Sputnik Moment

At the Texas Chief Technology Officers' (CTO) meeting yesterday, I had the chance to hear Mark Gabehart (Abilene ISD) push for a "sputnik movement" for technology. Apparently, this is an idea whose time has come. Check out this TechLearning.com article, "Pushing for the Sputnik Moment."

Janet Napolitano shares:

If we don't change the way we teach, 10 or 15 years down the line we will certainly not be the number-one performing economy in the world, and we need to be.We don't have a national sense of urgency, and we should. Technology is causing rapid world transformation, and we need to keep up. Yet we haven't mustered the urgency. Back in 1957 when Russia launched the first space satellite, it was a wake-up call for the nation. There was an immediate and urgent response from the country to step up math and science education. For us, it may be the 2008 Beijing Olympics when we become aware of the extent of high-tech expertise in the East.

Some of the ways she suggests that include:

1) Align the curriculum from Pre-school up through college.

2) Build in accountability.

3) Ensure students are well-versed in science, math, and technology.

4) Students know how to communicate clearly and succinctly.

5) Students need to be encouraged to innovate.

6) Implement rigor and problem-solving from PreK through college.

7) Math and science teachers need to work where that work is practically applied then bring that back to the classroom.

One of the closing quotes with Napolitano includes the following:

"We need to re-tool the curriculum so that it takes advantage of the possibilities of technology—we need to think of how to innovate and take advantage of what the technologies can make possible. We need critical thinking and higher-order skills, not just a new way to deliver the same old instruction."

Left to Right: Mark Gabehart, Polly Gifford

This also reminded me of the words of Polly Gifford, where she shared highpoints of a presentation she did (listen). She saw these points as necessary:

1) Strategic alignment;

2) Goal-based budgets;

3) Track impact and being tangible on the value of your initiatives.

In light of this advice, how do you suggest we transform what we're doing at the District level?