21st Century Skills

http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ is a great resource for learning where our country is at technology wise and what we should do in education to adjust to the ever changing times technological advances offer. The overview on the site clearly explains the meaning behind the initiative. I thought this site really offered terrific insight on how every member of society can contribute or raise awareness with bridging the gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21st century communities and workplaces. I liked how the site offered steps that people can take at many levels in the private and public sectors. I appreciate how the site conveys that issues addressed should be resolved with collaborative efforts on local and state levels. I could not agree more with the fact that all students need qualified and effective teachers who are comfortable with using the most innovative technology available and that students need consistent and reliable access to the technologies.

I was surprised that the site mentioned several times that many school budgets are low but did not really address what to do if that was the case. It seems every time I try to address issues of technological advancement I am told there is no budget for it, so why discuss it.

I was motivated by the many state initiatives available for viewing on the site that address how schools will integrate technology and adjust the curriculum for the 21st century. This resource offered some great ideas that I could facilitate discussion on in my district as an instructor of technology. I would enjoy assisting with the implementation of aligning standards and assessments with 21st century skills. I would like to use some of the state initiatives linked on the site as a model for our county. I would share and utilize the six key elements for fostering 21st century learning with administrators and educators in my community.

Fostering 21st century learning would entail these key elements…

1. Expanding beyond the basic competency to understanding core academic content on higher levels
2. Incorporating learning skills that include information and communication, thinking and problem- solving, and interpersonal and self-directional, into classrooms deliberately
3. Proficient use of digital technology and communication tools essential to everyday life
4. Reaching out to the real world of the community, employers, community members, and parents
5. Infusing global awareness; financial, economic and business literacy; and civic literacy into the curriculum
6. Create a balance of assessments that are effective and utilize new information technologies to increase efficiency and timeliness

I feel our school district is already well on its way with the 6th step I have mentioned. We have begun testing online at the 5th grade level in elementary schools and are beginning to see its usefulness. Teachers are able to get feedback from benchmark testing immediately following the assessments.

Upon viewing this site and many other resources that reinforce the ideas expressed on this site, I am astounded at its relevance and how apparent it is for our curriculum to change to integrate current technology. The reasons why make perfect sense, yet I wonder how we could communicate this to the elementary schools in the county as well as the community I teach in. Perhaps it would be beneficial to utilize a professional development affiliate on the site to conduct professional development on the major issues for learning 21st century skills. It may prove beneficial to spend some time sharing the facts I have learned on my own with the schools I service, as well. I will begin by adding what I have learned to the monthly newsletters I publish, sharing insight at faculty meetings, and creating discussion on my blog. I will take it a step further by reaching out to the communities of the schools by sharing the facts with parents and the community by presenting to PTA and County assemblies.

Check out the site and tell me what you think!

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A report and mile guide for 21st century skills. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdf

Blogging Anyone?

As an ITRT, I do not have students per say. I work to assist elementary teachers in my district ranging from Pre-K to Fifth grade with technology integration for all content areas. I personally visit all of my assigned elementary schools at least once a week providing professional development or model lessons that encourage technology integration. I create monthly newsletters to provide the newest information regarding how technology should be integrated in the elementary schools. I have established a website which has served as an area for me to share what's new in technology, what devices or software are available to enhance lessons, computer tips, model lessons and resources. I also provide informative e-mails to faculty and staff. Most recently, I began facilitating an online course for technology integration for elementary teachers in our county. A crucial part of the course required teachers to discuss and share ideas regarding their knowledge of technology integration in a discussion forum. This forum enabled teachers to share their views and concerns with other teachers throughout the district which provided an opportunity teachers rarely find time to do. It was obvious from their comments to me that the teachers truly enjoyed this type of interaction as they didn't have to stay after school to meet in a conference room to partake in the discussion forums. They could literally have a discussion with another teacher miles away from the comforts of their own classroom or even in their own home.

Since my students are teachers and my classroom is online or in a conference room, how I use a blog might differ slightly from a classroom teacher. I plan to require the teachers in my online course to interact via this blog to expand on educational issues regarding technology integration. The blog will serve as an area for the teachers to post and comment on their projects they have created in the class. There is (was) something really powerful about easily being able to share resources and ideas with a Web audience that is (was) willing to share back what they think(thought) about those ideas (Richardson, 2009).

On a broader scale, blogging could serve as a county wide initiative to increase teacher ideas across the county and the world. Why not use blogging as a form of professional development? Imagine how much more interactive blogging would be when compared to the good ol' faculty newsletters. Blogs engage readers with ideas and questions and links. They ask readers to think and to respond. They demand interaction (Richardson, 2009). It is my hope that through professional blogging among teachers, teachers will feel more comfortable and see the benefit of utilizing blogs in their own classrooms with students. In many ways it's important for teachers to consider the use of blogs in the classroom if only to model appropriate behavior of this powerful communication tool...(November, 2008)

November, A. (2008). Web literacy for Educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.Copyright 2008 by Sage Publications, Inc. Used by permission of Sage Publications, Inc.

Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wiks, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.