the Epsilon Pi Tau Distinguished Service
Citation, the Sagamore of the Wabash
Award from the Governor of Indiana,
the Bell Ringer Award from the Indiana
Superintendent of Public Instruction, the
Ball State University Faculty of the Year
Award, the Ball State University George and
Frances Ball Distinguished Professorship,
and the Educational Exhibitors Association–
SHIP (EEA-SHIP) Citation.
Dr. Wright’s educational background
includes a bachelor’s degree from Stout
State University, a master’s of science
degree from Ball State University, and a
doctoral degree from the University of
Maryland. His teaching experience consists
of 3 years as a junior high instructor in
California and 37 years as a university
instructor at Ball State University. In addi-
tion, he has also been a visiting professor
at Colorado State University; Oregon State
University; and Edith Cowan University in
Perth, Australia.
Dr. Ryan A. Brown is an assistant
professor in the Department of Curriculum
and Instruction and an associate director of
the Center for Mathematics, Science, and
Technology at Illinois State University. He
currently teaches courses for preservice
teachers on topics such as instructional
methods and assessment. Previously, he
taught a variety of courses at the secondary
level, including design processes, trans-
portation systems, and fundamentals of
engineering. Dr. Brown coauthored Energy,
Power, and Transportation Technology
with Dr. Len S. Litowitz. He has also written
titles in both the Humans Innovating
Technology Series (HITS) and the Kids
Inventing Technology Series (KITS) for
ITEEA, as well as in the Activity! series for
the Center for Implementing Technology in
Education. Dr. Brown’s educational back-
ground includes a bachelor’s degree and
master’s degree from Ball State University
and a doctorate degree from Indiana
University. Dr. Brown; his wife, Heather;
and his sons, Benjamin and Samuel,
reside in Normal, Illinois.
TSA Modular
Activities
The Technology Student Association
(TSA) is a nonprofit, national student
organization devoted to teaching tech-
nology education to young people. TSA’s
mission is to inspire the association’s
student members to prepare for careers in
a technology-driven economy and culture.
The demand for technological expertise is
escalating in American industry. Therefore,
TSA’s teachers strive to promote techno-
logical literacy, leadership, and problem
solving to their student membership.
The TSA Modular Activities are based
on the TSA competitive events current at
the time of writing. Please refer to The
Official TSA Competitive Events Guide
for actual regulations for current TSA
competitive events. This guide is periodi-
cally updated. TSA publishes two Official
TSA Competitive Events Guides: one for
middle school events and one for high
school events. To obtain additional infor-
mation about starting a TSA chapter at
your school, to order The Official TSA
Competitive Events Guide, or to learn
more about TSA and technology educa-
tion, contact TSA:
Technology Student Association
1914 Association Drive
Reston, VA 20191-1540
www.tsaweb.org
Introduction
5