May 16, 2013

It’s Here! K-5 Tech Curriculum Aligned with Common Core!

The educational paradigm has changed. New guidelines (most recently, the National Board of Governors Common Core Standards) expect technology to facilitate learning through collaboration, publishing, and transfer of knowledge. Educators want students to use technology to work together, share the products of their effort, and employ the skills learned in other parts of their lives.

If you purchased SL’s Fourth Edition, consider the tech changes in education since its 2011 publication:

Windows has updated their platform—twice
iPads are the device of choice in the classroom
Class Smartboards are more norm than abnorm(al)
Technology in the classroom has changed from ‘nice to have’ to ‘must have’
1:1 has become a realistic goal
Student research is as often done online as in the library
Students spend as much time in a digital neighborhood as their home town
Textbooks are considered resources rather than bibles
Teachers who don’t use technology are an endangered species
Words like ‘blended learning’, ‘authentic’, ‘transfer’, ‘evidence’ are now integral to teaching
Common Core Standards have swept like a firestorm through the education community, most timed to take effect after 2011

Here’s what you’ll find in the SL Technology Curriculum–5th Edition (see slideshow below):

32 lessons, each aligned with Common Core and ISTE
K-6 Scope and Sequence (aligned with Common Core and ISTE)
Step-by-step weekly lessons
Monthly homework (3^rd-5^th only)
Certificate of Completion
Comprehensive list of websites to support learning
Articles that address tech pedagogy
Posters ready to print and hang
Experiential learning with real-world applications
Inquiry-based projects, exercises and assignments
Collaboration among students and teachers
Opportunities for students to express and grow in their creativity
International mindedness

Each lesson includes:

Common Core Standards
ISTE Standards
essential question
big idea
materials required
vocabulary used
problem solving for lesson
time required to complete
teacher preparation required
steps to accomplish goals
assessment strategies
troubleshooting
how to extend learning
additional resources
examples, grading rubrics

In a broader sense:

Each lesson reflects Common Core emphasis on comprehension, problem-solving, critical thinking, preparing students for career and college
Students learn to understand the process, not replicate a skill
Focus is on transfer of knowledge and blended learning
Collaboration and sharing is often required
Online support is offered FREE through co-teaching wikis and a help blog

Here’s the Publisher’s blurb:

The choice of hundreds of school districts, private schools and homeschoolers around the world and tens of thousands of students, this nine-volume tech ed curriculum [7th grade due in June, 8th grade due in July/August] is the all-in-one solution to running an effective, efficient, and fun technology program for kindergarten-eighth grade (each grade level textbook sold separately) whether you are the lab specialist, IT coordinator, or classroom teacher. Each lesson is aligned with both Common Core State Standards* and National Educational Technology Standards, and includes an Essential Question, Big Idea, suggested Assessments, required materials, vocabulary, problem solving, teacher preparation required, how to extend learning, examples, grading rubrics, additional resources, and how students can collaborate/share projects. Using a tested approach that promotes literacy, critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making, students learn the technology required to prepare for their future. The secret for you, as teacher, is knowing what to teach and when.

Each textbook includes a K-6 [6-8 for grades 7/8] wide-ranging Scope and Sequence, 32 weekly lessons, monthly homework (3^rd-5^th only), student Certificate of Completion, a comprehensive list of websites to support learning, articles that address tech pedagogy, and posters ready to print and hang on your walls.

Sound good? Here’s where to purchase:

Publisher’s website (print or digital)

Teachers Pay Teachers (digital only)

Site Licenses–if you want these Common Core lessons available in all classrooms, across all platforms (iPads, desktops, laptops, more) for one low price

For a preview, click here and scroll down to the bottom of the May 15th post.

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-8 technology for 15 years. She is the editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and creator of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. She is webmaster for six blogs, CSG Master Teacher, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blogger, a columnist for Examiner.com, featured blogger for Technology in Education, IMS tech expert, and a monthly contributor to TeachHUB. Currently, she’s editing a techno-thriller that should be out to publishers next summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.