Exploring Technology Part 2: Addressing School & Community Needs with Technology

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  

  Program Title (as applicable):

  Integrated Technology Studies

  Course Title:

  Exploring Technology

  Course Number:

  8600020

  Career Cluster:

  Engineering & Technology Education

  CIP Number:

  08210122EX

  Course Type:

  Orientation/Exploratory

  Standard(s) or benchmarks

  Focus

  06.02

  Describe changes in society and the creation of new needs and wants caused by the use of inventions and innovations.

  04.01

  Identify the ways that use of technology affects humans, including their safety, comfort, choices, and attitudes about technology’s development and use.

  Supporting

  01.01

  Develop new products and systems to solve problems or to help do things that could not be done without the help of technology.

• Unit Outline

  
  

  The focus of this unit is for students to explore inventions and innovations to develop their own technology to address a school or community need. This lesson will ask students to think about the needs of their school and community and draft a letter to the principal or mayor with their proposal to address the need with technology. In the previous lesson, students researched existing inventions and innovations to determine why they came about and how they impact society. In the final two lessons, students will design a prototype for their technology and develop a plan to promote it.

• Career Connection

  
  

  Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are essential for the twenty-first century workplace. Students will be able to apply these skills in these lessons to creatively address needs in their school and community by finding technological solutions. Asking students to innovate will encourage and empower them to be independent thinkers.

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Students will be able to:

  • Identify and describe a school/community need that can be addressed with technology.
  • Explain how technology will impact the school/community.
  • Write an expository letter about the school/community need and how the technology can be used to address it.

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

  Students should be familiar with

  • Different definitions for the term, technology.
  • How to write expository texts such as a letter.
  • Collaborating with a small group.

• Guiding Questions

  
  
  • What is the relationship between people and technology?
  • How can technology address society’s needs and improve people’s lives?

• Procedure

  
  

  1. To introduce the lesson, display the list of compiled inventions and innovations from Lesson 1 (see teacher notes).

  • Ask students to share the needs addressed by their choices.
  • Remind students that needs are necessary, essential and relate to items that require attention. For example, basic human needs are food, water, and air.
  • Address misconceptions about needs versus wants and emphasize that for this lesson they will focus on school or community needs.

  2. Before moving into groups, ask students to think about how they can help their school and community. Have students share their ideas with their shoulder partner.

  3. Distribute the brainstorming and letter template handout (see attachments and Teacher Notes). Arrange students in groups of 3 or 4.

  • Students will collaborate to complete the brainstorming sheet questions to select a school/community need and a proposed technology to address it (see page 1 of the brainstorming and letter template handout .
  • As a group, students will draft a letter to the principal or mayor following the letter template (see page 2 of the brainstorming and letter template handout).

  4. After students finish their letters, bring the whole class together and display the guiding questions. Students will discuss the guiding questions in their groups. One member of the group will share a summary of the group’s discussion.

  • What is the relationship between people and technology?
  • How can technology address society's needs and improve people's lives?

  4. To bring the lesson to a close, each group will preview the positive impact their idea will have on the school or community but omit the need and the technology. For example, “Our idea will make lunch time better.”

• Teacher Notes

  
  
  • To prepare for the lesson, compile a list of the inventions/innovations that students selected as having the most impact on society from Part 1’s closing activity.
  • Share the handout via a learning management system or online file sharing to allow students to collaborate in real-time.

• Optional

  
  

  Extension Ideas:

  • Groups can compare their ideas to see how similar needs can be addressed using different types of technology.
  • Students can develop a survey to complete a needs assessment for their class or grade.
  • The teacher can invite the principal or mayor as guest speakers. They can talk about how they use technology to address school and community needs and listen to students’ ideas.