To Engage or Not To Engage #8

When we investigate topics that affect education we are actually opening a box of needs. These needs are required for a change, a change in the education system which will require a change in the curriculum. This is not new, in fact, it is very old. The curriculum has gone through many changes over the years to accommodate the needs of new generations and this is the time that calls for a curriculum update. As an educator, I see the different stages that my students go through. I am not too old, but I have been alive long enough to see how society is changing.

The other day my husband wanted to buy a present for our daughter’s graduation and wanted my company. By the way, she did a spectacular job in school this year! To continue, I was on my way to a professional development about “Teaching in the Block” -No, it was not about how to integrate technology to address the needs of students in the 21st Century, but definitely the extra time could be useful. Since I was unable to accompany him, he went alone. When he got there, he saw a present he liked and wanted my opinion. Within a few minutes after I first talked to him, I received a text message with the picture of the present and the question, “Do you like it?,” I did so I quickly replied, “Yes.” The graduation ceremony was that night and my daughter wore a beautiful pearl necklace chosen by “both of us.” I thought to myself how amazing technology is!

Before the end of the school year, a guest speaker came to the school to talk about internet safety. His goal was to inform our kids how they could protect themselves from internet predators. In the process, he polled the students as to how many were connected to the internet; used the internet as a communication tool to talk with friends and… to strangers; and posted their personal information online; among others. It was very shocking for all of the educators there to see how many hands went in the air. Even those students that I thought never did anything wrong, raised their hands. I said to myself, “We are definitely living in different times, time to make some adjustments to the way we do things in schools.” Usually, I tell my kids not to talk to strangers, but seriously, isn’t that what they do whenever they visit the internet and chat online? How will we help students protect themselves if they are not taught? To avoid the topic, the integration of technology, would be the cause of many mistakes.

Have you seen the way these kids communicate nowadays? They want to know about a topic, they Google it. They want to ask opinions about something, they chat online with others. They use technology to organize and accomplish specific tasks and goals and to interact with others; like the need to get instant gratification like what comes from playing a video game. If we left all the instruction about technology to the students’ own experiences while using it then we will be affecting our own relationship with the students as their educators in this area. We want them to see us as knowledgeable, if not more so, in this area. In this way they will feel a connection with us. We don’t want them to feel that the computer is doing more for them than we are.

Isn’t it amazing to see how more adults too are engaging into the same type of communication because they find it efficient and fast? Isn’t that the way we should be educating, efficiently?

Every blog that we have posted in this class calls for a change in the curriculum. Every single one explores the changes in today’s society and how today’s generation learns. Moreover, they all have a list of recommendations of what educators need to do in order to teach the new generation. For students, it will mean teachers enhancing collaborative learning, alternative assessment, and individualizing learning. For teachers, it will mean learning Information and Communications Technology (ICT) literacy knowledge and skills. At the same time, it will mean supporting student learning in a technology-enhanced environment. For schools, it will mean to successfully integrate technology into the curriculum in such a way that they are ready to address the social, legal, and ethical issues related with technology use.

Taking for instance:
· Elle’s article, “Why blog?,” where she lists a number of reasons and ways that teachers could incorporate blogging into their planning.
· Jeanell’s article, “Got Technology? Now What Will You Do With It?,” where she encourages administrators to: “Understand the elements and characteristics of long-range planning for the use of current and emerging technology” and to “Use technology to collect and analyze data and other information to improve decision-making and other management functions.
· Marie’s article, “Solving Issues,” analyzed the issue of funding for technology in the schools and how important it is that educators become familiar with web tools to better incorporate them in their lessons.
· Miss Karns’s article, “Kids Today…,” discusses the topic of digital disconnect and student disinterest and how it could be solved by providing students’ with activities that involve technology they are familiar with and enjoy.
· Pamela’s article, “Internet Filters,” in this article concerning internet filters, she commented that the solution may be to “involve more people in the decision making process about which sites to block, provide easy methods for teachers to get particular sites unblocked, consider different levels of protection based on the type of school (elementary, middle, high), educate parents and teachers on the limitations of Internet filters”
· Tara’s article, “Classroom of the Future?,” introduces two universities that have virtual classrooms on 'Second Life'. She explains the opportunity for collaboration, immersion, aesthetics, creativity and social interaction. She says, “So not only is it a source of collaboration it helps people understand abstract concepts.”
· Or my article, “Worldwide Kids,” where I discuss the topic of global education. I explore the topic, why it is important, and what needs to be done to help our students become more competitive internationally for the 21st century. It involves the ability to know about other countries, cultures, and languages.

Searching the internet for curriculum updates, I found a neat website called CyberSmart! Curriculum. It is “dedicated to promoting the new information and communication technology skills associated with teaching, learning, and living in a connected world.” Because the curriculum allows teachers to comfortably include technology, this website has designed ways that it can be done. Moreover, it offers professional development online to help administrators and teachers to use digital information effectively in education. It is aligned with ISTE's National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) Performance Indicators.

Accepting the changes in society is not easy. People are used to “the same old same old.” For example, if a wall needs to be painted to bring it into harmony or to compliment other walls around it, will we stand around forever discussing it? No, we paint the wall. The same goes for the educational curriculum. Wondering whether using technology is the thing to do, will only cause delay in addressing the needs of today students. Researchers have long said that the curriculum must change to integrate the use of technology. Those who develop the curriculum need to go ahead and make the changes and it must come into effect soon if we are to touch the lives of the ones that influence the creation of the curriculum in the first place. I read an article called, “Towards a Free Education Curriculum By 2015.” It describes the thoughts of leaders and practitioners on how to refine free software technologies to achieve a bold vision: to develop a free education curriculum by 2015. Their goal is to open wide access to education across the world. One of the presenters, Dr. Mackintosh says, "There is simply not enough money to build the schools required to educate children in the developing world, nor will we be able to train enough teachers," "So we need to think about innovative approaches, even if that means the de-institutionalization of education as we have come to know it in the industrialized world." So whatever it takes, and whatever collaboration it takes, as long as we all have a common goal, to educate the students to able to survive in the workplace of the 21st century.