I have been thinking...yes I really have. I have been thinking about the NC K-12 Computer Skills Curriculum. It amazes me that I hear from teachers weekly that say they don't know about the Computer Skills Curriculum and that they don't know that it is THEIR responsibility to teach that curriculum to their students. I think many of the teachers think that they will gain these skills in Middle and High School CTE classes. I am dumbfounded when I hear students tell me that they never get on the computer, or I see kids in 5th grade that don't know how to type or 7th graders who only know how to create PowerPoint Presentations and Word documents.
The fact is that the Curriculum is Kindergarten through 12th grade. It is the teachers responsibility to teach this curriculum (integrated throughout the NCSCOS) and make sure that their students know the grade appropriate objectives. In fact, students are more apt to learn and utilize these skills the younger they learn them! The teachers that are trying to do this...thank you. The world is a technology driven society...we do not want OUR students to be left behind.
So I am giving you some links to the NC K-12 Computer Skills Curriculum and some links to some websites that have ideas for you to use to integrate this curriculum!
NC K-12 Computer Skills Curriculum
Learn NC
Guilford County Schools
Computer Skills Lessons/Files
NC Catalyst
Onslow County Schools Media and Instructional Technology Website
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3 comments:
I enjoy teaching using technology and my students appear to have a high level of proficiency with computers. We communicate via a Moodle interface. I feel that as a teacher I give my students a plethora of opportunities to experience technology in the classroom(online assignments, computer assisted laboratory, video analysis..etc). I have computers. Many of my colleagues do not. Perhaps it is the duty of someone besides a classroom teacher to provide the hardware that would enable teachers to utilize technology on a daily basis. I have it because I actively seek it out. I shouldn't have to do that. If the standard course of study requires teachers to utilize technology and to allow students to satisfy technology goals, then the materials should be provided to do so. One or two computers in a classroom does not meet that standard.
I applaud you on your efforts to teach and utilize technology with your students. I, in no way meant that every teacher is not teaching technology. In fact, many are doing just that. However, there are also far too many that do not try to integrate technology. I totally agree that the technology does need to be in place to teach students. However, 21st Century Classrooms (Interactive Whiteboards, Projectors, LCDs, a teacher laptop, student laptops and other effective tools) are not always necessary to integrate technology into the classroom. A computer is not the only route to teaching technology. In our county, by the end of next year, all of the teachers will have their own laptop (Tier 1). Right now, they all have a PC that is the "teacher" computer in every classroom, and usally several other computers. The "teacher" computer can be used for students also. An ongoing and flourishing project to get LCD projectors in every classroom and some sort of Interactive Whiteboard in every classroom is in full force in our county (Tier 2). The third Tier of our project is to get the technology into the students hands. There are computer labs available to teachers in the schools.The bandwidth for our Internet was increased in all schools over the last summer. Four years ago there were less than 5 interactive whiteboards in our county, can we say that now? Would we as teachers (I am a teacher, too) say to our students, "We have no paper or pencils, so we can not teach you to write?" or would we say, "We have no paper or pencils, we will find other means to teach you to write." Sometimes there are not enough textbooks for each student, but we still teach the subject matter. The fact is whether the teacher has all of the best resources or not the students MUST learn the skills or they will be left behind. We cannot rely on the computer skills that the students are teaching themselves at home. It is our responsibility to show them how to use these skills responsibly. I too wish every teacher and every student had all of the best technology in every classroom, but they do not. So we must make the best of the situation. Too many times a teacher has the resources sitting in their classroom and they do not use them. I appreciate you commenting on my blog. If I stepped on any toes, that was certainly not my intention.
David and Gretchen,
I see your points. I work with a school that the entire 3rd grade has no access to technology in their classrooms. Well, they have a computer, but no connection to school programs or the internet. One of the teachers does have a projector, which she can display documents from her laptop.
I see David's points, how can we teach the basics, when we don't have the tools. But, as Gretchen wrote, we still are expected to accomplish this task with what is put before us. "Use what you have to the best of it's ability".
Give the students what tools you have, and you will all be amazed at what they will do.
The Curriculum is every educators responsibility, from the Superintendent to teachers to support, to custodians... Yes, everyone at a school has an influence on the education of the students.
-NEIL
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