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"July 16, 2014 While searching for some resources on a paper and writing on  the 21st century learning skills I came across this skills checklist created by the university of Toledo. This checklist is meant to help students build powerful resumes outlining all the skills they master. I spent some time going through the components of this sheet and found it really sharing with you here.  You can use this sheet with your students as an explanatory guide of some of the important skills ( I said some because some other important skills particularly those related to digital citizenship and digital literacy are missing) they need to work. Below is a round-up of the 9 most important skills which I selected from the entire list. You can acccess this list from this link. 1- Research skills Know how to find and collect relevant background information Be able to analyze data, summarize findings and write a report 2- Critical Thinking skills Be able to review different points of view or ideas and make objective judgments Investigate all the possible solutions to a problem, weighing the pros and cons 3- Organizational skills Be able to organize information, people or thins in a systematic way Be able to establish priorities and meet deadlines 4- Problem-solving skills Be able to clarify the nature of a problem Be able to evaluate alternatives, propose viable solutions and determine the outcome of the various options 5- Creative thinking skills Be able to generate new ideas, invent new things, create new images or designs Find new solutions to problems Be able to use wit and humour effectively 6- Analytical/ logical thinking skills Be able to draw specific conclusions from a set of general observations of from a set of specific facts Be able to synthesize information and ideas 7- Public speaking skills Be able to make formal presentations Present ideas, positions and problems in an interesting way 8- Oral communication skills Be able to present information and ideas clearly a

"Regardless of whether you think every infant needs an iPad, I think we can all agree that technology has changed education for the better. Today's learners now enjoy easier, more efficient access to information; opportunities for extended and mobile learning; the ability to give and receive immediate feedback; and greater motivation to learn and engage. We now have programs and platforms that can transform learners into globally active citizens, opening up countless avenues for communication and impact. Thousands of educational apps have been designed to enhance interest and participation. Course management systems and learning analytics have streamlined the education process and allowed for quality online delivery. But if we had to pick the top ten, most influential ways technology has transformed education, what would the list look like? The following things have been identified by educational researchers and teachers alike as the most powerful uses of technology for learning. Take a look. 1. Critical Thinking In Meaningful Learning With Technology, David H. Jonassen and his co-authors argue that students do not learn from teachers or from technologies. Rather, students learn from thinking-thinking about what they are doing or what they did, thinking about what they believe, thinking about what others have done and believe, thinking about the thinking processes they use-just thinking and reasoning. Thinking mediates learning. Learning results from thinking. So what kinds of thinking are fostered when learning with technologies? Analogical If you distill cognitive psychology into a single principle, it would be to use analogies to convey and understand new ideas. That is, understanding a new idea is best accomplished by comparing and contrasting it to an idea that is already understood. In an analogy, the properties or attributes of one idea (the analogue) are mapped or transferred to another (the source or target). Single analogies are also known as sy

"In spite of the before-mentioned dynamics, Kindergarten classrooms are really magical places where kids are able to collaboratively and independently create and design. Kids move like a well-oiled machine from one center to the next with very little if any teacher direction. These students, most of whom have never been a part of such madness, are able to find structure and are able to be trusted to do the right thing. Students are able to 'playfully work together and learn about the creative process: how to imagine new ideas, try them out, test the boundaries, experiment with alternatives, get feedback from others, and generate new ideas based on their experiences.' Kindergarten classrooms are a hotbed for makers and the maker movement. Kindergarten classrooms are spilling over with exploration and discovery. Kindergarten classrooms beam with pride as kids put their best efforts forward to please their teachers and expand their knowledge of the world. Kindergarten classrooms are indeed a magical place. "

"With the assistance of mobile technology, visual learners are given more opportunity to make the learning experience easier, more interactive, and fun. These people are able to comprehend words into pictures in their head and vice versa, according to a study by Penn Psychology. They are able to learn faster with the help of visual content, either as a photo or a video. This is not at all surprising as a recent study by the American researchers revealed that a human brain is able to process images in 13 milliseconds. Today, there are applications that are able to help simplify the learning process while on-the-go for visual learners. Here are the top educational tools you must try:"

"I have a couple of more 3D printing projects that I haven't written about this year, but by the time this posts it will be the last day of school, and I feel like this would be the right time to reflect on what a year of 3D printing in the classroom was like. I started the year with a lot of ideas and excitement, but I wasn't really sure how the year would pan out. Looking back now I couldn't be happier. The level of learning that occurred this year was more than I expected. As excited as I was at the prospect of using a 3D printer in the classroom, I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to figure out how to tie it to the curriculum. I wondered if my students would be able to understand how it works and be able to use it effectively. I was concerned that I wouldn't have time for projects with all the other demands that happen in a classroom. My concerns were overshadowed by the novelty and the excitement of the printer. I think that is what many of my students felt too. They were curious, excited, and bewildered."

"I took my handicapped dog of 15 years for a walk in the grass. Maddie has gone from not being able to walk on her hind legs (a neurological problem) to gradually being able to walk with an awkward, back-legs-don't-really-know-where-they're-landing gait. Let me relate Maddie's experience to brain-compatible elements that my teachers implement at New Morning School every day. I provide my dog with the choice to engage in walking every day; she loves it. When children engage in activities they view as pleasurable, and when the projects are ones they have chosen, just as Maddie does, dopamine is released in the brain. This neurotransmitter increases attention and helps information to be stored in long-term memory.1"

"Recently I've been spending more time in Carrie Both's 1:1 iPad kindergarten classroom. I was so excited to observe how easily these students were able to navigate around an iPad. Not only were they able to easily find, pick up and turn on their device (using a numeration system and strategic placement around the classroom), but they also could do everything from create screencasts to use the AppleTV to mirror their work to a projection via AirPlay. "

"At ISTE 2016 I had the pleasure of sitting on a panel, sponsored by Samsung Education, with other educators and industry experts, spending an hour talking about literacy in the age of technology. It was an engaging discussion that looked at how one district in Tennessee leveraged technology to improve reading in the middle grades and also how literacy instruction is being impacted by the use of technology. My role in the discussion was that of a former District Technology Leader and what I've seen when implementing district technology programs centered around literacy. For me this discussion really hit home. As a Father of a 2 daughters I see on an almost daily basis how computers, tablets and apps are impacting their literacy skills. For my 7 yr old she uses her tablet to find books she wants to read and also is able to practice her skills through read aloud and other features in the books. For my 3 year old she is able to use her manipulatives and other apps to practice her letters and letter sounds. It's truly incredible to watch both of them using the technology and its power to learn. As I've reflected on this panel a lot there are some important themes to remember when it comes to literacy and technology that we need to remember."

"iTunes and App Store users have long been able to gift apps, movies, and music, and thanks to a recent iBooks Store change, we can all give the gift of literature too, and complete the whole transaction right in our hand from iOS. Perhaps best of all, you can schedule the gift arrival to be on a specific date, and the gifted book arrives neatly in their email inbox right on time, which means that even total slacker holiday shoppers like me will be able to get something for everyone in time for Christmas. "

""Ability to multitask". That phrase is seen on nearly every job description that I've ever read. It doesn't matter what industry you're in or what job you're applying for - everyone expects everyone to be able to multitask. But what does that mean, exactly? Does it mean being able to work on three things at once? Let's be real here, you can't write three different emails at once - multitasking usually means something more along the lines of rapidly switching gears from one project to another. But does multitasking actually help you get more done, or is it eating away at your actual productivity? "

"This year, I'm excited to start using Ignite Teaching with my class.  This is one tool I know we can use throughout the year, across all subjects, in a variety of creative ways.  Any tool that allows students to create, collaborate, and share is always a favorite in our class.  One of my favorite parts is that I will also be able to see their work in progress as they collaborate with one another, and I'll be able to offer feedback along the way.  "

"Questioning is a fundamental element of pedagogy, one you could read endlessly around, but the reality is using questioning to challenge and engage all learners is demanding and potentially problematic to get right. Recently I've been working with a team of teachers, shaping our CPD model in preparation for the new academic year. Engaging in dialogue around teaching and learning with colleagues is always a pleasure and extremely informative, and one aspect continually crops up; deep, challenging and engaging questioning. Firstly, I think it's crucial to outline what we are trying to achieve when we think about the purpose of questioning, for me it includes the following: Allowing students to develop a fuller understanding of a concept because they have tried to explain it themselves To easily recall existing knowledge To be able to link the ideas in the lesson with existing knowledge To tackle problems at a deep level and be able to extend their thinking To engage easily with a task because they are clear about what is expected To develop independence in the way they learn and think"

"School and district leaders that are thinking about personalizing education tell us one of their top concerns is how to train, support, and develop teachers effectively to teach in ways that may feel new and unfamiliar.  As former educators we agree that this is crucial, and are happy that they recognize the challenge and are ready to take it on. First and foremost, in order to support the teachers we are asking to teach in blended learning environments we have to understand the implications on teaching practice.  Over the past three years, we've worked with thousands of teachers tackling the question of how to personalize learning in their classrooms and we've gathered a set skills into 5 domains of blended learning teaching that we believe are new skills to master for veteran and novice teachers alike. This five-domain rubric was created, not for evaluation purposes (there are enough evaluation rubrics out there!), but for teachers to be able to self-assess, set goals and progress.  In the same way, we want blended learning to allow for students to have a better understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses, we want teachers to be able to identify blended specific skills and better understand their own strengths and areas for growth.  We wanted to give teachers, their coaches, and their leaders, a sense of what to strive for, and help them plot a path to get there through aligned professional development.  We also found that the teachers we work with cherish the opportunity to self-reflect, identify the skills they have and the skills they need, and take the time to set goals around where they want to shift their practice.  Many of our schools infuse these concepts into community of practices discussions for continuous learning."

"s a professional artist, deepening the ways in which seemingly disparate objects and processes are interconnected through locating, and mapping their intersections has been one of the main elements of my studio practice. The Fab Lab tools and working processes create an environment that is well suited to investigating those types of intersections. In an effort to integrate Fab Lab tools centered on craft, and studio-based processes into the classroom, I have been working to implement a Mobile MakerCart at a project-based K-8 charter school. In addition to introducing craft-based physical computing projects to the children, a guiding principle behind the MakerCart is to give teachers the opportunity to develop familiarity with the MakerCart's tools and processes in order to be able to envision the ways in which they might be able to develop their own curriculum for use in the classroom."

"The Educational and Mobile Learning site highlighted a great step by step iPad task tutorial by the folks over at iSupport. They outline five tasks that "every modern teacher" should be able to do and use in their classrooms. It's a great list: A PDF A presentation An interactive book A podcast A movie I really like how they put together an easy way to see how using iPad tools can lead kids through low level to high levels of thinking and doing. But the list isn't comprehensive. And it might start past the point where some teachers are right now. So I've added five extra iPad basic skills that I think every teacher using iPads needs to have: Edit Photos"

"For our last day of class with a "normal" schedule (today), I met with my students in our school's 21st-century learning space. There's a sampling of flexible furniture, a corner with stadium seating, iMacs, a big-screen TV, an Apple TV, tables that also serve as white boards… chairs on wheels, couches with charging stations… it's a great space! Screen Shot 2014-05-27 at 6.32.43 PM Students' first task today was to finalize their multi-touch math books and submit them to me. Since some student groups were able to virtually turn in their books last Friday, I was able to embed their .ePub files on my teacher website, and use each unique URL to share all of the books in a ThingLink. Student groups downloaded and read no less than five books authored by their peers."

"MS Office was finally made available for the iPad this past week. This is a long-awaited release, almost four years after the release of Apple's tablet. While the apps are all free to download, you are only able to view documents, and will need to pay a rather large subscription fee of $99 every year to be able to use it. Granted, this subscription does include the latest versions Microsoft Office for your home PCs as well. "

"Originally, we used Book Creator in English lessons, where children enjoyed producing more creative and interactive pieces, using the various tools, such as images for scenes in their stories or to link with the subject of their non-fiction work. It also helped our younger years' classes, both with writing and speaking and listening because the children were able to record their sentences, using the microphone tool. Moreover, we have a significant number of children who speak English as an additional language, so Book Creator provides excellent support for them too because they are able to practice both their written and speaking skills simultaneously. Book Creator can really work in the science classroom, according to @MrW_BVPS CLICK TO TWEET The hypothesis Realising the potential of Book Creator, I wanted to see how effective it would be in other subject areas. In this instance, we used it in Science. The children were investigating the importance of surface area when thinking about floating and sinking. I felt this would be a good fit because it would help to immerse the children in the experiment."

"This is number 6 in my blog series on major learning theories. My plan is to work through the alphabet of psychologists and provide a brief overview of their theories, and how each can be applied in education. In the last post we examined the work of Craik and Lockhart on Levels of Processing theory. In this post, we explore the work of Mihály Csíkszentmihályi on Flow Theory. This is a simplified interpretation of the theory, so if you wish to learn more, please refer to the original work of the theorist. There is an interesting news report on the BBC News website this morning. It is a piece claiming that children who use technology at home are finding that they are not able to concentrate in school. They are not able to focus, claims the report, because 'they're spending so much time on digital games or social media.' Yeah right. It's easy to blame lack of concentration on technology, but what about the quality of the lessons they are attending? The onus is on teachers to make lessons more interesting, and that is what they are trained to do. Part of the solution might be to incorporate these digital games and social media into some of the lessons. Just how can we engage students more effectively? Here's Flow Theory:"