Issues and Trends in Curriculum - From Technology to Global Awareness

Many immediate and complex issues overwhelmcultures is an emergent issue in today's education
educators today. With positive and negative globaland societies as relationships among countries
influences, educators must look beyond thebecome more intertwined. The United States has
surface of education. Students are not justalways been a country of diversity; however, for
products of their schools but will become shapingthe longest time, the contents of its curriculum
forces in society, determining the success andwere selectively western-focused.
failure of their nation's future. Curricularists,For example, high school world history courses
educators, and everyone in leadership need toemphasized primarily European and western
work together to develop a well-roundedhistory. We now can make use of technology to
curriculum, which includes the learning of differentdesign a world history curriculum that includes not
cultures. Our next generation will need to copeonly that part of world history but extends
with cross-cultural matters and grow into sensiblefarther. San Diego University, in cooperation with
adults who are fair and just to the global society.the National Center for History in the Schools at
Technology plays an essential role in our educationthe University of Los Angeles, offers Internet
today and will even more so in the future.information on world history and assists teachers
Especially in countries where economic and politicalin delivering a whole curriculum without excluding a
situations are stable, the accessibility of themajor part of the world's people, events, or times
Internet and computers to maximize curriculum(San Diego State University, 2007).
and to act as a means of communication amongWe should also take advantage of technology to
educators, even to the extent of intranets, mustform a curriculum for creating international
become available. This technology should beawareness, understanding various cultures, and
available in every school funded by taxes andlearning different opinions and values.
donation from private industry.Curriculumsneed to focus on melting down
Technology can also close the gaps between thebarriers against others who are different and to
educational levels around the world. Because ofencourage mutual respect and understanding for
the political and socio-economic differences amongother cultures and beliefs. One way to promote
countries, it would be impossible for this degree ofcultural exchange is through technological
technology to reach all parts of the world, yetcommunication. Thanks to the advancement of
effort should be made to see that education istechnology today, students all over the world can
fairy distributed to all children everywhere. This willactually use computers to see and to talk to each
require volunteers, donations, and assistance fromother. More effort on promoting such
the capable countries internationally. Even if therecommunication should be encouraged and assisted
was just one computer in every town for thoseby the government, various organizations, and
countries for school children, it would make aindividuals with the means to do so. One day,
difference.through the help of technology in education,
Another reason technology is significant to ourpeople will learn that we are all part of the world
curriculum development is for cultural knowledgecommunity.
expansion. The need to understand different