As technology becomes more ubiquitous in our world, I think back to my humble beginnings. When I was teaching Technology at Montview, I was sometimes limited by the classroom teachers’ expectations. While I wanted to give the kids all they could handle, the teachers often just wanted word processing, slideshows, and drawings done on the computer. I wanted a deep dive into their other areas of study. I took a chance with the 4th-grade classes and incorporated systems thinking and modeling during their Predator/Prey Unit.
Rather than just using pictures to model the impact of predators, prey, and the ecosystem, I decided to use a software called STELLA from MIT to create a computer model of the ecosystem life cycle. Although modeling software had been around for a long time, it was rarely used in younger grades due to the belief that it was too complicated. These 4th graders proved everyone wrong. They developed a model that matched exactly what the curriculum prescribed and was great for demonstrating during open houses. The best part was that the kids could explain the ecosystem perfectly.
Reflecting on those projects thirty years later, I am proud of what I brought to the classroom. I hope those students are now using technology in their daily lives. I also know that it opened the floodgates for advanced work in younger grades. Done well, kids can handle extremely complicated work.
AI is the next big thing to bring into our classrooms. I wonder how we will look back on the introduction of AI and how many teachers will embrace it to expand their classrooms rather than hide from it and ignore this burgeoning technology. Check back in 30 years and see where we are.
Edited for clarity and grammar using AI.