Of course, some computer skills are valuable, like keyboarding, creating multimedia projects, manipulating programs they'd use in life and school,
"They can run an iPhone like a champ, or the iPads we have here at school. But they're not that exposed to keyboarding skills or using the mouse to move something up and down on a screen."
said her students have been honing their keyboarding skills while using an online curriculum for computer coding.
Using an online math program, they learn to move and click a mouse, and cut and paste text. As they move through the grades, they add more skills, integrated into their core-content study, Ms. Warr said.
"If we were trying to teach the tech skills in isolation, there would be a huge pushback [from teachers], but we integrate them into other subjects," Ms. Warr said.
But this has to start young so it builds. Teachers need help in how to make this happen seamlessly.
But because the Smarter Balanced assessment expects more "writing in one shot" online, he's encouraging teachers to shift their "quick writes" to the computer, he said.
A balance between the writing process (paper, revision) as we know it and quick writes on the computer
1st graders are starting with a free online game called Dance Mat, where they pick out letters one at a time, and work up to typing their names, Mr. Decker said. In 2nd grade, students begin using an online program called Type To Learn three times a week. Third and 4th graders continue it twice a week, and by 5th grade, it's down to weekly.
In this article, teachers and administrators share their desire to differentiate between computer skills that are test-based only and those that are actually life skills, too, and then figure out how to work those into the school day in a constructive way.
here’s a mismatch between the logic of participatory media and the still-reigning 20th-century model of management and organizations, with its emphasis on linear processes and control. Social media encourages horizontal collaboration
Corporate culture traditional leadership models still based on the ideals of industrialism- not unlike public education in the US. We need more horizontal classrooms.
The dynamics of social media amplify the need for qualities that have long been a staple of effective leadership
Not always a desirable attribute- instant communication can equal misinformation and inaccuracies. Take 24-7 news. Misinformation is often disseminated because of the pressure to get the information out quickly, rather than accurately.
n traditional corporate communications, consumption is a mostly passive act: you are pretty much left alone to make sense of messages and to assess their authenticity and credibility. In the social-media realm, information gets shared and commented on within seconds
Nice descriptions of what we are trying to prepare our students for in the work of work, especially with respect to desirable leadership traits and responsibilities in the business world.