more abundant supply of technologically savvy workers who would be more likely to have the knowledge and abilities—and find it easier to learn the skills they need—for jobs in today’s technology-oriented workplaces. To the extent the study of technology encourages students to pursue scientific or technical careers, then improving our technological literacy would also lessen our dependence on foreign workers to fill jobs in many sectors.

Most people have very few direct, hands-on connections to technology, except as finished consumer goods. They do not build the devices they use, tinker with them to improve their performance, or repair them when they break. Because of this lack of engagement, people today learn relatively little about technologies through direct experience. Thus they rarely develop the kind of practical, intuitive feel for technology that marked the relationships between earlier generations and their technologies.

The lack of familiarity with technology has given rise to a number of misconceptions. For example, most people think that technology is little more than the application of science to solve practical problems. They are not aware that modern technology is the fruit of a complex interplay between science, engineering, politics, ethics, law, and other factors. People who operate under this misconception have a limited ability to think critically about technology—to guide the development and use of a technology to ensure that it provides the greatest benefit for the greatest number of citizens. Another common misconception is that technology is either all good or all bad rather than what people and society make it. They misunderstand that the purpose for which we use a technology may be good or bad, but not the technology itself. Realistically, every technology will be more advantageous for some people, animals, plants, generations, or purposes than for others.

Because few people today have direct, hands-on experience with technology, technological literacy depends largely on what they learn in the classroom, particularly in elementary and secondary school. Unfortunately, only a small group of technology educators is involved in setting standards and developing curricula to promote technological literacy. In general, with the exception of the use of computers and the Internet,