The realities of what is on today s drawing boards will undoubtedly reshape how we work, how we recreate, how we view the world, how we learn, and most importantly, what we must learn. We are now in a position to exercise options that were beyond our comprehension a mere decade ago. How we educate a generation that can comprehend, cope with, and direct these technologies is a challenge that schools must respond to. The need for literacy about this human effort, that is, the development and use of technical means, is the role of technology education . Technology education takes learning with technology one step farther than other disciplines.
Technology becomes a school subject, and the ultimate goal is technological literacy for everyone.
The use of technological tools, and the design of their systems, is evidence of a widening gap in the knowledge, capability, and confidence of the average citizen and that of inventors, researchers, and implementors who continue to revolutionize the technological world. Not only is it logical and necessary for the developers to have advanced technological capability, but it is also necessary for the general public to be technologically literate. A technologically literate person understands and appreciates the importance of fundamental technological developments and can better contribute to the global society. Through technology, people have changed the world. In the drive to satisfy needs and wants, people have developed and improved ways to communicate, travel, build structures, make products, cure disease, and provide food.