2010MEDU607

"If you've been following public discourse in education over the last couple of years, you have likely witnessed the emergence of a new, ubiquitous catch phrase: "21st century skills." After some time and considerable debate within and among organizations like ISTE/NETS, enGauge, and The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a general consensus has emerged on definitions of the term. Many for-profit and not-for-profit organizations advertise their curricula to potential school and district clients, touting the alignment with 21st century skills with whatever they are pitching. The vast majority of these, from the traditional "drill and kill" to the more reformed, constructivist and project-based approaches, have adopted the rhetoric (if not the practice) of the new millennium. What is still lacking in the landscape of 21st century education, however, are examples of 21st century student work. While there is no shortage of discourse around the term or end to the lists qualifying the kind of work that students need to be engaged in as part of their 21st century education, there are precious few examples of actual 21st century work."

Future assessment for 21st century skills.

Assessment of reading using the ever ubiquitous iPod Touch.

A list of standardized test FAQs from FairTest - the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.

"If enough educators -- and noneducators -- realize there are serious flaws in how we evaluate our schools, maybe we can stop this absurdity."

"Testing represents a commitment to high academic standards and school accountability. When the financial and emotional stakes associated with standardized tests are disproportionately high, this laudable goal becomes distorted."

Edutopia's "Big List" on Assessment. Contains plenty of links for further exploration of the topic.

Welcome to PBL-Online, a one stop solution for Project Based Learning! You'll find all the resources you need to design and manage high quality projects for middle and high school students.

"This article describes the need and prospects for alternative assessment approaches in online learning environments within the context of higher education."

"This set of web pages will describe and discuss the use of technology to support alternative assessment from a number of perspectives. Originally developed and maintained by Dr. Helen Barrett, School of Education, University of Alaska Anchorage (retired). "

Context for NCTE's 21st Century Literacies Framework

"A professor of design and technology at Parsons The New School for Design talks about the value of games and the empowerment of play."

Summarized 21st century skills as described in a book by Tony Wagner - The Global Achievement Gap.

21st century skills as outlined by The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

Another example of how a group defines 21st century skills. PDF white papers linked on the right.

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