Co-blogged by Deborah Meier and Diane Ravitch, activists who have devoted their professional live to public education they are noteworthy for their apparent differences and many spirited dialogues over the decades. Meier is a Deweyian and champion of the democratic mission for our schools while Ravitch is more of a traditionalist and as educational policy maker in the first Bush first administration was instrumental in the laying the groundwork for nationalized curriculum and standards and accountability efforts currently embodied in NCLB. Both brilliant women, they find themselves often strange bedfellows in deploring the current state of public education and the cynical effects that implementation of NCLB is having on the children it is supposed to help.
While not a technology site per se, the national dialog about core curriculum, standards, assessment and the definition of education in the 21st Century cannot be meaningful without incorporating technology solutions. I believe fervently that technology has at least three key roles for education: 1. Engaging demonstration of the application of key skills via multiple learning styles/intelligences through use of multimedia, 2. Encouraging higher level thinking through creative and innovative problem solving using multimedia and computing technologies, 3. Supporting the development and implementation of varied and informative systems of formative and summative assessment. Thus, I read their entries and look for the prospective solutions that technology can bring to the resolution of some key policy issues and questions.
Thanks for this recommendation, I must check out this blog more often!
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