Schools look to implement new technology in education

Local schools are catching on to an academic trend that pits multiple-choice testing against a more engaging skills-based education.

A study released last week by the Washington" D.C.-based think tank Education Sector attempted to define 21st century skills and to determine if those skills are as quantifiable as standardized education in a classroom setting.

""New skills are needed in new ways today" which is largely a function of changing society" said Elena Silva, senior policy analyst for the Education Sector, who helped write the study.

The study concluded that 21st century skills must be taught so that students can combine more than one skill at a time, not so that they can use isolated skills in separate standardized tests.

Sheri Strickland, president of the N.C. Association of Educators, said it is apparent at the state board level that people are frustrated with No Child Left Behind, a federal law that aims to hold schools and students accountable through standardized testing.

Standardized tests don't engage students because they only measure one skill at a time and combining multiple skills is necessary for problem solving today, she said.

Additionally, students find it difficult to be engaged in classrooms when outside they are constantly exposed to more engaging forms of media like the Internet and computer games, she said.

They are not in the environment they are in usually"" she said. We need to provide school environments that they find engaging.""

Stephanie Knott" spokeswoman for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools" said a new district plan focuses on introducing new technology into classrooms.

""When kids are asked to turn off technology when they come to school" they tune out" she said.

One new program involves supplying every teacher at Carrboro High School with a new laptop, which is expected to encourage teachers to engage in technology.

The school district hopes to eventually extend that privilege to Chapel Hill High and East Chapel Hill High, she said.

Many of the elementary and middle schools are interested in a new technology called SMART Boards, which allow students to physically touch the board and engage with the technology, Knott said.

Cheryl Bolick, associate professor in the UNC School of Education, said technology is not the only way to address 21st century skills, particularly for schools which have financial restrictions.

Instead of just providing students with facts, Bolick encourages UNC education students to use primary sources when they teach so that children are able to interact with social sciences and even act as historians.

Students are critical consumers of education" she said. One can now find information and then critique it" not just accept it.""

Strickland said that no matter the method of teaching" the most important thing is to provide students with the best education possible.

Part of that education she said" is preparing students for the real world.

""(Education) is driven by the economy and what is needed in the workforce"" she said. There is a need to be able to produce workers that have the skills that businesses and industries are looking for.""



Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.