Technology in the Driver's Seat?

Blogging Challenge Day 28

Should technology drive curriculum, or vice versa?

Meg and Jamie:  Technology is a tool.  It should definitely not drive curriculum.  That is like asking if a pens, pencils, and paper should drive curriculum--absolutely not!  With that said, we believe that you cannot ignore the fact that technology has changed the way kids learn.  We live in a world where information is at our fingertips.  The presence of technology in education should make us ask new questions about our curriculum.  We love this quote from Will Richardson found in a book titled 21st Century Skills: Rethinking How Students Learn, " We now officially live in a world where even twelve-year-olds can create their own global classrooms around the things about which they are most passionate."  Richardson continues by asking:

• What should classrooms be when we connect with other teachers and learners around the world?
• What is the best role for teachers when knowledge is distributed widely in these networks?
• And, most importantly, how do we reframe our own personal learning experiences as educators and as people in light of all these shifts?

Will Richardson Skyping with our LIT505 class

These questions can be great guides for educators as they contemplate how to best integrate technology into their classrooms in meaningful ways.  In fact we were lucky enough to Skype with Will Richardson this summer during the grad class we co-teach at Judson University.  We love how he helped us to convey the message that educators need to be thinking about how technology has changed the learner as well as how it has changed our occupation.

Take a few minutes (4 minutes and 53 seconds, to be exact) to watch the video below from Edutopia about technology integration.