Course Description: This course concludes the state required technology instruction for middle school students in grades 6-8. Following the 7 Grade introductory 10 week program, students will prepare for a modified version of the NYS 8th grade Technology exam through instruction in technological systems & resources, materials processing, computers & electronic technology, manufacturing, communication, and energy. Because this exam is voluntarily administered, Ms. Blaine has elected to use an in-house exam which follows the design of the NYS exam but includes only content covered in class. A small number of hands on projects may be completed during the course to provide students with an opportunity to become experienced with tools and equipment relating to the subject. The course includes a complete online class resource created using Blackboard online course distribution located at http://blackboard.neric.org/. Students can find all course materials including PowerPoint presentations, rubrics, quizzes, study tools, etc. located there.

Course Outline:

Technology in a Changing World
Resources for Technology
Problem Solving and Systems
The Electronic Computer Age
Communication Systems
Graphic Communication
Electronic Communication
Processing Materials
Manufacturing
Construction
Building a Structure
Managing Production Systems
Energy
Power
Transportation
Impacts for Today and Tomorrow

Specific Instructional Activities: Students will receive instruction on each chapter of Living with Technology via PowerPoint lecture notes. Students will have access to these files at all times for review and study. For each chapter, students will identify the vocabulary words and define them as used in technology. Most chapters will include a project or activity to reinforce the concepts learned. These include but are not limited to: timelines, review games, PowerPoint presentations, lamps, and more.

Evaluation: Students will receive grades for a variety of work. Grades are posted as available in the online blackboard course module and can be seen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This includes individual assignment grades, average class score for any assignment, missing work, and overall student average. Methods of evaluation may include:

1. Online Quizzes (100 points)- requiring students to show knowledge of core concepts and course vocabulary.

2. Open Book Tests (150-300 points)- requiring students to demonstrate awareness of chapter topics and content.

3. Words in Bold (50 points)- students define key words from each chapter in writing.

NYS Standards: STANDARD 5- Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.

Performance Indicators:

Engineering Design
• identify needs and opportunities for technical solutions from an investigation of situations of general or social interest
• locate and utilize a range of printed, electronic, and human information resources to obtain ideas
• consider constraints and generate several ideas for alternative solutions, using group and individual ideation techniques (group discussion, brainstorming, forced connections, role play); defer judgment until a number of ideas have been generated; evaluate (critique) ideas; and explain why the chosen solution is optimal
• develop plans, including drawings with measurements and details of construction, and construct a model of the solution, exhibiting a degree of craftsmanship
• in a group setting, test their solution against design specifications, present and evaluate results, describe how the solution might have been modified for different or better results, and discuss tradeoffs that might have to be made

Tools, Resources, and Technological Processes
• choose and use resources for a particular purpose based upon an analysis and understanding of their properties, costs, availability, and environmental impact
• use a variety of hand tools and machines to change materials into new forms through forming, separating, and combining processes, and processes which cause internal change to occur
• combine manufacturing processes with other technological processes to produce, market, and distribute a product
• process energy into other forms and information into more meaningful information

Computer Technology
•assemble a computer system including keyboard, central processing unit and disc drives, mouse, modem, printer, and monitor
• use a computer system to connect to and access needed information from various Internet sites
• use computer hardware and software to draw and dimension prototypical designs
• use a computer as a modeling tool
• use a computer system to monitor and control external events and/or systems

Technology Systems
• select appropriate technological systems on the basis of safety, function, cost, ease of operation, and quality of post-purchase support
• assemble, operate, and explain the operation of simple open- and closed-loop electrical, electronic, mechanical, and pneumatic systems
• describe how subsystems and system elements (inputs, processes, outputs) interact within systems
• describe how system control requires sensing information, processing it, and making changes

History & Evolution of Technology
• describe how the evolution of technology led to the shift in society from an agricultural base to an industrial base to an information base
• understand the contributions of people of different genders, races, and ethnic groups to technological development
• describe how new technologies have evolved as a result of combining existing technologies (e.g., photography combined optics and chemistry; the airplane combined kite and glider technology with a light-weight gasoline engine)

Impacts of Technology
• describe how outputs of a technological system can be desired, undesired,
expected, or unexpected
• describe through examples how modern technology reduces manufacturing and construction costs and produces more uniform products