I was reading all the information on technology and the 21st century and realized once again how we are lacking in new technology in elementary school. There are so many wonderful things we could do with our students if we only had the technology. In order to prepare our students for the future, they need to have technology in elementary school, not just high school. My district however thinks the elementary students don't need technology. I guess they are supposed to just get to high school and be expected to just know what they are doing and how to use technical skills. We are so focused on NCLB and testing that we are completely insufficiently preparing these students for today's economy and demands. We need to bring our methods and curriculum in line with today's world. Our students need to be educated in new sources of information, they need to distinguish what is reliable and what isn't reliable information. We need to upgrade our American Education system to get ahead the rest of the world to help improve our econmy!
I was reading that at some schools they even have 1st graders beginning to use powerpoint and internet tools! We need to find ways to orient our students toward the global economy. We need to achieve the right balance between core knowledge and portable skills such as critical thinking to continue learning. If the students are taught theses skills in elementary school how are they expected to just pick them up?
I did find a wonderful website Curriki.org it is unbelievable the amount of information available on this site, check it out!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Do you sometimes wonder what it really the most important thing to teach elementary students? I teach technology at the elementary level and I always struggle even with basic things: like how important is spelling?
ReplyDeleteI sometimes wonder if we should just start all over with schools. Like a technology academy, whether it's a public school or a charter school, where we literally start from scratch. I don't know if we can ever totally revolutionize our schools as they currently exist. If we want to try something radically different we may have to just start over and see what happens.
ReplyDeleteI think you may have hit the nail on the head. Seeing as tech is left completely up to the classroom teacher and there is such a wide range of capability and interest in this group. Although their is a district tech "plan" most teachers do not have it and there is no curriculum consistency or expectations. Teachers develop their own websearches, or projects or stick to the educational games available on the server. These kids spend too much time parked in front of screens doing non-thinking skills. Most games available are not fast paced enough to hold their attention. Critical thinking skills, identifying reliable information sources, and preparing students for the world of today that is clipping by at an alarming pace is more in line with what is needed. We are far behind in preparing our students for the world of work they will be facing in 10 years. The longer it takes the to catch up with what is needed creates a void that is increasing in an exponential way. We do not have this time to waste especially for the already disadvantaged population we serve.
ReplyDelete