Staying Ahead of the Curve Transforming Technology Curriculum · 4 C's of 21st century education...
Transcript of Staying Ahead of the Curve Transforming Technology Curriculum · 4 C's of 21st century education...
Transforming Technology Curriculum: Staying Ahead of the Curve
Andrew MalcolmJill Robert
Pascal Robert
Overview
Medium-sized Independent School
(about 1350 students)
Established, but growing technology program
(5 part-time faculty members teaching 28
sections of 13 courses)
Bring your own device school
Why the change?
Traditional Tech Classes focus on Applications
Skills did not transfer to new versions of software or
even between units in some cases
Problems with student engagement
Classes needed to adjust to accommodate multiple
teachers (used to be just 1 teacher per grade level)
Human Intuitive Perspective of Technological Advancement in Thirty Years
d!*A billion times more advanced!
*theemergingfuture.com
Reimagining The Curriculum
Philosophy shift
Goals first, then technology solutions
In class - not extra
Modules self-led, exploratory,
project-based
4 C's of 21st century education
From: Partnership for 21st Century Learning (link)
T6 Digital LiteracyBuilt from a traditional course
‘Computer bootcamp’
Online citizenship
Lead-into media with movie making project
Lessons’ introductions also online
T7 Media Literacy
Storytelling
Visualizing data
Mass communication
Lead-in to Comp Sci with coding project
T8 Computer Science Principles
What is Computing
Digital Information
The Internet
Intro to Coding
Intro to Engineering
Our Curriculum at a glanceT6 - Digital Literacy
● School Systems
● Digital Organization
● Productivity (Word
Processing, Spreadsheets,
Presentations, Surveys,
Websites, Block coding)
● Digital Citizenship (Digital
Footprint, My Digital Life, Scams
& Schemes, Cyberbullying, My
contribution, Safe online Talk…)
T7 - Media Literacy
● Storytelling (embedding
information in narrative,
podcasting)
● Evaluating Information
(gathering data,
understanding bias, data
visualization)
● Digital Images (visual
storytelling, image
manipulation)
● Animation (storyboarding,
block-coding)
T8 - Computer Science Principles
● Computing (History, Software,
Hardware, Future)
● Digital Information (Storing and
processing, Number systems, images,
colors)
● The Internet (Hardware,
addressing, routing, protocols,
impacts)
● Web Design (HTML/CSS)
● Intro to Coding (Blend of blocks
and written code)
Redesign Considerations
Diverse student skill levels
Going fully digital
Scheduling challenges
Organizing modules for prerequisite skills
Oversight of the curriculum - “Who’s the boss?” of
particular modules/courses
Grading and planning load for each teacher
How is this futureproof?
Little investment in software and platforms
More energy poured into developing skills and
understanding concepts
Modularized content can be easily repackaged,
reordered, and replaced
Teachers can focus on problem-solving skills instead
of teaching the solutions
Focus on skills means teachers don’t have to be
experts in software to teach the modules
Once the course is developed, it does not need to
be taught by a CS teacher
What’s next for us?Mastery-Based Learning
Gamified, Quest-Based Learning Environment
Fostering “Soft Skills” - Patience, “Grit”,
Problem-Solving, Self-advocacy, and Organization
Our Favorite Free Tech Sites● Code HS
● MIT App Inventor
● Common Sense Media
● Google Apps/Drive
● Nearpod
● Scratch
● Piktochart
● Gimp
● Audacity
● Khan Academy
● Quizlet
● Code.org
● Code Combat
● Content Management (Edmodo…)
Open source and free solutions
Typical other tools our students have access to (Apple and MS natives tools, Office)
Favorite Resources of Attendees (1)
Favorite Resources of Attendees (2)