Sunday, April 12, 2009

CHANGES IN THE CURRICULUM

I often get requests for hard copy versions of the theme resources, however, I think the trend is moving towards new curriculum development becoming delivered online. I have seen this move within my school. Last year we implemented a new Social Studies curriculum and the majority of it is delivered online. Teachers (especially in my age range) have been very slow at becoming familiar with it because they are not accustomed to this new format. It takes time to browse, navigate and retrieve the information. One of the positive features of having the resources online is the use of video. I was able to take the children to a live version of children that live in another country. Pictures in a book could not immerse them like the video did. Whether we like it or not, I believe this will become the trend.

It would be impossible to offer the resources found on kinderplans.com for the current price, if it were presented in a hard copy format. Initially that was the plan, until we learned of the costs involved in producing it in hard copy. Shipping costs alone (depending where the resources were shipped to) were the price of the membership (because there is over 2,000 pages of materials). My web development company suggested that I offer them as e-books. To be honest, I didn't even know what an e-book was. I needed some educating in this area. It has been a growing and learning process for me but I can see an increasing trend in this direction and I do see the benefits. One of the biggest benefits is the ability to add and revise materials and keep them current.

Yes, teaching methods are changing. This can be a very positive move. I have seen many changes in my many years of teaching. I tend to allow the children dictate to me if it is a positive move. For example, I rarely use worksheets. I prefer hands-on type activities such as learning games. I have increasingly used the computer as a valuable learning tool. This has been a positive move because the children are far more involved in their learning and this makes me excited. Let me know your thoughts on this issue by commenting below.