What to Look for in Technology Curriculum for Students

8 Qualities of Effective Technology Curriculum for Students

Below are some of the most important qualities to look for in technology curriculum. This list spans the curriculum itself as well as the platform on which the curriculum is presented.

1. Easy to Implement

Technology lesson plans can be helpful if you plan on creating your only technology curriculum in-house, but they also require a lot of legwork for teachers or administrators. Not only will you be required to gather and set up technology, but also design and grade assessments, exercises, and projects.

For an easy-to-implement curriculum, choose a program that includes a learning platform that presents curriculum, provides interactive activities, and measures performance. This platform should be easy to implement using your current technology and should be very easy for teachers, administrators, and students to operate.

2. Built-in-Measurement Tools

Another quality to look for in technology curriculum for students is built-in measurement tools. This means the curriculum should include assessments or quizzes, as well as a management and reporting platform.

Besides providing graded measurement, it’s also helpful for your teaching platform to provide additional statistics, such as how much time a student spent in a specific module, whether multiple attempts were required, access dates, etc. This provides teachers and administrators valuable information to help identify students that may need additional help–or students who may need a little more of a challenge. 

3. Provide Real-Time Feedback 

While teachers and administrators should have reporting and measurement tools in their dashboards, it’s also important that students also have the ability to receive immediate feedback during their lessons. In technology curriculum, this means their learning platform helps to keep the feedback loop open through immediate recognition of successes or indications that the student may need to try again. 

Qualities such as showing right/wrong indicators, providing hints or multiple tries, gamification, and more can help the student make real-time adjustments in their performance.

4. Comprehensive Curriculum 

The technology curriculum you choose should be comprehensive, standards-aligned, and teach real-world skills. Often, technology-related curriculum can become outdated or irrelevant. Ensuring the curriculum is modern and regularly updated to include the most up-to-date applications will ensure your students are learning skills to live, work and excel in today’s digital world.

In the current digital landscape, technology curriculum should include the following subjects:

•     Computer fundamentals
•     Word processing
•     Online safety & digital citizenship
•     Keyboarding/typing
•     Using presentation tools
•     Using spreadsheets & databases
•     Multimedia
•     Internet usage & communications

5. Interoperability with SISs & LMSs

If your school uses an SIS or LMS, it will also be important for your technology curriculum to be able to integrate with the platform. This ensures seamless usability for your teachers as well as consistency in reporting and grading. 

6. Accessible from Everywhere

Especially in today’s educational landscape, it’s important that your technology curriculum be accessible from everywhere. Lessons that are accessible online and using multiple devices will help ensure that whether your student is learning on devices in the classroom or learning from home, they’re able to log in quickly and easily. Curriculum that is accessible from anywhere helps to match your school’s technological capabilities as well as supporting your students’ lifestyles.

7. It’s Customizable

There is no “one size fits all” approach to curriculum. It should be able to fit the needs of the instructor as well as of the school and be adaptable to where the student or class is currently at with their education. Look for a technology curriculum that lets you provide pre-tests to assess students’ current skills and to adapt the curriculum modules or difficulty accordingly.

8. Interactive Projects

Finally, your technology curriculum should include opportunities for your students to complete projects using the technology they are mastering. This helps students apply their new skills in a realistic application while reinforcing the lessons they are learning. Not only will this help your students better retain the information they are learning in their technology curriculum, but it also helps the student experience how the curriculum applies to real life.

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