Ohio Technology Education Association (OTEA) records

Prior to 1933, there was no recorded activity of professional industrial arts organizations at the state level in Ohio, but the early depression years fostered the need for unity, leadership, and direction in the education profession. The existing structure of the Ohio Education Association (OEA) provided a means of industrial arts teachers airing their concerns and observing developments in the field through discussion at annual meetings. A sub-structure of the body, the districts associations, further developed these concerns and began to expose potential leadership. Regional associations and city clubs were being formed. These helped in providing the elements of communication and representation.

At Ohio State University, a graduate industrial arts program emphasizing leadership was being developed during the same decade by William E. Warner. The group at this university recognized the needs of the profession. Columbus, Ohio was also the site of Ohio Education Association headquarters and the seat of the state Department of Education operations. The first effective state industrial arts organization in Ohio was the Ohio Committee, formed on December 7, 1933, to act officially with the state Department of Education and the Ohio Education Association. The Ohio Committee and the Industrial arts graduate center at the Ohio State University formed an effective and flexible vehicle for the promoting of industrial arts interests in the state. The Ohio Industrial Arts Association (OIAA) was established January 4, 1941, as a department of the Ohio Education Association and as an affiliate of the American Industrial Arts Association (AIAA). The purpose of the OIAA is to derive and refine the functions and scope of industrial arts as general education, to stimulate and evaluate the professionalization of industrial arts teaching, and to foster and promote conditions contributing to the optimal development of industrial arts education in the service of the state.

The Ohio Technology Education Association (OTEA) was established as a trade name for the Ohio Education Association in 2003 and cancelled due to non-renewal in 2013. The association was established alongside the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) and local district associations throughout Ohio to help implement technology into Ohio school systems. The state Department of Education and the associations provided professional development opportunities for teachers across the state of Ohio to improve their knowledge and to implement standards. The goal of the meetings was to combine technological literacy with computer and multimedia literacy and informational literacy. Technological literacy addresses the abilities needed to participate in a technological world. Technological literacy is the intersection of mathematics, science, and technology and it encompasses unique knowledge, devices, and capabilities used to solve problems. It also identifies career connections between technology and the world of work. Technological literacy includes technology education and encompasses pre-engineering concepts.

The Ohio Education Association (OEA), under whose auspices the OTEA operated, was established in 1847 to improve public education and, as a union, represented over 121,000 teachers, faculty members, and support professionals who work in Ohio’s schools, colleges, and universities. The organization was known as the Ohio State Teachers Association until 1936 and serves as Ohio’s branch organization for the National Education Association, primarily serving the smaller cities in the state.