Grades 10-12 (no prerequisite, Foundations of Technology Recommended)
In Technological Issues, students learn that technology allows us to extend our ability to modify or change the natural world to meet our wants and needs. However, the resulting changes can be complicated and unpredictable. Solutions to a particular problem may cause other types of problems. Each potential technological solution creates certain issues, such as benefits, costs, risks, and limitations. Not all impacts of technology are predictable or show up right away. However, the key issues of a technology should be studied and debated prior to the technology being introduced or eliminated. Alternatives should be explored (scientific and mathematical dimensions should be integrated into the decision).
Technological issues are not solely technical in nature. Attitudes towards technology can be influenced by social, cultural, economic, political, and ecological concerns. The decision to introduce or eliminate a technology will affect different people, and vary depending on the timing. Issues can create some heated debates that require both sides of the debate to acquire detailed information and ask the right questions. By studying technological issues, students learn that there may not be a solution that everyone agrees upon, nor will everyone benefit or receive the cost in the same way. The study of technological issues will not give students the correct answers but allows them to develop skills in asking critical questions and understanding alternative viewpoints and their origins, and gives them the confidence to be involved
36 weeks recommended
The Technological Issues course contributes to the development of each high school student’s capacity to make responsible judgments about technology’s development, control, and use. Critiquing appropriate technology and sustainable development are important. The structure of the course brings discussions of technological values so that students can reflect and develop their own ethical standards. Students are actively involved in the organized and integrated application of technological resources, engineering concepts, and scientific procedures. Students address the complexities of technology and issues that stem from designing, developing, using, and assessing technological systems. In developing a functional understanding of technology, students comprehend how human conditions, current affairs, and personal preferences drive technological design and problem solving. Actively engaged in making and developing, using, and managing technological systems, students better understand the role of systems in meeting specific needs. Students are able to analyze and understand the behavior and operation of basic technological systems in different contexts. Students are able to extend their knowledge of systems to new and emerging applications by the time they graduate from high school.