I find it fascinating to watch the trends in education, especially gifted education. Perhaps the biggest trend I see right now is the movement toward all things technology. There is an increase of online classes and a greater use of computers in the classroom. Some schools are carrying technological advances to the extreme.

 

In Philadelphia, one high school has partnered with Microsoft to build a high-tech school that serves low-income families. Microsoft agreed to supply the brainpower, but did not pay for the school, which opened this fall. Every learner is provided with a laptop computer that they can take home. The laptops connect to the school’s wireless network for high-speed Internet access. The library has very few books because most reference materials are online. Classrooms don’t have blackboards; instead, they have electronic displays for Internet access, videos, and connecting with other classrooms around the world. Although students study traditional subjects, they do so in a project-driven curriculum. They are assigned issues to investigate and are expected to do original research.

 

In gifted education, we have searched for ways to differentiate education to meet the needs of individual students. We have also been concerned about the inequalities of educational opportunities between middle- and high-income areas and schools and low-income sections of town. Is technology the answer? Do computers allow students to work on different academic levels at the same time?

 

Students at Empire High School in Vail, AZ, started class this year with no textbooks; instead, they were issued laptop computers. Textbooks have been replaced with a combination of materials over the school’s wireless Internet network. Materials include digital formats created by publishers of traditional textbooks, subscription services, and free Web resources. Students are more engaged with the use of computers and teachers are able to make curriculum more dynamic. For example, lessons in social studies, which might previously have been done in summaries, can include links to full Supreme Court rulings or an explorer’s personal account of a discovery. Online groups and message boards keep students connected on weekends and ask them to comment on each other’s work.

The increase in the use of technology we are witnessing has great possibilities for varying curriculum according to student abilities, including the gifted. We will have to monitor the progress of this evolving teaching technique to see if it is used appropriately to accomplish this.