Growing the New Technopolis

We need a new model for engaging students of the 21st century, one that meets these so-called digital natives on their own ground, using the tools and technologies familiar to them but doing so in creative and meaningful ways. Today’s young learners want to be creators of content & knowledge, not just passive receivers of either. But the traditional constructivist theory of learning needs a facelift (I won’t say Facebook lift!). By that I mean technology can and should play a leading role in allowing learners to develop the critical thinking skills and associated problem solving abilities necessary to succeed in our complex, information-centric world.

In this context, integrating information & communication technologies (ICT) into our K-16 curricula makes perfect sense on several levels.

• It engages students as active participants in the knowledge creation process
• It encourages scholarship through self-critique, peer review, and collaboration
• It fosters a sense of pride and ownership through production of digital artifacts
• It lends itself to contextually-based, real world scenarios that result in deeper critical thinking
• It inspires entrepreneurial spirit and sparks creativity
• It connects learners to the surrounding community in exciting ways that result in a stronger sense of civic duty

This blog will serve as a forum for strategizing, sharing ideas, and recommending best practices for those of us interested in developing a dynamic, multi-tiered framework for growing the new technopolis beyond the walls of schools and academia. Our mission is to change fundamentally the concept of “technology integration” by using ICT, new media, and the emerging Web 2.0 to cultivate real scholarship; reach out to community partners & foster civic engagement; and inspire creative social entrepreneurship among both students & underserved populations.

Ambitious? Yes! So let’s get started….

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 18th, 2006 at 12:38 am and is filed under Guiding Principles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.