An infrastructure to facilitate the creation of courses on technology and engineering for non-engineers

Technology is foundational to our current way of life, and informed citizens need an understanding of what technology is, how it works, how it is created, how it shapes society, and how society influences technological development. According to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), all Americans need to better understand the wide variety of technology used every day. In "Technically Speaking: Why All Americans Need to Know More about Technology" (2002), and "Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy" (2006), the NAE has outlined the characteristics of a technologically literate citizen. Some engineering educators are beginning to take an interest in offering courses on engineering and technology for non-engineers. However an obstacle to offering courses for non-engineers is a lack of relevant course materials for both students and instructors. In addition, varying interpretations of what non-engineers should learn about technology can result in widely different course curricula and student learning outcomes. To address these two issues, an online course development site is being established. Development is based on four course models that address NAE recommendations in a consistent manner. These four types of courses are (1) technology survey courses that provide a broad overview of technological topics, (2) technological focus courses that address a more specific area such as the hydrogen economy or energy, (3) courses that emphasize the engineering design process, and (4) technology connections courses that explore the connections between technology and other areas of society and culture. The online resource will allow engineering faculty to obtain materials from the database of existing resources.