Re-Thinking Curriculum

 I decided to read the blog post titled "Three Ideas for 21st Century Curriculum" written by Terry Heick. This blog caught my eye as I was hoping to read some new ideas about possible ways to modernize my curriculum. Heick touches on three ideas on how to "globalize" a curriculum. He suggests ways to adapt to learners, rethink learning spaces and leveraging role playing. He suggests that educators need to adopt modern technologies such as social networking sites and even video games to engage modern students more effectively. He says teachers need to create spaces that promote learning and stimulate the students mind. Finally, he calls on teachers to create informal learning areas so students are able to work together.

Heick, kinda rehashes some familiar ideas that have been floating around for some time. I have to say that I never read anything new in this blog. However, I do agree with many of his sediments. Living in Korea, I find this country is a bit lacking in the three areas of curriculum globalization he touches on. Speaking from my own personal experiences, I would really like to have more support implementing more technology into my class. However, I have recently taken steps on my own to address this. I also believe that the learning environments need to be improved in many Korean schools. The classrooms I teach in are very drab and there isn't much of anything to stimulate the students. Also, there isn't much in the way of collaboration spaces that are available to my students. The classrooms are not set up for students to interact with one another. Finally, I would also like the university to create some more informal learning spaces that the students can utilize. We currently have an English Cafe but more work could be done to create spaces where students are able to work together on projects and learn from each other.