Defining Technological Literacy

Never before have we so needed a new literacy that will enable us to meaningfully participate in the rapidly evolving technologically mediated world. This collection offers a solid basis for defining this new technological literacy by bringing together theoretical work encompassing philosophy, design, and pedagogy.

"Dakers . . . and an international slate of contributors offer this collection of 18 essays that explore humanity's responsibility for becoming more critically involved in the discussions surrounding the technologies that are so rapidly transforming the world. The book . . . engages the reader to deliberate more critically about the knowledge and processes required to develop technology and the broader implications for society if a new technological literacy framework is not developed." - CHOICE "We all are technologists and technology users while going about our daily activities. However, most of us do not take time to reflect on the decisions we make, how technology influences what we do in our lives, where and how it should be taught in formal education systems, and the impact of technology on society. Defining Technological Literacy is a book that does the homework for us in that worldwide experts offer their knowledge for our understanding." - Dr. Kendall N. Starkweather, Executive Director/CEO, International Technology Education Association "There have been many and anguished calls for technological literacy in the advanced industrial countries. They have mostly been in vain for two reasons. One is the lack of an incisive and circumspect conception of technology. The other is the absence of helpful theories and practices of teaching technological literacy. This books meets both of these needs. It deserves to become a landmark." - Albert Borgmann, author of Holding On to Reality (1999) "Defining Technological Literacy provides a much broader research-based view of what technological literacy is and can be. It should be a valuable book to teacher educators, supervisors, philosophers, policymakers, and those in higher levels of education who develop educational programs for the future. While the various chapters are diverse, they all provide further enlightenment as to what technological literacy is." - William E. Dugger, Jr., Senior Fellow, International Technology Education Association

Wendy Dow, FranceAndrew Feenberg, Simon Fraser University, CanadaJ. Britt Holbrook, University of North Texas, USADon Ihde, Stony Brook University, USATim Ingold, University of Aberdeen, UKRichard Kahn, Antioch University, USASteve Keirl, University of London, UKDouglas Kellner, UCLA, USAMike Michael, University of Sydney, AustraliaCarl Mitcham, Colorado School of Mines, USAMichael A. Peters, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USAMarc J. de Vries, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands