A Three Hour Tour....

Most educators can recite Bloom's Taxonomy as a matter of rote.  Several years ago there was a revolution to move away from the inactive nature of Bloom's and redefine it for the 21st century learner, as active, more engaging responsibility as the learner moved up the taxonomy.  Ironic when you consider that the "active" learner was one (according to the graphic interpretation above) who worked entirely on his or her butt in front of a screen.  

I like to think that I'm up on technology, and fairly sophisticated unafraid in its use, but it changes so quickly that I often feel like I've been away with the movie star, the professor and Maryanne on what I THOUGHT was a three hour tour, only to realize that the rest of the world kept on spinning into the next century.  It probably doesn't bode well for my technological savvy that I watch reruns of F-Troop, Hogan's Heroes and Gilligan's Island (now in color!) on a non-cable tv as my wind down time before I go to sleep.  

For the record, those guys at Stalag 13 knew a thing or two about advanced technologies.  (Let alone what the professor could do with a few radio tubes and coconuts).

Day 28

Respond: Should technology drive curriculum, or vice versa?

Greg McVerry's blog eloquently states the obvious:  curriculum MUST drive technology.  Simply "showing them cool stuff", (which, probably isn't so cool to them because it is "so yesterday"), does nothing.  (Click on the link and read Greg's thoughts!)

Clearly this answer does not apply to classes that actually have technology AS the curriculum.

Once again, however, I feel the need to exert the powers of the Autonomous Learner as a 21st Centry concept -- and, in this case, it's mostly because it makes absolutely no sense for the immigrant to be teaching anything to the natives.   I was somewhat amused to discover the graphic of the 60's astronaut with a chimp.  It served as a reminder to me that every generation (including mine -- I was born in 1961) thinks that THEIR technology is the best.  In truth, it is.  For a fleeting moment.

As teachers, we have a responsibility to encourage our students to use the resources they have available to (with homage to Bloom),  analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the material presented in the most relevant way possible to them. 

Technology is a tool -- and should always be viewed as such.  Teaching technology AS the curriculum (except, of course, in the classes where that is the topic), will ultimately result in bored students learning from immigrants with bad accents. 

It may have worked for General Wolfgang Hochstetter, but he is SOOO 20th century.