Curriculum

Disruptive Technology

/ Dave Eberwein / 2 Comments

An innovation that significantly alters the way that consumers or systems like K-12 education operate. Disruptive technologies sweep away the processes they replace because they have attributes that are significantly superior.

We live in a world where changes are the norm — and they are happening at a pace that is often mind-boggling.

Some changes are thrust upon us:

  • Inflation / Consumer Price Index changes
  • New Taxes
  • Daylight Savings Time
When a Pumpkin Spice Latte was all the rage

… while other changes may be optional:

  • EVs (Electric vehicles)
  • Seasonal coffee flavours at Starbucks (still have to try the pumpkin spice latte)
  • New slip-on shoes without shoelaces (these seem like a great new idea, but are they cool?)

When its technology we’re talking about, change typically occurs because the new tech is faster, more user friendly or perhaps even cheaper:

  • LIGHT BULBS … replaced candles
  • AUTOMOBILES … replaced the horse & buggy
  • CALCULATORS … replaced the slide rule
  • The INTERNET … replaced encyclopedias

In all of these cases the technology change was DISRUPTIVE — the new tech replacing, or disrupting, the existing technology. Transition to the new tech was slow and somewhat predictable over time.

Today, there is a new disruptive tech that is sweeping the planet — and it has been an overnight sensation. Hundreds of millions of users ‘signed on’ in just a couple of months. It has both captivated the world and at the same time created a bit of fear with its insurgence.

Welcome to ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

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The COVID Learning Loss and Catching Up

/ Dave Eberwein / 4 Comments

“COVID Learning Loss”

“Pandemic Delay”

“Student Learning Gaps”

I see and hear these catch phrases all the time. Just Google ‘COVID Learning Loss’ and you’ll see what I mean. Here’s a sampling of some articles that point out how learning has been affected during the pandemic:

Pandemic learning loss is real and kids need help to catch up, education experts say

Learning loss due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic

The pandemic has had devastating impacts on learning. What will it take to help students catch up?

As Superintendent, I hear about the COVID effects:

“How are you going to have students catch-up?

“Many students are further behind now than they would have been if the pandemic never happened.“

“What will you prioritize to make up the difference?”

“How will you accelerate learning so that they are up-to-date?”

I understand the concern being expressed. I do.

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Consumers to Creators

/ Dave Eberwein / Leave a comment

We’ve all been to school.  Look at me — I’ve never left.  So, we all think we’ve got a pretty good idea of what’s supposed to happen there.

Let’s review …

One of the historical goals of schools has been to provide students with enough knowledge of ‘stuff’ and ‘skills’ to be productive citizens once they graduate.  To achieve this, students have historically been ‘consumers’ of information or content — they learned from the ‘knowledge keepers’ — our teachers.  As curriculum evolved, new courses were created, teachers learned the content and then imparted this knowledge.  Sort of the ‘sage on the stage’ kind of process.  It was pretty much a unidirectional mode of information transfer.

pexels-photo-256417.jpeg

In today’s world, there is still a need for a content expert who knows ‘stuff’ — a teacher who’s been to post-secondary and become a subject area or learning specialist.  This need won’t change anytime soon — teachers continue to be an absolutely critical component of student success.

But times are changing …

In today’s world the role of the teacher IS fundamentally changing.  Content is ubiquitous — we can find it just about anywhere on the internet in a virtual space accessible by a few clicks on your smartphone or a verbal question to SIRI.  Content no longer resides solely in the domain of the teacher.  In fact, students are often far better content masters than their teachers on any number of topics.

So, what does this mean for the traditional learning paradigm?

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