How could you rethink our K-12 curriculum for the 21 century, symbiotically combining human strengths with the most powerful technology strengths?
Technology is here to stay; therefore, it is imperative that we as educators rethink our curriculum for the 21 century. Our society is already highly dependent on technology in our daily lives. If we believe that we are preparing our students for the world, that preparation must be relevant to their lives. At times, technology seem dissonant to the goals of education. For technology to enhance our educational system, we must create a healthy interdependent relationship that fosters our human strengths. To do this the teacher will need to be selective. Along with content area, we will need to ask “ What human strengths do we want to foster?” and “What technology will help us to reach our goals?”
I feel that blended learning opportunities that include face-to-face, school based instruction and on-line learning opportunities achieve the best balance between human interaction and technology. Social networking can be beneficial in creating a sense of community. Wikis and blogs allow students to work collaboratively and share their work with others in an interactive way. The video phone service Skype can foster understanding and empathy as our students connect with students in other parts of the country or around the world. Student work can be showcased in digital portfolios recording their creativity and progress. It would foster an ongoing conversation about their learning goals, achievement and growth. Technology can accommodate students’ diverse learning styles and provide supports to students with disabilities making access to education available to all. A dysgraphic student can learn word processing so that their written expression can be understood. A blind student can use screen reading software and text-to-speech software to access reading material. The possibilities are endless.
Educators will need to harness the power of technology by matching tools to the curriculum and students needs as well as explicitly teaching proper use of technology. By taking the lead in the 21st century curriculum human strengths such as creativity, collaboration, community, understanding and empathy will be enhanced by technology not controlled by it.
Ellen, you make a great point about preparing our students for a future with technology. I think it's so important that we keep in mind where these kids are headed and do our best to get them ready for that adventure.
ReplyDeleteI also strongly agree with what you wrote about students with special needs. Technology has advanced so much for the special needs population and I hope it continues to do so. We need to be aware of the tools available for our students with different learning needs so that we can help them be successful, too. Thanks for bringing that up!