These are my first three baby steps to curriculum change in my classroom: Add the technology.....rubric changes.......assessment changes!

              Having put into practice a little about what Hayes Jacobs talks about in Curriculum 21, especially concerning assessments, I will talk about what I am currently doing,... and what I aspire to be doing in my classroom, in terms of  changing curriculum in my middle level World Language classroom.
             First of all, the changes that I have been making this year in my classroom curriculum are within the areas of assessment, rubric development, and additional technology. I am interested and excited to be creating curriculum that builds global cultural awareness, in repsonse to our technology enhanced  connectivity to the world.  I have done a little in this area, but I am interested in developing more as I feel it is of great importance to this generation's future. Perhaps this will also lead to stronger communication ties with the Spanish speaking world.
             Having done a little work this year with creating new assessments, I can see the wisdom of Jacobs when she counsels us to begin with one thing at a time, and then the rest will fall into place accordingly. Jacobs specifically counsels us that we should actually start with changing our assessments first, as this will lay the foundation for an unfolding of change. Naturally, with the addition of technology into student performance based assessments, both the rubric and the assessment itself has to be augmented. So, there we have it! It became a cyclic operation.....add the technology........rubric must change......assessment changes! At least, that is where I am at right now! I am well  aware of the additional progress that must be made if I am to bring my students into World Language learning in the 21st century, and to sufficiently fill their imaginative and creative learning desires.
           I am happy to report that my online professional development has been the most important experience that I could have received to assist me in making technology changes to my curriculum. I have brought podcasting into the classroom, and am really excited to set up a VoiceThread with some classes as it will allow us to practice our communication skills in Spanish in a really fun way!
             And so it goes.... I will continue to make these changes until all of my curricula has been upgraded to
the 21st century... an exciting journey for the teacher also!