Emerging Influences of Information Technology on School Curriculum

Just as information technology has improved effectiveness in medicine, finance, manufacturing, and numerous other sectors of society, advanced computing and telecommunications have the potential to help students master complex 21 century skills. Research-based curriculum projects are developing technologies that enable online virtual communities of practice using advanced tools to solve real world problems. Learners engage in guided, reflective inquiry through extended projects that inculcate sophisticated concepts and skills and generate complex products. Pupils act as partners in developing learning experiences and generating knowledge, and students’ collaborative construction of meaning is enhanced via different perspectives on shared experiences. Simulation and visualisation tools help students recognise patterns, reason qualitatively about physical processes, translate among frames of reference, and envision dynamic models. These curricular approaches curricular approaches improve success for all types of learners and may differentially enhance the performance of at-risk students.