Curriculum

UK Students May Learn to Twitter, in School

By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo — March 27, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

I’ve been getting up to speed on Twitter little by little, learning the lingo and mastering the 140-character format. That’s been the hardest part for a journalist who likes to go in depth and who often surpasses my allotted space for print stories, just ask my editor.

Twitter, texting, and other communication tools may be a bit uncomfortable for us veterans, as far as written venues go. But I tend to think of today’s students as being able to pick up on them more instinctively. So I thought this article was interesting. I found it thanks to the Ed Tech Twitter Group.

The Guardian newspaper got the scoop on the British government’s plans to revise the national curriculum. While some topics in history—like World War II or the Victorian age—would no longer be specified in the requirements, new tech skills would be.

“The proposals would require...children to leave primary school familiar with blogging, podcasts, Wikipedia and Twitter as sources of information and forms of communication.”

Even before the new documents are released they are fueling debate over content in UK schools. I can just imagine the response it will bring from subject-area specialists: Without the content, will students have anything meaningful to blog about?

A version of this news article first appeared in the Digital Education blog.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
Decision Time: The Future of Teaching and Learning in the AI Era
The AI revolution is already here. Will it strengthen instruction or set it back? Join us to explore the future of teaching and learning.
Content provided by HMH
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Stop the Drop: Turn Communication Into an Enrollment Booster
Turn everyday communication with families into powerful PR that builds trust, boosts reputation, and drives enrollment.
Content provided by TalkingPoints
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Special Education Webinar
Integrating and Interpreting MTSS Data: How Districts Are Designing Systems That Identify Student Needs
Discover practical ways to organize MTSS data that enable timely, confident MTSS decisions, ensuring every student is seen and supported.
Content provided by Panorama Education

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Curriculum NYC Teens Could Soon Bank at School as Part of a New Initiative
The effort in America's largest school district is part of a growing push for K-12 finance education.
3 min read
Natalia Melo, community relations coordinator with Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union, teaches a financial literacy class to teens participating in East Tampa's summer work program.
Natalia Melo, community relations coordinator with Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union, teaches a financial literacy class to teens participating in East Tampa's summer work program. In New York City, a new pilot initiative will bring in-school banking to some of the city's high schools as part of a broader financial education push.
Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times via TNS
Curriculum 84% of Teens Distrust the News. Why That Matters for Schools
Teenagers' distrust of the media could have disastrous consequences, new report says.
5 min read
girl with a laptop sitting on newspapers
iStock/Getty
Curriculum Opinion Here’s Why It’s Important for Teachers to Have a Say in Curriculum
Two curriculum publishers explain what gets in the way of giving teachers the best materials possible.
5 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Curriculum The Many Reasons Teachers Supplement Their Core Curricula—and Why it Matters
Some experts warn against supplementing core programs with other resources. But educators say there can be good reasons to do so.
7 min read
First grade students listen as their teacher Megan Goes helps them craft alternate endings for stories they wrote together at Moorsbridge Elementary School in Portage, Mich., on Nov. 29, 2023.
First grade students listen as their teacher Megan Goes helps them craft alternate endings for stories they wrote together at Moorsbridge Elementary School in Portage, Mich., on Nov. 29, 2023. In reading classrooms nationwide, teachers tend to mix core and supplemental materials—whether out of necessity or by design.
Emily Elconin for Education Week