Toying with technology in elementary education

Sponsored by a Miller Faculty Fellowship at Iowa State University, a new course was developed and offered for the first time in the fall semester of 1997. The course is called "Toying with Technology" and is designed to explain the principles behind many of the technological innovations in wide use today. It does this via a collection of hands-on laboratory experiences based upon simple systems constructed out of LEGO and controlled by small computers. These laboratory experiences are designed to lead experimentation, through the use of technology in support of many everyday activities. The initial offering of this course was to elementary education majors. As the course proceeded, it became clear that material appropriate for such majors was also appropriate for the students they would ultimately be teaching. Consequently, emphasis was placed on material appropriate for elementary-level students and a particular approach to teaching such material. This paper describes the development and first offering of the course, highlights some of the lab exercises used, and describes future expansion plans for our technology literacy project.