Tales of a Technology Omnivore

The Baltimore Sun has a spotlight article on how data driven teaching is effecting change in their neck of the woods. Data driven instruction promises to improve teaching by giving teachers detailed information about a student’s weaknesses so that instruction can be tailored to meet their needs. It also gives principals a way to discover when a teacher needs professional development in an area of weakness (if for example they show trends that indicate a weakness in a topic). In NYC we’re still waiting for the working roll-out of ARIS, our new multi-billion dollar system designed by IBM to give us instructional data. What I didn’t know is that Hillary Clinton, our NY Senator, is sponsoring a bill called the Better Data Act of 2007 which will support the development of a statewide system to track student progress over time in order to enhance and improve teaching. What a great idea!  But is it the answer?

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eSchool news has an article entitled, “Voters urge teaching of 21st century skills” which talks about how, according the research by the Partnership for 21st century skills, voters aren’t satisfied anymore with a ‘back to the basics’ approach to education. They go on to say that voters want our schools to teach skills such as critical thinking and problem solving, communication and self-direction, and computer technology skills. Then it says the upcoming election presents a great opportunity to make this happen, we are behind China and India, and employers desire new skills out of our students.  Now for the sarcasm…

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