Most students entering or graduating from high school have taken few if any courses in technology education, but they should!

Technology education is the study of the human ability to create and use tools to shape the natural environment to meet their needs (Wikipedia). Technology Education has evolved from Industrial Arts and Manual Training. Industrial Arts programs were also known as “shop classes”. Today, technology education students generally work in labs and perform laboratory-type activities, such as developing solar-powered race cars or designing bridges. It is problem-based learning that utilizes math, science and technology principles. Studies Involve:

* Designing, developing, and utilizing technological systems
* Open-ended, problem-based design activities
* Cognitive, manipulative, and effective learning strategies
* Applying technological knowledge and processes to real world experiences using up-to-date resources
* Working individually as well as in a team to solve problems

Although organizations such as the ITEA (International Technology Education Association), NASA, and the National Science Foundation are pushing for more hands-on, technology education courses to be integrated into the ‘normal’ high school curriculum, it is not occuring. If they do exist, they are electives that compete with the required curriculum.

Every year the list of required classes grows larger and funding for all courses seems to dwindle. Technology education classes often have material costs associated with them, so they tend to be one of the first electives cut. When the University first required a second langauage, for example, we watched technology education and “shop” classes get replaced by language classes at nearly every high school in the state. (Drafting, even though it is a language known world-wide, didn’t count as a language.)

It makes me wonder, what would happen if technology education classes were required in high school and our electives were reading, writing and arithmetic? Tell me what you think?

John Hartman, A.S., B.S., M.S.
Northwest Technical Institute

Second semester engineering students had the task of designing a kid’s car. The car had to weigh under 40 lbs, use purchased parts where possible, and have an organic skin (created using surfacing). The five designs, all in SolidWorks, were very different, and I believe should be shared. So, I am asking these students to share their designs here.

NTI grads end up going places and do things they never would have imagined. Paul Christensen, for example, who graduated from NTI when it was located in St. Louis Park became an instructor here for many years—he and I started teaching here at about the same time. He is now an engineering design consultant in Atlanta. Craig Hedstrom, who graduated about 15 years back hasn’t touched a CAD system in years. He’s been too busy managing projects for Honeywell.

We all have our stories to tell, how our lives have changed, where our ambitions have taken us. If you are interested in telling your story graduates, please do so by commenting to this blog.

The good ole computer…where would the world be without them? Would you be able to balance your checkbook? I don’t know about you but I think I would have some problems trying and read my own penmanship while trying to give a speech! Would you be able to see if your favorite sports team blew it again? Better yet, would you be able to teach a CAD class if you didn’t have computers or at least computers that could support the software you want to teach? There is only one answer to all of these questions…NOPE!

I am aware that some high schools have the privilege of having nice, deep pockets and don’t have to worry about this problem! That is awesome! Maybe we can get some feedback on how they do it!

What I am trying to get at here is Technical Education is beginning to be put on the back burner as far as computers go. I have visited a lot of high schools this year alone that are in desperate need of new/ updated computers. To give you an example: I visited a school this past week south and west of the metro. The CAD instructor from that particular high school took his own time over the summer to get training on ProE. He was awarded 300 seats for him to disburse at his will. Well, when he got back to the CAD lab, excited and ready to bring some more jazz into the classroom, he found out that the computers in his lab, which were hand-me-downs from the business department, did not support the software! Oops! Seems pointless to have spent time on training and not be able share his knowledge with his students!

So what can we do about this problem? How can we make the next new computers that come into a school go into the CAD/ Tech Ed. lab? Is there fund raising we can do to fund our own labs? Can we get special grants/ bonds set up to dissolve this problem? Can we_____? (fill in the blank) I would like to hear your response. Please leave a comment to this blog so we can attempt to solve this matter.

Thanks for your time and I/ NTI looks forward to helping solve this problem in high school Tech. Ed. labs!!

Chad Genz - Admissions Representative/ Architectural CAD Technician