Group items tagged

Technology literacy is projected to arrive in k-12 schools in 2012.

The role technology can play in expanding the time during which learning can take place.

Another article about "expanded learning time" both online and via community-based "brick and mortar" locations like libraries, YMCA, and Boys & Girls Clubs. "Out-of-school programs can be strong partners for schools who want to leverage expanded learning time to help their students achieve global competence. Youth-serving organizations share the broad mission to promote student success in work and life in the 21st century. Out-of-school program organization and management is often based on an asset model that values diversity. In order to attract and retain participants, out-of-school programs are centered around youth engagement through hands-on and experiential learning, often with a focus on 21st century skills, service learning, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, and others."

I wonder what Helen Haste would think of this organization . . .

Ed Murphy, vice president of business development at Learn360. "The recent adoption of both sets of new Standards affords Learn360 boundless opportunities to provide even more resources and tools to help students think critically, make informed decisions and ultimately make larger social contributions in a heavily wired world." Additionally, the 21st Century Learning Skills focus on helping students master the multi-dimensional abilities required of them in the future by blending specific skills, content-knowledge, expertise and literacy with innovative support systems"

Boston area Landmark High School received a Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam grant, which seeks to foster innovation and focus on STEM fields. These students will work on creating a water desalination system for countries with low rainfall. This type of project has a lot of potential to develop 21st century skills and teach complex problem solving skills.

White paper outlines the existing structures that constrict the development of 21st century skills, various tools, e.g. through including badging, personalization, adult learning, etc.

An interesting article that debunks certain myths like administrators and teachers having a shared understanding of technology and 21st century skills and that teachers feel prepared to use technology or teach 21st century skills after their preservice training.

Interesting look at mapping 21st Century Skills to Montessori .

I am a fan of the Motessori approach and am encouraged to see that they are mapping the new technology skills to the tenets of what has been working so well for them already.

Yet another story about the magic device. I had not realized that interactive whiteboards automatically communicate 21st century skills.

Interesting, real-time, questions about the topics we are covering in T561. Illuminates some of the key pieces (and challenges there within) of the scaling process... "Wissahickon School District (WSD) board members are divided on how to meet educational technology goals that bridge the "digital divide" and foster 21st Century Learning skills for students. A "1:1" plan presented to board members calls for giving every secondary student a computer to bridge the digital divide for students who do not have a computer, and enhance learning for all."

Interesting stance from the UK, where the government hopes to raise up the importance of computer science in education, where ICT (information and communication technology) lessons are not up to date with the needs and skills of the 21st century. Kids engaged in ICT classes learn how to use software, and not how software works or how it's created. From the article: "Written by gaming guru Ian Livingstone and visual effects veteran Alex Hope, Next Gen called for programming skills to replace learning about business software in ICT lessons." direct link to the UK Government's response to the 'Next Gen' report: http://www.dcms.gov.uk/publications/8646.aspx

Has this article about Chris Dede & EcoMuve been shared yet? I like its take on stepping up field trips...

This is a great resource to check out some ideas of how to assess 21st century skills. (This is in reference to our conversation in the section on Monday.) The rubric on the page (you can download it) uses the following categories as: Expertise (in at least one domain), Inquisitiveness (Exhibition of curiosity, inquisitiveness, wonder, openness and excitement), Flexiblity (and adaptability), Ambiguity (toleration of and response to ambiguity), Unique Ideas (original, unique and cogent ideas, phrasing and products)

'Quest to Learn' is a New York City public middle and high school, supporting collaborative student-led learning: "Quest to Learn has used research in game-based learning to create a rigorous and engaging collaborative learning space where students feel safe taking risks and using their successes and failures to create and apply new knowledge." "Nurturing social and emotional learning (SEL) and 21st century skills like inventiveness, risk taking and collaboration."

Students realize that with Web 2.0 lots of resources are available.

""As much as we are here to serve the teachers, it is the students who ultimately benefit from the integration of technology in the classrooms," she said. "Students who once felt that they had to 'power down' to go to class, are now experiencing 21st century skills and styles of learning - because their teachers are better able to utilize the tools of the digital age.""

If you are not familiar with the 21st Century Fluency project, have a look. When I received this week's newsletter, there was a lot of alignment with the conversation we had in Monday's lecture.

http://www.fluency21.com/perspectives/LNE_perspective.pdf This is a great intro to the thinking these guys are doing. Their breakdown of the 5 fluencies is probably one of the most actionable representations of what everyone is calling 21st century skills.

This eClassroom news article discusses a film series on school reform based on comments from leaders in the field. Also includes URL http://www.mobilelearninginstitute.org/21stcenturyeducation/index.html that takes you to the videos for viewing. Designed to create a discussion, so let's discuss!

Todd Oppenheimer, author of The Flickering Mind, on teaching real world computer skills.

This article discusses one school's plan to implement effective learning technologies into the classroom. They looked at examples that were working in other parts of the world and incorporated them into their idea which includes many augmented reality applications. They discuss the divide between using technology effectively in our personal lives and not in education, so the classroom remains the same as it has been for 100 years. As we have discussed in class, the education system must use technology in the classroom to help prepare students for jobs that require skills adaptable to technologies that do not yet exist.