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Uhm, should Twitter, Blogging & Wikipedia really be goals for primary education?

March 26, 2009 at 9:57 am, by Rich Kirkpatrick

twitter_fail_whale

There is an article in the UK Gaurdian talking about new curriculim for primary school kids that will replace teaching WWII with Twitter and Wikipedia. Imagine, you can now learn about ABCs while you Twitter from your phone. This sounds useful for kids aged 6. NOT! I love blogging, Twitter and such but there has to be some limit. Right?

Your thoughts, please!

Categories Culture, Current Affairs, Web/Tech, Weblogs | Tags: blogging, education, fail whale, twitter, UK, Wikipedia

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1148676498 Jeremy Blasongame

    Half of writing history is hiding the truth.

  • http://www.rickscheibner.net Rick

    A few thoughts: Kids with access to technology are going to master this stuff whether it gets taught in schools or not. The flip side to that is that kids without the access will not master it. I’m all for evening that playing field. Give kids a computer, and they take to it right away. One Laptop Per Child is an excellent example of this, where kids in developing third-world countries have been given exposure to a technology-based learning environment.

    As an educator, I’m amazed at how our schools are among the last institutions to integrate technology as a part of everyday life. We really need to do away with the desks-in-rows, sit-and-get approach to instruction. Do we specifically need to to make Twitter, blogging, and Wikipedia goals unto themselves? Not necessarily, but they do need to be integrated as essential tools to support learning standards.

    I have a local friend who teaches English to kids who are second-language learners. For the most part, they have grown up speaking Spanish, and only have a rudimentary knowledge of English. He has been using podcasting as a way for his kids to practice their skills, and then get feedback from others. It engages them, and they wind up learning more from each other than they would just sitting in a desk.

    Thanks for the post here, Rich. Just my 2/5 of a nickel worth.

    • http://richkirkpatrick.com Rich Kirkpatrick

      I would give you a sixpence, since the article was from the UK ;)

      You make some important counterpoint to my blast of this. I just think the Twitter part of it sounded a bit too much! Twitter is still experimental. Now, using podcasting or new media in general makes sense. And, those without access, as you describe, will be disadvantaged!

      Great thoughts Rick!

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1559653158 Beverly Hogue

      I gotta agree with Rick on this one. While we as adults need to monitor how our kids engage with social media, we do a disservice to kids if we don’t show how to use them as tools (as opposed to time wasters).

      WOW is not the way I want kids to learn about online communities.

      And P.S. I am glad I stumbled on your blog. You keep addressing topics that are near to my heart as a Christian and a mamma. Keep up the good work.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=724148361 Bobby Marchessault

    Good points Rick.

    On one hand I agree with you Rich. Kids are gonna learn plenty about internet trends on their own. they probably aren’t going to jump onto Wikipedia and study World War 2 for fun, though.

    On the other hand, it actually made some more sense when I read the whole article. I kinda liked that the whole curriculum seemed more about teaching about understanding as a whole rather than just memorizing dates and facts. It pointed out that historical periods would be taught, just giving some flexibility as to which ones, and in the secondary years there is extensive studying of events such as World War 2.

    It sounds less like they are teaching people how to Twitter and Facebook, but more like how to use the internet as a tool for gaining information. As part of the curriculum in elementary school they still have to have an overall understanding of chronological history and how events connected to each other. I’m still not sure I could do that well!

    So I dunno. At first glance it seemed a bit absurd. But once I read the whole article, I have to wonder if they might not be on to something.

    • http://richkirkpatrick.com Rich Kirkpatrick

      Regardless of the benefit of utilizing new media, Twitter is just beyond reality for a 6-year-old is all!

      Just sayin…

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