Jul
12

Discussions around ‘Technology’…

Filed Under (Curriculum, Learning) by isaacd on 12-07-2009

I have just had a wonderful meal with family… and during the evening the topic of technology came up for discussion.  Having an interest of sorts in this topic, I decided to put in my ten cents worth… not two cents, as that denomination has been removed from our kiwi currency :-) .  Interesting discussion, we all spoke of making pencil cases and spatulas and one of us even made a step ladder during our technology classes at school (it may interest you to know that the experiences of technology in the curriculum spanned over a generation).  Wow!  It was mind-blowing to think that our experiences of technology were exactly the same despite the generation gaps, there must be a heck of a lot of ‘technology class’ spatulas hanging around New Zealand kitchens… I need Richard Till to get hold of this fact, so he can work it into his TV show!

I would hope that ‘technology’ learning has come further than the design and creation of kitchen implements in recent years… sadly though, I know that it may not actually be the case!  I remember only two years ago working in a ’structural technology’ class where they were learning about lighthouses!  When I quizzed the teachers on why this was being done, I was told that it was because of technology skills, processes and designs.  At the time I was unsure what ‘technological skills, processes and designs’ would come from making a lighthouse in a day and age of GPS, and illustrated my contention by presenting the GPS argument, only to be informed that this GPS technology was not accessible to the children!  A quick survey of who had cell phones readily pointed out that this technology was very much accessible to the children!  Needless to say, they enjoyed building their lighthouses.  :-)

This statement from the New Zealand Curriculum Framework Technology document tells us the purpose for Technology in the New Zealand Curriculum is to:

- Achieve Technological Literacy through the development of:

  • Technical Knowledge and Understanding
  • Technology and Society
  • Technological Capability
…and this the New Zealand Curriculum Learning areas essence statement for Technology supports the above statement, but it staggers me to read that the usual suspects of:
woodwork, metalwork, food and clothing, and computer studies, have been repackaged as:
structural, control, food, and information and communications technology and biotechnology. (Oh dear, the door is open for another generation of making spatulas!) :-)
Don’t get me wrong, I believe that there is a great deal to celebrate with the curriculum document.  In particular the simple ‘learning areas’ statement on page 17 of the New Zealand Curriculum (scroll down to the bottom of the linked page to read it)
In technology, students learn to be innovative developers of products and systems and discerning consumers who will make a difference in the world.
What a stunningly precise and simple explanation of how technology should look in our curriculum …now if my delightful children bring back a spatula from their technology module at school, I will have good reason to find a brick wall… either that, or I will write to Richard Till!