Unit 1: Technological Inventions and Innovations. Overview

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1 Foundations of Technology, Third Edition/ Unit 1: Technological Inventions and Innovations Overview Big Idea Inventions and Innovations are a result of evolutionary technological development and systematic research and development. Teacher s Note: Big ideas should be made explicit to students by writing them on the board, reading them aloud, and/or posting them on worksheets associated with the lessons. For deeper understanding, have students write the Big Idea in their own Engineering Design Journal (EDJ), using their own words, if they choose. Purpose of the Unit This unit is designed to teach students to analyze the historic significance of technological advancements and to gain an understanding of the influences of technology on history. The use of technology has had profound effects on the course of history. As such, most inventions and innovations are the result of an evolutionary process and have students understand how a series or refinements leads to an improvement in a technological device; that new technologies create new processes and have students be able to explain how a change in technology would change the process of creating a product; teach the students all the factors that lead to changes in technology; and that research and development is a problem-solving approach used by companies to prepare products and systems for the marketplace. Standards/Benchmarks Technology: Standards for Technological Literacy (STL) (ITEA/ITEEA, 2000/2002/2007) STL 1 Students will develop an understanding of the characteristics and scope of technology. K The rate of technological development and diffusion is increasing rapidly. L Inventions and innovations are the result of specific, goal-directed research. M Most development of technologies these days is driven by the profit motive and the market. STL 2 Students will develop an understanding of the core concepts of technology. CC New technologies create new processes. STL 3 Students will develop an understanding of the relationships among technologies and the connections between technology and other fields of study. G Technology transfer occurs when a new user applies an existing innovation developed for one purpose in a different function. H Technological innovation often results when ideas, knowledge, or skills are shared

2 within a technology, among technologies, or across other fields. I Technological ideas are sometimes protected through the process of patenting. STL 6 Students will develop an understanding of the role of society in the development and use of technology. J A number of different factors, such as advertising, the strength of the economy, the goals of a company, and the latest fads contribute to shaping the design of and demand for various technologies. STL 7 Students will develop an understanding of the influence of technology on history. G Most technological development has been evolutionary, the result of a series of refinements to a basic invention. J Early in the history of technology, the development of many tools and machines was based not on scientific knowledge but on technological know-how. K The Iron Age was defined by the use of iron and steel as the primary materials for tools. L The Middle Ages saw the development of many technological devices that produced long-lasting effects on technology and society. M The Renaissance, a time of rebirth of the arts and humanities, was also an important development in the history of technology. N The Industrial Revolution saw the development of continuous manufacturing, sophisticated transportation and communication systems, advanced construction practices, and improved education and leisure time. O The Information Age places emphasis on the processing and exchange of information. STL 10 Students will develop an understanding of the role of troubleshooting, research and development, invention and innovation, and experimentation in problem solving. I Research and development is a specific problem-solving approach that is used intensively in business and industry to prepare devices and systems for the marketplace. Science: Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993/2009) 1 Nature of Technology/Design and Systems All technologies have effects other than those intended by the design, some of which may have been predictable and some not. (3B/M 2a) The value of any given technology may be different for different groups of people and at different points of time. (3B/H2) Nature of Technology/Issues in Technology The human ability to influence the course of history comes from its capacity for generating knowledge and developing new technologies and for communicating ideas to others. (3C/H6) Societies influence what aspects of technology are developed and how these are used. People control technology (as well as science) and are responsible for its effects. (3C/M7) Mathematics: Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 2000) 2 1 Material reprinted from Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993/2009) with permission from Project 2061, on behalf of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC.

3 Alegebra Standard (NCTM, 9-12) Analyze change in various contexts (to) approximate and interpret rates of change from graphical and numerical data. Unit Objectives Lesson Big Idea Objectives People are better able to understand the world around them when they explore how people of all times and places have used their unique skills to innovate, improvise, and invent. Lesson 1. The History of Technology (6 Hours) Compare and contrast early steel and iron tools from the Iron Age with earlier bronze and stone tools. Research a technological device from the Middle Ages that produced long-lasting effects on technology and society. Explain that the Industrial Revolution saw the development of continuous manufacturing, sophisticated transportation and communication systems, advanced construction practices, and improved education and leisure time. Describe societal events from the 1900s that led to progress in science and invention. Select one of the following areas of technology and explain how technology changed the way people live and work: agriculture, manufacturing, sanitation and medicine, warfare, transportation, information processing, and communications. Demonstrate how Information Age devices are used to process and exchange information. Lesson 2. Inventions and Innovations: An Evolutionary Process (5 Hours) Inventions and innovations are the result of an evolutionary process through a series of improvements and refinements. Interpret charts and graphs that illustrate the rapidly increasing rate of technological development and diffusion. Approximate and interpret rate of change from graphical and numerical data. Support the statement that most technological developments have been evolutionary, the result of a series of refinements to a basic invention, through an electronic presentation. Present the evolutionary history of a technological device, specifically mentioning the original inventions and the series of refinements to that invention that led up to the given technological device. Describe a technological innovation that resulted when ideas, knowledge, or skills were shared within a technology, among 2 Standards are listed with the permission of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). NCTM does not endorse the content nor the validity of these alignments.

4 Lesson 3. The Role of Research and Development (3 Hours) Research and development is a problem-solving approach that allows business and industry to prepare products and systems for the marketplace. technologies, or across other fields. Support the statement that the human ability to shape the future comes from a capacity for generating knowledge and developing new technologies and for communicating ideas to others. Illustrate that research and development is a specific problem-solving approach that is used intensively in business and industry to prepare devices and systems for the marketplace by researching a specific company within the local vicinity. Present how a company s research and development department used specific problem-solving approaches to prepare devices and systems for the marketplace, using a specific company within the local community. List examples of inventions and/or innovations that are the result of specific, goal-oriented research. Lesson 4. Advertising and Marketing Effects on Technology (5 Hours) Total: 19 Hours Many factors including advertising, the strength of the economy, goals of the company, and fads determined by society have an impact on the demand and design of technology. Support the statement that a number of different factors, such as advertising, the strength of the economy, the goals of a company, and the latest fads contribute to shaping the design of and demand for various technologies. Identify how advertising, the strength of the economy, the goals of the company and the fads of the time period contribute to the design of the product and the success or failure of the product, given various technological innovations. Describe an example of a technology in which the development was driven by the profit motive and the market. Describe the patenting process that is sometimes used to protect technological ideas. Describe how a technology may have effects other than those intended by the design, some of which may have been predicable and some not. Explain how the value of any given technology may be different for different groups of people and at different points in time.

5 Assessments There are no unit level assessments. Lessons in the unit are assessed using: Presentation Items Performance Rubrics Selected Response Items Brief Constructed Response Items Specific tools are incorporated into each lesson as Supporting Files. EbD Video There are many ways to hook students, but one great way is through the EbD, or a video introduction to the unit and/or lessons. This allows visual cues while helping students to start thinking about what they already know about the Big Idea. The frog puts the content in context by using themes (Custer/Daugherty/Meyer, 2010; Hacker/Rousseau/Devries, 2009). Engagement is the first step to introducing a lesson. Engagement involves activating students' prior knowledge about the subject of study. In order to activate prior knowledge, the teacher must hook the students in and make them become interested in the lesson. The EbD MediaRichedition of this Course Guide, available to those teachers and schools in the EbD Network, includes the opportunity for teachers to submit frogs that are shared with other teachers in the Network.