Join the Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Start by watching this Youtube Video on P21

Partnership for 21^st Century Skills

If you caught the recent State of the Union Address delivered by President Obama, you may recall him proclaiming, “Maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to America's success. But if we want to win the future -- if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas -- then we also have to win the race to educate our kids” (Obama, 2011).  This vision, this dream of the future, will require teachers and schools to reshape the current style of education into a new model.  One of the leading organizations advocating such a philosophy for educating our nation’s youth is the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). 

P21’s mission statement is “to serve as a catalyst to position 21st century readiness at the center of US K12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education, business, community and government leaders” (http://www.p21.org/).  This message points to the need for American education to catch up to the world around it.  I agree with P21’s goals and am on board to use the resources the organization provides, and I’m not the only one it seems.  Look at the members that have partnered with this organizations and you will find front-running companies such as Apple, Adobe, Microsoft, and Verizon just to name a few.

Within an hour of browsing the Partnership for 21st Century Skills website, I found some great online resources.  One of the tools they have provided the public with is called Route 21 and it provides links to hundreds of resources they have found to encompass 21^st century skills.  On one of the links I located several innovative teaching games including one created by an MIT student called, Lure of the Labyrinth.  I was also surprised that my home state of Wisconsin is on board with the program, and shows that we have current initiative to support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs in our schools (http://www.p21.org/). 

The only issue I have with P21’s theories and ideas is e-school for high school students.  I have never liked this idea and feel that young adolescent students should not be allowed this option until they are eighteen years of age.  My thoughts are that young children need more direction than e-school can offer, and being able to properly interact in a real, social environment is still an essential skill for any individual.

The website did cause me to examine my own practices, and I found that on most levels, 21^st century teaching implies than students have regular accessibility to modern computers and the Internet.  One cannot use wikis, blogs, podcasts, or other Internet applications if the tools are not there.  Furthermore, the use and variation of technological interfaces such as multi-user virtual environments with avatars or traveling augmented reality sessions described by educational technology pioneer Dr. Chris Dede would currently be impossible in low-fund schools (Laureate, 2010).  So in order for this vision to sweep the nation, our schools are going to need some help financially.  

   

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Program number 12: Technology interfaces [DVD]. Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Obama, B. (2011, January 25). The State of the Union Address.  Speech delivered at the House of Representatives Chamber at the U.S. Capitol.

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2011 from http://www.p21.org/

Using Blogs in the Classroom

I teach geometry and algebra 2 at the high school level and am looking to begin a blog for my classes that will create a place for students to collaborate on the content of the course, as well as provide addition opportunities for them to better understand the material. Being a math teacher, most of the work students are assessed on has little to do with writing and is focused on problem solving.  So introducing blogging in my courses would have to be done in a creative fashion.  My initial thoughts are to setup up a site that uses pictures of common problems from a section and have students explain the process in which they use would use to solve it.  According to Will Richardson, “One of the biggest potentials of Weblogs is the ability to create spaces where students can collaborate with others online.”  So in this classroom portal space, students could discuss with one another where they are having problems on their work and help one another.  Presumably, I could post my advice, or at least come the next day already knowing their struggles.

Another good starting point may be to post a weekly challenge problem that students can try to solve, while allowing for them to collaborate their ideas on how to attack it.  This would hopefully generate a competitive atmosphere where students who want to be challenged can showcase their knowledge.  I would make it mandatory for solutions to be submitted on the blog in a well-organized document to foster professionalism. 

Another direction I could head would be to create a blog site that harbors links to informational sites on the topics of the course.  This would be great in supporting them from home when they have trouble finding time to set up meetings with me or other tutors.  I could link sites that further explain the topic, or videos from Youtube, Brightstorm, and other similar video collections.  After all, “Being able to connect ideas and resources via linking is one of blogging’s most important strengths,” (Richardson, 2010).  This would not only aid struggling students, but also help students who missed class and are falling behind.  It would also enhance lessons by making them mobile and showing the material from another point of view. 

Lastly, I could connect the blog links to the school website for easy of location or possibly show students how to create a Google Reader account.  If they had their own RSS feed to these blogs, checking them for updates daily would be much quicker.  Looking ahead, this seems like a large step in the right direction.  Now all I have to do is master the technique of blogging myself so I can successfully model it to the students.  

References

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

The Hottest Technology on the Market: Use it in School!

Are you sick of school?  Are classes putting you to sleep because your teacher just talks at you and scribbles on the chalkboard?  Do you think there's a better way to learn?  Then I want your ideas!  There are waves of new electronics and technologies on the market today, and some teachers, like myself, want to get them into schools.  Short and sweet, post any ideas you have that would make your teacher's lesson more fun for you.  Focus primarily on the technological aspects of your idea and why it would help you learn.