Curriculum and Technology

I tried to think about curriculum development, and how I approach this task as an educator. I wondered, what does curriculum mean to me? What do I consider good curriculum? What does it involve? The words scope, sequence, spiral and scaffold all came to mind as things that I look for, things that indicate that someone had the “big picture” in mind when they were developing the plan. The process of backward design seemed to make sense in this context. Constantly, in the forefront of all of my thoughts, designs, and plans, I consider students, their ability to relate to material, the material’s relevance, effectiveness and its ability to engage the students. I think that most curriculum developers will take on the task in much the same way – why? –because, they too are educators. Standards can be set in place by just about anyone, but it takes an educator to turn it into curriculum, someone who can envision the end product, someone who can see how they would teach the material if necessary.

Technology should not be considered as a separate standard or objective. Technology’s place is in the curriculum stage, using it as a means of determining how to get to the end results in every aspect of education.

So, how does technology make it into the curriculum? It all goes back to teacher training – teachers who are comfortable using technology themselves will realize it’s potential as a teaching tool, they can see the benefits it has for their students, and they can get involved in the curriculum stage. It would be hard to develop a plan about something you know nothing about – this might just be the roadblock we often find ourselves up against.