U.K. Mulls Blogging, Tweeting, Podcasting in Primary School Curriculum
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By SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 04/06/2009
Blogging, tweeting, and podcasting are all good and fun, but what about including them in the school curriculum? Folks in the U.K. are considering an overhaul of their elementary school curriculum—and a draft proposal requires kids to master these Web technologies, reports the Guardian.
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The U.K. is considering including blogging, tweeting, and podcasting in the elementary school curriculum. |
The draft still emphasizes traditional areas of learning—including phonics, the chronology of history, and math—but it includes more modern media and Web-based skills, as well as a greater focus on environmental education.
The plans were drawn up by Sir Jim Rose, the former Ofsted chief who was appointed by ministers to overhaul the primary school curriculum, and are expected to be made public next month.
The draft focuses on the content of each of six core "learning areas" that Rose is proposing should replace the current 13 stand-alone subject areas. Under the plan, children will leave primary school familiar with blogging, podcasts, Wikipedia, and Twitter as sources of information and forms of communication. They must gain "fluency" in handwriting and keyboard skills, and learn how to use a spellchecker alongside how to spell.
Kids will also be required to chronologically place historical events. "By the end of the primary phase, children should have gained an overview which enables them to place the periods, events and changes they have studied within a chronological framework, and to understand some of the links between them," the draft reads.
Kids would learn two key periods of British history but it would be up to the school to decide which ones. Schools would still be able to opt to teach Victorian history or World War II, although they’re not required, a move that’s designed to prevent duplication with the secondary curriculum, which covers World War II.
The proposal also includes an understanding of what Rose calls "deep societal concerns" about children's health, diet, and physical activity, as well as their relationships with family and friends. Kids will also be taught about peer pressure, how to deal with bullying, and how to negotiate in their relationships.
