About IEEE REACH
Understanding that technology and history are not mutually exclusive subjects, IEEE REACH provides history teachers with free educational resources that situate science, technology, and engineering in their social and humanistic contexts.
The resources include: Inquiry Units based on the “C3 Framework”, primary and secondary sources, hands-on-activities, multimedia sources (video and audio), background information for teachers, and additional resources. In addition to the REACH site being fully text searchable, resources may be searched by context, i.e. Inquiry Unit, or Primary Source, or by 9 themes: agriculture, manufacturing, materials & structures, energy, communication, transportation, information processing, medicine & healthcare, and warfare. A search may be broken down even further by era, geography, and by World History AP themes. REACH offers a one-stop shop of resources that bring to life the history of technology and engineering in the classroom. As stated by NCSS (National Council of Social Studies), “History, a field that straddles the humanities and the social sciences, is the ideal channel for demonstrating how science and technology operate in society.” IEEE REACH offers an opportunity to expose students to the different ways that science and technology interrelate and play out in society.
IEEE History Center
The IEEE History Center, a center for the public history of technology, created the REACH Program. Dedicated to the preservation, research and promotion of the history of technology and engineering, the IEEE History Center maintains many useful resources such as the Engineering & Technology History Wiki (ETHW – www.ethw.org), which includes oral history interviews, self-written first-hand accounts, encyclopedic articles and a list of landmarks of engineering history searchable by a timeline and an interactive map. The primary resource of the History Center, however, is its professional staff, including four Ph.D. level historians with their own knowledge base, plus extensive contacts with historians of science and technology and STS scholars at Stevens Institute of Technology, where the History Center is located, and beyond. Over the years the History Center staff have conducted pre-university history teacher workshops and guest lectures.
IEEE Foundation
REACH is an IEEE Foundation Signature Program. As the philanthropic arm of IEEE, the IEEE Foundation inspires the generosity of donors to enable IEEE programs that improve access to technology, enhance technological literacy, and support technical education and the IEEE professional community. The IEEE Foundation, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization in the United States, fulfills its purpose by soliciting and managing donations, recognizing the generosity of our donors, supporting high impact IEEE programs, and awarding grants to IEEE grassroots projects of strategic importance. IEEE Foundation serves as a steward of donations that improve the human condition, empower the next generation of engineers and scientists, educate and raise awareness, energize and recognize innovation, and preserve the history of technology. With donor support, the IEEE Foundation strives to be a leader in transforming lives through the power of technology and education.
IEEE
IEEE, a 501(c)(3) association, led by a diverse body of elected and appointed volunteer members, is the ideal organization to create and provide these resources. IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization, dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.
