Technology Curriculum

Before you continue reading, I must admit that my thoughts are running all over the place and it probably shows in this post. Getting everything in order so that it makes sense is somewhat challenging right now. I apologize if this seems scattered.

Does your school or district have a Technology Curriculum? Is it well defined or fairly broad? Is it broken down by grade level? (By the way, if you have an electronic copy, please share). I was thinking the other day about the skills and programs I'm supposed to be teaching my students related to technology. From kindergarten through fifth grade, we have a short list of skills our students need to know by the end of each school year. Many of the final "projects" include the using some of our district purchased software, such as Kidspiration, Inspiration, and KidPix. With technology changing as rapidly as it is, I wonder if these projects need to be reevaluated and perhaps linked with some of the new tools that are out there. Are we preparing kids by having them create some sort of web using one of these products? I don't know. Are we really looking at thinking and problem solving?

Beyond the basics of opening and saving files, launching programs, proper use of web browsers, etc., what do kids really need to know? It seems to me, a big part is communication. Regardless of the tool involved, students need to communicate their thoughts and what they've learned.

I'm sometimes stuck because there are so many exciting tools available that weren't available several years ago. I'm sure the same will be said 5 years from now, but I wonder if we should just focus on skills, and use whatever software we want. I want to use some of these, VoiceThread for example, but am not sure the best way to go about it. What do you think?