The final phase of the Technology for All Americans Project (TfAAP), Phase III, began in 2000 and concluded in 2005. During the first three years of Phase III, TfAAP developed Advancing Excellence in Technological Literacy: Student Assessment, Professional Development, and Program Standards, commonly called AETL, to complete the only set of technological literacy standards* for use in the U.S. AETL was, and is, intended as a companion document to Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology (STL), which was published at the end of Phase II of the project, and upon which AETL was based. The standards* in AETL outline the means through which STL should be implemented* in K—12 laboratory-classrooms.*
 
The development of AETL involved hundreds of experts in the fields of technology,* mathematics,* science,* engineering,* and other disciplines.* During Phase III, TfAAP depended on an Advisory Council and three Writing Teams to assist in document development. The three writing teams each focused on one area of the AETL standards. Each team had an appointed Chair and Recorder.
 
Three formal drafts of AETL were developed and reviewed before a final draft was prepared in Autumn 2002.
 
AETL contains three separate but interrelated sets of standards. The student assessment* standards describe effective technological literacy* assessment* practices to be used by teachers. The professional development* standards delineate criteria* to be used by teacher educators,* administrators,* and supervisors in assuring effective* and continuous* in-service* and pre-service* education for teachers of technology. The program standards detail effective, comprehensive educational requirements to be used by teachers, administrators, and supervisors in promoting the development of technological literacy for all students.
 
During the development of AETL, the TfAAP staff also worked closely with the Council for Technology Teacher Education (CTTE) and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) to provide assistance in the development of ITEA/CTTE/NCATE Curriculum Standards. Many of the jointly developed standards in this publication were based on STL and chapter 4 of AETL, subtitled “ Professional Development Standards.”
 
Additionally, TfAAP devoted much of its time during Phase III to implementing STL, which had been completed in 1999, printed in 2000, and was reprinted in 2002. Among other things, the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) and its project, TfAAP, trained six Specialists to give presentations and workshops* around the country on interpreting and implementing STL. More information about the Specialists is available through the TfAAP Resources section.
 
To enhance the work done by TfAAP, ITEA obtained additional funding to conduct surveys, enabling TfAAP to gain perspective on “What Americans Think About Technology.” Dr. Lowell Rose, Emeritus Executive Director of Phi Delta Kappa, served as a consultant to guide survey question development, and a committee of question writers provided valuable input. ITEA partnered with the Gallup Organization to conduct a survey of 1,000 households in the United States. The ITEA/Gallup Polls were conducted in 2001 and again in 2004. The 2004 Gallup Poll validated the findings of the 2000 Gallup Poll. The questions asked, results, and other materials pertinent to the two surveys is available for review through TfAAP Publications.
 
The publication of Advancing Excellence in Technological Literacy: Student Assessment, Professional Development, and Program Standards (AETL) in 2003 completed TfAAP’s core goal of identifying and delivering a complete set of technological literacy standards, but additional work was still needed.
 
While STL and AETL together constitute a complete set of educational standards for technological literacy, they do not contain specific strategies for implementation. To bridge this gap, and in response to needs indicated to ITEA by states, ITEA charged TfAAP with developing four Addenda to the standards. These practical guides provide descriptions, examples, processes, and adaptable worksheets to assist educational professionals in using the standards at state, district, or classroom levels. Development of the Addenda began in 2003 and continued into 2005.
 
The Addenda to the Tecnological Literacy Standards include:

• Realizing Excellence: Structuring Technology Programs - This publication is intended to help educators implement the program standards in chapter 5 of AETL.
• Measuring Progress: Assessing Students for Technological Literacy - This resource assists teachers plan and implement standards-based* student assessments for technological literacy. It is based on the student assessment standards in chapter 3 of AETL.
• Planning Learning: Developing Technology Curricula - This document provides teachers and other curriculum* developers with a multi-step approach to developing and revising standards-based technology curricula, complete with suggestions and worksheets. It relies heavily on the content standards in STL and, in keeping with the backwards design model, on the student assessment standards in chapter 3 of AETL.
• Developing Professionals: Preparing Technology Teachers - This addendum offers guidance for those who plan, implement, and/or evaluate* the standards-based education of teachers of technology. It is based on the professional development standards in chapter 4 of AETL.

During Phase III, TfAAP staff also meticulously reviewed Technology for All Americans: A Rationale and Structure for the Study of Technology, (Rationale and Structure), which had been developed during Phase I of the project. As a result, Technological Literacy for All: A Rationale and Structure for the Study of Technology was developed. It constitutes a major rewrite that enhances and updates the material in Rationale and Structure considerably, expanding upon information included in the original document. The revised document also includes several new sections.
 
Completion of the four Addenda and Technological Literacy for All: A Rationale and Structure for the Study of Technology concluded TfAAP’s work. The project ended in October 2005.
 
Advancing Excellence in Technological Literacy: Student Assessment, Professional Development, and Program Standards (AETL) and Technological Literacy for All: A Rationale and Structure for the Study of Technology are both available for review in read only, PDF format in TfAAP Publications, as are sample pages from each of the Addenda.

Phase III Project Participants (2000-2005)

TfAAP Staff

Dr. William E. Dugger, Jr., DTE, Project Director
Shelli D. Meade, Assistant Project Director and Editor
Lisa Delany, Senior Research Associate
Crystal Nichols, Administrative Assistant for Office Operations
Pam B. Newberry, Project Manager

Participants in the Development of AETL (2000-2003)

Advisory Group

Rodger Bybee
Rodney L. Custer
Elsa Garmire
Gene Martin
Linda Rosen

James M. Rubillo
Gerald Wheeler
Pat White
Michael Wright

Writing Teams

Student Assessment Standards

Rodney L. Custer, Chair
Robert Wicklein, Recorder
Joseph D'Amico
Richard Kimbell
Mike Lindstrom

Charles Pinder
Steve Price
James Rice
Leonard Sterry

Professional Development Standards

Michael Daugherty, Chair
Anna Sumner, Recorder
Marie Hoepfl
Ethan Lipton
Pamela Matthews

Diana Rigden
Anthony Schwaller, DTE
Jack Wescott
Jane Wheeler

Program Standards

Mark Wilson, Chair
Pat Foster, Recorder
David Bouvier
Barry Burke, DTE
Michael De Miranda
Joan Haas
Steve Shumway
Doug Wagner
Gary Wynn, DTE