techdirections March 2013 : Page 25

ITEEA Conference Preview Improving Technology and Engineering Education I MPROVING Technology and Engineering Education for All Students: A Plan of Action is the theme of this year’s International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) an-nual conference, which meets March 7–9 in Columbus, OH. The theme is aligned with ITEEA’s 2012–15 Strate-gic Plan: Investing in People as Edu-cational Change Agents. The conference will also be a celebration of the association’s 75th anniversary. As always, this annual event will feature opportunities for professional development and networking with other educators, in addition to a number of inspiring speakers. Featured Speakers Thursday’s general session opens the conference with keynote speaker Stephen Hicks, a director of research and development at Proctor & Gam-ble Co. (P&G). His interests outside of work include advocacy for better math and science teaching in public education. He serves on the Ohio Technology Education Association Advisory Council. Hicks will speak on the impor-tance of students from all back-grounds being involved in STEM and the design process. In the commer-cial world, if only one group—be it a portion of a society or even only one nation—is involved, the products cus on industrial themes transitioned produced have very limited markets to techniques and processes that im-compared to a broader, more open pact daily life. Todd’s efforts helped design process. For a broad and open New York become the ﬁrst state in design process to work, STEM in the U.S. to convert the ofﬁcial title of schools must be broadly available in public school programs to Technol-all communities. ogy Education. He also promoted On Friday, the Teacher Excellence an emphasis on design and problem General Session of ITEEA’s diamond solving. William Dugger, Jr., will ad-anniversary conference will feature guest speakers who will focus on the heri-tage of the associa-tion. Four signiﬁcant eras will be high-lighted, including the earliest years of the profession, the tran-sition from an indus-trial basis to a focus on technology, the academic standards projects of the 1980s and 1990s, and the emerging programs that feature engineer-ing and STEM topics. The ﬁrst portion will be kicked off ITEEA begins early preparations for its by Thomas Latimer. 75th Anniversary Celebration! Latimer’s 1974 doc-toral dissertation dress the standards projects that was entitled William E. Warner, In-helped shape the profession and our novative Pioneer of Industrial Arts . He professional associations. As former interviewed Warner, among others, director of the Technology for All and will share his perceptions of the Americans Project, Dugger will out-early years of the association. Ron line the impact of content standards Todd will discuss the period of 1960 on the technology and engineering through the mid-1980s, when the fo-www.techdirections.com TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING EDUCATION 25

Improving Technology and Engineering Education

IMPROVING Technology and Engineering Education for All Students: A Plan of Action is the theme of this year’s International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) annual conference, which meets March 7–9 in Columbus, OH. The theme is aligned with ITEEA’s 2012–15 Strategic Plan: Investing in People as Educational Change Agents. The conference will also be a celebration of the association’s 75th anniversary. As always, this annual event will feature opportunities for professional development and networking with other educators, in addition to a number of inspiring speakers. Featured Speakers Thursday’s general session opens the conference with keynote speaker Stephen Hicks, a director of research and development at Proctor & Gamble Co. (P&G). His interests outside of work include advocacy for better math and science teaching in public education. He serves on the Ohio Technology Education Association Advisory Council. Hicks will speak on the importance of students from all backgrounds being involved in STEM and the design process. In the commercial world, if only one group—be it a portion of a society or even only one nation—is involved, the products produced have very limited markets compared to a broader, more open design process. For a broad and open design process to work, STEM in schools must be broadly available in all communities. On Friday, the Teacher Excellence General Session of ITEEA’s diamond anniversary conference will feature guest speakers who will focus on the heritage of the association. Four significant eras will be highlighted, including the earliest years of the profession, the transition from an industrial basis to a focus on technology, the academic standards projects of the 1980s and 1990s, and the emerging programs that feature engineering and STEM topics. The first portion will be kicked off by Thomas Latimer. Latimer’s 1974 doctoral dissertation was entitled William E. Warner, Innovative Pioneer of Industrial Arts. He interviewed Warner, among others, and will share his perceptions of the early years of the association. Ron Todd will discuss the period of 1960 through the mid-1980s, when the focus on industrial themes transitioned to techniques and processes that impact daily life. Todd’s efforts helped New York become the first state in the U.S. to convert the official title of public school programs to Technology Education. He also promoted an emphasis on design and problem solving. William Dugger, Jr., will address the standards projects that helped shape the profession and our professional associations. As former director of the Technology for All Americans Project, Dugger will outline the impact of content standards on the technology and engineering education field. Finally, Kara Harris of Indiana State University (ISU) will focus on current trends with a special emphasis on engineering concepts. Harris is program coordinator of technology and engineering education at ISU, is a certified engineering instructor, and has actively promoted the recruitment of females into the profession. Preconference Workshops Several specialized preconference workshops will be offered. Boot Camp for New Teachers is designed exclusively for teachers with three years of experience or less. Attendees will participate in sessions on classroom management, instructional strategies, and curriculum development to help them transition to master teacher status. The Designing and Making Made Simple will take participants through designing and making a product that incorporates the use of basic electronic components such as the LED and resistor. The activity, pitched at 13- to 14-year-olds, has been successful in developing confidence and fluency in sketching and drawing that is integral to the act of designing. The teacher plays the role of teacher-designer who demonstrates the act of designing to students. In Hands-On STEM with Energy, Motion, and Aeronautics, participants will build, test, improve, and retest K’NEX rocket launchers and rubber band racer models while investigating concepts related to Newton’s laws and aeronautics. Concepts and activities are fashioned around rigorous content and national standards in STEM education. Joining the presentation will be Greg Kennedy, educator program manager and instructor at the National AeroSpace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center. The NASTAR Center is a premier commercial air and space training, research, and educational facility. Kennedy will show how instructors can relate the workshop materials to state-of-the-art flight simulation and physiology- based simulators used to optimize human performance in extreme environments at the NASTAR Center. Professional Development Sessions Nearly 100 professional development learning sessions will be conducted at this year’s conference. Sessions run 50 minutes in length and take place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. This year’s sessions include Using Social Media Technologies in the CTE Classroom; Virtual Teaching Strategies for Technology Education; The Stimulating Effects of Science Fiction Film on Technological Creativity; Transitions: From (Industrial) Technology Education to STEM; Teaching from Space; Creating Engineer’s Notebook Grading Rubrics; Smartphones: Technology for Learning About Energy Systems; Online PD that Leads to National Board Certification; Virtual Applications of Learning at the Edge; Addressing Common Challenges to STEM Integration; and Turn it Up! Guitars in STEM Education. Also featured are Teaching Middle Schoolers to Construct Wind Turbines; Technology and Engineering Integration in Science Standards; From Posters to Podcasting, From Design to Evaluations; From Science to Technology Education and Back; Robotics Challenge: Much More Than Building Robots!; Teaching STEM Using Underwater LEGO Robots; Virtual Worlds: A Unique Approach to STEM; Green Energy Community Display Lab; Robotics Education: From a Distance; Problem-Solving in Robotics; Motivate Students in Math- Blended Learning; Teaching Evolving Concepts Cheaply and Sustainably; Concrete Manufacturing Processes and Finnish Technology Education; Program Improvement—Are You Really Teaching STEM?; The ABCs of Technology and Engineering Education; Application of Alternative Energy; Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Waste, and Geologic Repository Apprehensions; ITEEA: A Brief History; How Design Technologies Impact the Design Process; and Green Engineering Practices to Support STEM Activities. And rounding out the sessions schedule: CSI Flight Adventures; How Operational Wind Turbines Are Used in Secondary Education; EPICS: Engineering Projects in Community Service; Best Practices: A Shared Experience; STEAM: Project-Based Learning Means Student Success; Technology Teachers’ Confidence to Teach Engineering Concepts; STEMPALOOZA: Leading 21st Century Education; Urban Composting in the Technology Classroom; Ceramics for Technological Literacy and STEM Integration; STEM Made Simple: Developing a Successful Initiative; Blended STEM: What Integrated STEM Looks Like; Student Documentaries: Enhancing Learning Through Video Documentation; and Technology and Engineering Education: Career Futuring. Tours Optional tours are scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Tours include the Honda Marysville automobile plant, one of the most flexible auto plants in North America and manufacturer of over 440,000 vehicles per year. The 3.6 million square foot plant is highly integrated, with metal stamping, welding, painting, plastic injection molding, and two final assembly lines under one roof. Attendees can also tour the Edison Welding Institute (EWI). EWI’s 132,000 square foot facility has more than $20 million in capital equipment. Attendees will see such processes as laser welding, ultrasonic welding, and additive manufacturing. EWI’s headquarters contains full-size laboratories and a staff of engineers, scientists, technicians, industry experts, and project managers who help companies resolve their manufacturing and production issues. EWI provides these strategic services to over 1,200 companies worldwide, including Boeing, Honda, Caterpillar, and General Electric. Worthington Cylinders Corp. is the world’s leading global manufacturer of pressure cylinders; this plant manufactures cylinders for refrigerant storage and helium balloon kits. A fully automated manufacturing environment, this facility produces over 25,000 cylinders every day. Common processes used in the plant include stamping, welding, painting, pressure testing, and packaging. The Ohio State University Center for Automotive Research (OSU CAR) focuses on advanced electric propulsion and energy storage systems as well as advanced engines and alternative fuels for reduced fuel consumption and emissions. One OSU CAR program, SMART@CAR, is a research and development collaboration with automotive and electric utility industries. SMART@CAR focuses on PHEVs, EVs, intelligent charging, and vehicle-grid interactions. The Exhibit Hall is open Thursday from 11:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. and Friday from 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. It features an excellent selection of tools, materials, and media resources to help educators and their students excel. As ITEEA president Bill Bertrand says, “Don’t forget to visit the Exhibit Hall to see all the latest and greatest in resources for our field—we all know our field is constantly changing and we need to stay current with the new products that are out there to help us do the best job possible.” The Host City Ohio’s capital city, Columbus, offers a world of experiences to visitors. There is diverse and unique shopping, fun-filled attractions, historic neighborhoods, and excellent restaurants. Conference attendees can tour the No. 1 Zoo in America, let imaginations run wild at the Center of Science and Industry, and enjoy artwork at the Columbus Museum of Art. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is home to over 5,000 animals representing over 700 species. In 2009, it was named the Number One Zoo in America by USA Travel Guide. The German Village neighborhood, located just south of downtown Columbus, offers a wide range of activities, from shopping to popular restaurants. Some of the attractions are beautifully restored historic homes, many of which house restaurants. The Center of Science and Industry features a variety of exhibits—many hands-on—related to science and technology. In addition to its own exhibits, the center hosts world-class traveling exhibitions from other museums. For more information on Columbus, visit www.discoverohio.com/ Columbus. For more information on the 2013 ITEEA Conference, visit www.iteaconnect.org/Conference/ conferenceguide.htm.

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