Content and Creativity

In working with teachers to integrate technology in a meaningful and progressive way, I have continually bumped my head against a frustrating dynamic. The software and web 2.0 tools that has made technology integration possible in a k-8 environment are almost universally resources for production. At first, these tools are useful in allowing students to express their learning in more diverse and meaningful ways. Drawing from the content of the traditional curriculum they create new responses. However, on the teacher's side there are frustratingly few k-8 appropriate resources for supporting an evolving approach to content. To distill my understanding of progressive teaching, teachers are essentially transitioning from being owners of knowledge to managers of resources. To do this sustainably, teachers need to be confidant that they can access content resources to support a class of students who have varying interests. The internet alone is inappropriate, cumbersome and costly in terms of time management, and often fails completely to have content that is accessible to the student. This puts teachers in a difficult situation. They want to move towards a more progressive approach while continuing to rely on a more or less static set of reliable resources. If a student’s interests stray past the confines of these resources the teacher has to scramble to find content to allow the student to continue their inquiry.

While I have seen teachers “translate” adult texts to make them accessible to their young students this is unsustainable even for the most ambitious teachers and is not the solution. Until this issue is resolved, technology will to be useful in providing end product tools and more fluid communication and dissemination tools, but will continue to be absent during some of the most critical stages in curriculum planning and content differentiation.


While I have seen teachers “translate” adult texts to make them accessible to their young students this is unsustainable even for the most ambitious teachers and is not the solution. Until this issue is resolved, technology will to be useful in providing end product tools and more fluid communication and dissemination tools, but will continue to be absent during some of the most critical stages in curriculum planning.