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An article about designing your classroom to be 21st century learning-friendly. Includes space design suggestions and app suggestions for use in the classroom.

Numerous innovations in the education technology space are beginning to show potential in improving education and helping address skills gaps. Some of these advancements include Khan academy and Read 180 (self paced instruction for students). Professional development of digital resources is imperative to help close instructional gaps. EDTC 615 - instructional gap solutions

I love that this resource provides multiple examples of tools that we can use within our instruction. The categorization of each example also provides a clear explanation of how it can be incorporated. I think that one important point that was discussed within this page was how students can develop 21st Century Skills through implementing these tools. As 21st Century Skills are becoming a major focus in instruction, this shows how it can be addressed.

This was a great tool that shared tons of tools that teachers can use in our instruction. Some really great resources I have found to use were Khan Academy, Google Apps for Education, and One Note. This article has a lot of great visuals to help understand more about how we, as educators, can use technology to help close the skills gaps.

I thought this site was interesting for educators. 112 Learners are taking this course and 101 more learners... Review 21st century literacies. Explore free image sites. Create playlists with great video content. Be inspired to create content and contribute to the world. Class recording and slides available to all enrollees Language of Instruction: English Course Description In the 21st century, we are all consumers of digital content.

Formative assessment is vital to teachers in any classroom environment. Teachers have been formatively assessing students for years, because we must know what our students know in order to help them understand what they do not know. Do you know what I mean?! Fortunately, many classrooms are charging into the 21st century with technology initiatives.

Learning and memory specialist Marilee Sprenger writes about vocabulary critical to the Common Core and offers 11 strategies for helping students learn it.

Vocabulary strategies presented here makes it necessary to be reflective of how new words are introduced to students. The strategies require students to interact beyond knowing how to correctly spell a word but how a word is used and what it means for students to engage with the word.

I love Edutopia! Some of their resources are really great. I think that this specific article is FANTASTIC for information about how to teach students the critical vocabulary necessary for them to become successful 21st Century Learners!

DimensionU creates engaging and interactive multi-player video games that focus on core skills in mathematics and literacy. Our content aligns with the Common Core, state standards and classroom instruction Learn More about DimensionU Comprised of four engaging, multi-player games with access to curriculum in both Math and Literacy, grades 3 - 9. Some available games: * Meltdown is the DimensionU game that offers students a second chance when answering difficult questions, and rewards creative strategies to achieve victory. * Velocity is DimensionU's high-speed obstacle course that ensures players answer questions correctly in order to continue progressing through the race.

Early literacy skills begin developing at a young age, even before kids get to Kindergarten. Therefore it is vital that families consistently read with their children and expose them to text in the home. This article explains the benefits of early literacy in the home and outlines a plan for gaining more parent involvement by creating literacy bags for families to take home and use with their children. The research provided will not only help us to find answers to our exploratory question, but will also give us ideas for action plans that we can put into place in our own schools.

This is a great resource for technology integration. The sites listed are easily adaptable across subject areas. This would be a good tool for differentiation and for teaching to different learning styles. I particularly like the ReadWriteThink site and the Screencast-o-matic. The ReadWriteThink site allows students to demonstrate knowledge, and the Screencast-o-matic seems like a great tool to create sub plans!

This blog was very interesting and reminded me of tools I haven't looked at or thought to use in my classroom. I could see using Google Earth for students to have an interactive adventure through history. Also, I envisioned myself using the Screencast-o-matic, Quzziz, and Formative with my students.

(Week 9): Jenn, Jim and Sabrina Source: This journal article is accessible through the link given above by accessing the UMUC library. Focus: This journal article focuses on the need for preparing an increasingly diverse student population for life in the 21st century. In addition to addressing differentiation, our classrooms "will be heterogeneous in nature, (as well as) learner-centered, knowledge-centered, assessment-centered, instruction-centered, and community-centered." Teachers in these classrooms "will need to be proficient in 'teaching up,' or planning learning experiences at a high level of challenge." (Tomlinson, article abstract) Why the article is useful: Teachers in our group work with students from very diverse socioeconomic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Many of these students come to us from homes where English is not spoken, where their families may be disadvantaged with issues relating to poverty and social isolation, and who often have a variety of special needs (SPED, ESL/ELL, etc.). Reference: Tomlinson, C. (2015, April 14). Teaching for Excellence in Academically Diverse Classrooms. Society, 52(3), 203-209. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=9&sid=d8e836f2-a403-4b8f-a484-e5e63f248a74%40pdc-v-sessmgr05

This article looks at the importance of technology use in the classrooms in the 21st century and how this technology can be used to help close learning gaps. It specifically looks at students who are "at-risk". This article addresses great points but also cautions that in order for technology to be effective, it needs to be accompanied by professional development.

This article highlights a report completed by the Alliance for Excellent Education and the Staford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education in 2014. The article notes that students can make significant increases in learning and engagement through the use of technology. However, students from poor socio economic backgrounds may not have the same instruction or access to technology as those from more affluent neighborhoods. The auther then presents a list of solutions.

I like that this article encourages a blended learning approach with technology. I think that tech is a powerful tool that needs to be paired with hands on activities for the early learners.

WEEK 8 - (Chris Baugher, Patricia Bankis and A. Burns) Assessment is the key to good instruction. It shows us what students know and allows us to adjust our instruction. Assessment is tied to learning goals and standards, but students must own the assessment process as well, as they must be able to articulate what and how they are being assessed -- and its value.

This article provides five useful strategies to help students improve and to improve assessments. There are two key factors in this article which ring true for me. The first is "formative assessment and feedback along the way" (Miller 2015) where students are given specific feedback on their assessment on how to improve and continue forward (Miller 2015). "Formative assessment allowed students to experiment and, yes, sometimes fail. However, they were given the tools, both through feedback and instruction, to improve and move forward to success." (Miller 2015). What this entails if differentiated instruction; something my district and school are pushing for. The second is "student ownership of assessment process" (Miller 2015). Giving students choice, options, and freedom allows students to take ownership and responsibility for doing something all while doing their best on it. In addition, students will know more about what is being asked of them or what they're supposed to do in order to earn a higher grade or preform the task more effectively. "These methods mean that assessment is no longer done to students, but with them, putting the focus on the student and learning" (Miller 2015). Hopefully with these implementations and integration, students can feel the focus from assessment scores to learning content and gaining understanding.

This article is useful when considering big picture assessment objectives. In my own experiences, I have touched upon each of these strategies when conducting an assessment, but I've never built each of them into one assessment. The (5) strategies mentioned in this article include: Aligning Essential questions at the beginning of a unit to standars, building in written assessment components for students to describe/explain in writing, creating performance and project-based assessments to demonstrate understanding and application of concepts taught, regular and on-going formative assessments and feeback to help teachers to better tailor instruction to meet each learner's needs, and involving students in the decision-making process when choosing activities and when determining diagnostic measurement tools. As a World Language teacher, I think that these tasks which are challenging in themselves to build into curriculum, become extremely difficult in the L2 setting. I'm wondering how L2 instructors find themselves doing each of these things on a regular basis. Do they conduct all of it in L2, as it is suggested that L2 teachers do, or does some of this end up being done in English?