPS to aid navigation around the school for others to follow. Shelly and Melanie had tried hard during the brief demonstration to catch every little detail of the instructions in their notes, but were still struggling to figure out the different menus and icons displayed on the screen of the GPS they now hovered over. Discussion was intense back and forth as they hypothesized what each symbol meant and what they should do next. Before long, they ran back into the building seeking further instructions. Soon they returned. Not with the answer, but rather a suggestion of where to look in the menus. Before long they were on their way, running around the school yard, laughing, and writing in their notes – led by the GPS system.