Florida Catholic | ‘Curriki’ Is The Wiki That Will Change Curriculum

‘Curriki’ is the wiki that will change curriculum

Diocese adopts Notre Dame pilot program to assist educators with curriculums.

THERESA CHMIEL | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 08.15.08 | Updated: 08.20.08

PENSACOLA | Educators and administrators from across the diocese will soon be speaking the same “language” and collaborating on a standardized curriculum, thanks to the web-based tool, Curriki, founded in 2004 by Sun Microsystems. Curriki has operated as an independent non–profit since 2006.

Thirty-eight educators attended a “Curriki” in-service conducted by the Alliance for Catholic Education of the University of Notre Dame and held at Pensacola Catholic High School July 28-Aug. 1.

Superintendent of Schools Susan Mueller said the in-service is the beginning of a three-year commitment from the diocese to a pilot program the university hopes will change the way Catholic schools interact with one another across the nation.

“I had been in contact with Tom Doyle for about three years leading up to this,” said Mueller speaking of Notre Dame’s academic director. “When he told me about the project, I immediately applied.”

Pensacola-Tallahassee is one of only two dioceses in the nation chosen to take part in the pilot. The Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee will undergo its training session this summer as well. The next step, said Doyle, is to allow the two dioceses to utilize some of the tools they have learned and work together. “We are providing a common language template which will allow everybody to talk with everybody else across the spectrum from elementary school through high school and from one school to another and, ultimately, from one diocese to another.”

The problem up to now, Doyle said, is that educators often think differently about their subject matters or their student population. The first step is to bring everyone together on a common ground.

Participants in this in-service, for example, were given specific goal-oriented objectives upon which to work. Janet Gendusa, principal of Trinity Catholic Elementary School in Tallahassee, will take what she learned back to her staff.

“I have to admit, the first day was pretty overwhelming,” said Gendusa. By the second day, however, she was more confident and by Friday, she felt fully prepared. “We actually got to practice telling others what we learned, so I feel very confident to go back to my teachers and conduct an in-service of my own,” she said.

Gendusa and her counterparts from the in-service have their work cut out for them. “It’s an honor to be involved in something like this,” she said, “but it’s intimidating as well.” Gendusa is talking about the individual impact she and others will have on curriculum through their use of Curriki. Curriki, said Doyle, will allow educators to share valuable data with one another on a global scale. He and his group will return to Pensacola Sept. 26 for a follow-up to check progress before the teachers go live Oct. 15 on the World Wide Web at Curriki.org.

“Eventually,” said Doyle, “our goal is to bring Catholic education to the mainstream, allowing educators from anywhere to access information and provide input to constantly update and improve our schools.”

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