Curriculum Development Scholl (2001) Points

Curriculum Development

Scholl (2001) points to case studies illustrating how the use of technologies and the Internet improve curriculum design and development. These tools make it easier to distribute materials quickly to a large number of evaluators and increases the currency of resources used. Curriculum materials are produced in 75-80% less time because of the ability of reviewers to locate and review materials more quickly, the reduction of time spent distributing and awaiting return of materials and the ability to reduce reviewer confusion for multiple document changes. Further, technology allows drafts of materials to be reviewed by a wider audience; the review of first drafts allows issue resolution in the early stages of curriculum development. Despite the positive findings for technology and curriculum design and development, some reviewers still insisted on printing documents and mailing them back. Still, people will adjust and clearly paper-based development processes will be obsolete in the not too distant future.

Integrating of technology into the curriculum will be a challenge. To move my district's curriculum to incorporate technology, the first step is to determine how technology can support the learning goals. Teachers will need professional development to integrate curricula with technology. Strudler (1994, cited in Professional development overview) suggested the need for a technology coordinator who can serve as a mentor or "translator" of technology applications and instructional integration for teachers. Teachers who engage in collaborative planning and sharing of instructional strategies with other teachers most frequently demonstrate effective use of computers in the classroom (Becker & Riel, 2000, cited in professional development overview). Still teachers must have the flexibility to develop and implement their own personalizes plans to increase chances of success (Cradler, 2002a, cited in professional development overview).