The most important skill I learned from the 21st Century class, is how students today gather information differently than they did 30 years ago, 10 years ago, and even last year. Text and reference books were the "go to's" for gathering information. Today's students have enormous amounts of information at the click of a button. Why would they want to slow down their research to thumb through indexes of reference books?
My challenge will be to help the students to manage their research and understand the ethical and moral responsibilities of using the internet. I don't expect I will ever be ahead of the students in their technology skills as I am not as fearless as they are, however I do think I can learn a lot from them!
The web sites and programs I am excited to use in my curriculum are: voicethreads, podcast capture, text2mindmap, digital storytelling and Angel.
Things I am still confused about but hope to get straightened out is the difference between a wiki, a blog, and a twitter? And everytime I see the de-lic-ious accounts it makes me hungry!
I am thinking I would like to have one place to put all the sites I am collecting but I'm still not sure how to get it started.
I am planning on implimenting as much technology as my limited ability and time will allow. I am really re-thinking the need for assessments vs performance based projects.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
9 Principles of Implimentation
I have to admit I had a hard time keeping focused on this article. I'm not sure if it was end of a long week exhaustion or the material didn't really grab me. The one point I will take away is my personal responsibility to foster the change that needs to take place in our school atmosphere and community to meet the needs of 21st century learning. Change is easy for some but like pulling teeth for others. Patience and baby steps with the ladder will be important.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Anti-Teaching by Michael Wesch
I liked the idea that "teaching could actually be a henderance to learning"! I agreed with Michael Wesch's idea that making the material significant would engage real learning not just a regergetation of facts soon to be forgotten. Although I'm not ready to admit it, teachers can be their own worse enemies and we can only finger point the blame so long. I know our students need to be successful test takers for the sake of competition, but that doesn't mean our whole curriculum needs to be devoted to test taking. I really think we would surprise our selves and the public by offering real life learning in our classrooms. (along with a great study guide for the test of course!) The problem will be coming up with real life situations or projects that motivate and engage the students to want to learn and become self directed. Give me the curriculum and I am all over it! I am not creative enough, or technologically literate enough to come up with all these projects.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Teaching for Tomorrow Ch 1
The author believes that technology skills are secondary in importance to problem-solving skills.
Workers of the 20th century didn't need to problem solve, that was the supervisors job. Todays workforce is much different. He believes that schools are producing "highly educated useless people who possess school skills that help them be successful in education but not in real life situations. Most of the employee evaluations are performanced based yet schools assess basic knowledge skills. I really don't predict this will change in the near future. Schools are teaching what their communities ask for: literate citizens who possess the skills to continue on to higher education. As long as the State requires specific curriculum to be covered, and schools are held accountable for the instruction of that curriculum, then schools will successfully produce students that have great "school skills".
I don't mean to pass the buck, because I do believe that schools can produce students that can be successful in higher education and the workforce if they will incorporate the workplace/life skills into the learning of basic information. Problem-solving skills, teamwork skills, and effective communication skills can all be part of any curriculum; but including these into an exciting unit with basic knowledge takes time to create. The traditional textbooks only give teachers the knowledge and assessment tools, very few include projects or performance based assessment ideas. We teachers are successful products of our former schools. This method is what we know. If we are to make changes in our methodology, direction is needed. Where will this direction come from? Will the parents of the community ask us to stop teaching school skills and start teaching life skills? We humans are so competitive by nature that I don't predict that the assessment methods will be disappearing soon. I actually think the steaks will be higher. If a teachers job depends on how well their students do on their tests than they will continue to make this a priority in the classroom!!
Workers of the 20th century didn't need to problem solve, that was the supervisors job. Todays workforce is much different. He believes that schools are producing "highly educated useless people who possess school skills that help them be successful in education but not in real life situations. Most of the employee evaluations are performanced based yet schools assess basic knowledge skills. I really don't predict this will change in the near future. Schools are teaching what their communities ask for: literate citizens who possess the skills to continue on to higher education. As long as the State requires specific curriculum to be covered, and schools are held accountable for the instruction of that curriculum, then schools will successfully produce students that have great "school skills".
I don't mean to pass the buck, because I do believe that schools can produce students that can be successful in higher education and the workforce if they will incorporate the workplace/life skills into the learning of basic information. Problem-solving skills, teamwork skills, and effective communication skills can all be part of any curriculum; but including these into an exciting unit with basic knowledge takes time to create. The traditional textbooks only give teachers the knowledge and assessment tools, very few include projects or performance based assessment ideas. We teachers are successful products of our former schools. This method is what we know. If we are to make changes in our methodology, direction is needed. Where will this direction come from? Will the parents of the community ask us to stop teaching school skills and start teaching life skills? We humans are so competitive by nature that I don't predict that the assessment methods will be disappearing soon. I actually think the steaks will be higher. If a teachers job depends on how well their students do on their tests than they will continue to make this a priority in the classroom!!
New info. from class Tuesday Morning
Check out slideshare.net for powerpoint presentation sharing. Can we change these to meet our needs???
Use google earth with my biome podcasting. Put markers on the areas they are covering and put into the podcast.
Check out gelessons.com/lessons for good ideas and how tos.
I would really like to set up a de-li=cious account to help students to access my websites without a lot of cut and pasting.
Use google earth with my biome podcasting. Put markers on the areas they are covering and put into the podcast.
Check out gelessons.com/lessons for good ideas and how tos.
I would really like to set up a de-li=cious account to help students to access my websites without a lot of cut and pasting.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Summary of ideas from the 21st century skills document:
I could really relate to the statement "Children are native to cyberspace and we, as adults, are immigrants." I feel more like a foreigner most of the time! I don't learn or gain information in the same way my students do, so to teach them a method I am not familiar with is a challenge. Worth the effort, definately, but a challenge.
I also think it is the adults who will need to help the students use this media in a responsible way and understand some of the consequences of improper use. They are capable of using the technology, however, their brains are still underdeveloped when it comes to judgment.
I notice going through the report that most of the data is from 2002 or before. Because our technology is growing expontenially, this seems a bit dated! Weird, isn't it! I am quite sure that by the time our school system catches up to creating curriculum and assessments to meet the 21st century learner, that the methods will be outdated once again. It reminds me of the ships they build in the Navy. By the time the ship is finished (about 10 years) the instrumentation needs to be pulled out and replaced with current technology and the old instruments were not ever used!
We have no choice - we must do what we can to prepare the students to become "global" citizens to the best of our ability. It is what we were hired to do.
In comparing this document with the audio from Ken Kay, this doc. has a lot more specific objectives in each of the major disciplines. Ken Kay's data seemed to reflect a need to cover some basic skills of technology that are used through out all subject matters. It takes such a long time to develop national standards that are so specific that as I said earlier, they are obsolete before we can even implement them.
I paid closer attention to the Science literacies. They are similar to the National Standards for Science that really don't cover a great deal of technology issues.
I agreed with the statement "As technology becomes more prevalent in our every day lives, cognitive skills become increasingly critical. In effect, because technology makes the simple tasks easier, it places a greater burden on higher-level skills." I do think we need to encourage our students to thinks at the highest level possible that their physiological and psychological development can allow. We need to keep in mind that not all students develop these skills at the same rate and thus aren't capable of the same cognitive abilities.
Some of the skills that were listed in the document are similar to those listed in the audio, they were more defined and specific in the document.
I think our school is at the "activate" stage which is really pretty cool. I am anxious to get to the impact stage!
I could really relate to the statement "Children are native to cyberspace and we, as adults, are immigrants." I feel more like a foreigner most of the time! I don't learn or gain information in the same way my students do, so to teach them a method I am not familiar with is a challenge. Worth the effort, definately, but a challenge.
I also think it is the adults who will need to help the students use this media in a responsible way and understand some of the consequences of improper use. They are capable of using the technology, however, their brains are still underdeveloped when it comes to judgment.
I notice going through the report that most of the data is from 2002 or before. Because our technology is growing expontenially, this seems a bit dated! Weird, isn't it! I am quite sure that by the time our school system catches up to creating curriculum and assessments to meet the 21st century learner, that the methods will be outdated once again. It reminds me of the ships they build in the Navy. By the time the ship is finished (about 10 years) the instrumentation needs to be pulled out and replaced with current technology and the old instruments were not ever used!
We have no choice - we must do what we can to prepare the students to become "global" citizens to the best of our ability. It is what we were hired to do.
In comparing this document with the audio from Ken Kay, this doc. has a lot more specific objectives in each of the major disciplines. Ken Kay's data seemed to reflect a need to cover some basic skills of technology that are used through out all subject matters. It takes such a long time to develop national standards that are so specific that as I said earlier, they are obsolete before we can even implement them.
I paid closer attention to the Science literacies. They are similar to the National Standards for Science that really don't cover a great deal of technology issues.
I agreed with the statement "As technology becomes more prevalent in our every day lives, cognitive skills become increasingly critical. In effect, because technology makes the simple tasks easier, it places a greater burden on higher-level skills." I do think we need to encourage our students to thinks at the highest level possible that their physiological and psychological development can allow. We need to keep in mind that not all students develop these skills at the same rate and thus aren't capable of the same cognitive abilities.
Some of the skills that were listed in the document are similar to those listed in the audio, they were more defined and specific in the document.
I think our school is at the "activate" stage which is really pretty cool. I am anxious to get to the impact stage!
Ken Kay audio notes
Ken Kay
Audio about the needs of students in the 21st century.
Job requirement change from Mastery of one field to critical thinking across disciplines. Subject mastery is not necessarily a great skill needed for today's learners. Assessment should be integration of information and not subject mastery.
Most important for hiring:
work ethic, collaboration, good communication, social responsibility
Of those you hired what were their deficiencies:
written communication,
Growing in importance:
critical thinking, I. T. , health and wellness, collaboration, innovation, personal financial
responsibility,
Life skills needed:
leadership, ethics, accountability, adaptability, personal productivity. personal responsibility, people skills, self direction, social responsibility.
What can schools do to create 21st century learners?
1. Develop a consensus with businesses about what they are looking for.
2. Take a self-assessment to measure where you are on the path. (21stcenturyskills.org)
3. Upgrade professional development.
4. Imbed 21st century skills in core subjects.
5. Upgrade assessments to include 21st century skills. (focTRWA assessment)
6. Focus on reforming high schools to include the 21st century skills.
7. Collaborate with community-based groups.
8. Collaborate with the business community to develop an agreement on skills needed, and internship opportunities.
This was very "eye" opening!
Audio about the needs of students in the 21st century.
Job requirement change from Mastery of one field to critical thinking across disciplines. Subject mastery is not necessarily a great skill needed for today's learners. Assessment should be integration of information and not subject mastery.
Most important for hiring:
work ethic, collaboration, good communication, social responsibility
Of those you hired what were their deficiencies:
written communication,
Growing in importance:
critical thinking, I. T. , health and wellness, collaboration, innovation, personal financial
responsibility,
Life skills needed:
leadership, ethics, accountability, adaptability, personal productivity. personal responsibility, people skills, self direction, social responsibility.
What can schools do to create 21st century learners?
1. Develop a consensus with businesses about what they are looking for.
2. Take a self-assessment to measure where you are on the path. (21stcenturyskills.org)
3. Upgrade professional development.
4. Imbed 21st century skills in core subjects.
5. Upgrade assessments to include 21st century skills. (focTRWA assessment)
6. Focus on reforming high schools to include the 21st century skills.
7. Collaborate with community-based groups.
8. Collaborate with the business community to develop an agreement on skills needed, and internship opportunities.
This was very "eye" opening!
google search
I wasn’t aware that a students computer’s google search could be restricted to include only safe search by clicking the “preferences” link next to the search bar.
Use the define function on google to complete vocab assignments.
Use googleearth to locate biomes for biology. How do I access it?? I found a place to download and tried it, we'll see if it works
I saved a google docs tool tips in my documents for students and myself as a reference.
Use the define function on google to complete vocab assignments.
Use googleearth to locate biomes for biology. How do I access it?? I found a place to download and tried it, we'll see if it works
I saved a google docs tool tips in my documents for students and myself as a reference.
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