Partnership for 21st Century Skills

The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills website is quite an eye-opener. I did not realize how much thought had gone into this from either a business or an educational standpoint. Some of the most surprising information on the website is the careful and thoughtful science behind the talented people addressing this issue. It is supported by a wealth of documentation, news, and expert analysis. Another surprising aspect is the number of states which have demonstrated their commitment by planning and submitting those plans to the Partnership to be named Leadership States. Only eleven! And my state, Ohio, is not among them. It is alarming. I know Ohio has technology standards for K-12 but I am unclear on whose responsibility it is to implement them. Does it fall to regular classroom teachers or a technology teacher? How can we be sure they are all being addressed adequately or appropriately?

I did not know there was legislation pending at a federal level to provide matching federal funds for states that encourage and plan for 21^st Century skills like creativity and critical thinking. The 21^st Century Skill Incentive Fund Act is summarized here. It is ambitious and relevant! I encourage everyone to read it. According to this document, thirteen states have adopted the 21^st Century Framework which details specific student outcomes and support systems to prepare students for global and technical literacy required in our increasingly connected society.

If I disagree with anything on this site it is the lack of exposure. How did I not know anything about this? I just completed my teaching license in June of 2008 and this is the first real hard evidence that I have seen addressing these very important issues. How are people being directed to this information? How do we get the word out?

The implication for my students is enormous. They will have to assume responsibility for much more than learning answers in their lives. They will have to learn to ask the questions, find information, evaluate sources, and construct new information. As a contemporary teacher, I am on the hook to give them not just the actual nuts-and-bolts skills to do this, but the desire and disposition that they CAN and SHOULD. Too often students wait to be told. We need to start right now building a generation of inquiring and active students!

Reference:

(n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2009, from Partnership for 21st Century Skills: http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php

World History Blog: Free European History Courses

My coursework at Walden on the impact of technology in education covers the wealth of opportunities to access information and education via the web. Here are some specific examples from fellow blogger, Dr. Miland Brown.

World History Blog: Free European History Courses

A wiki here, a wiki there

Our class at Walden University is working on wikis! Here is the link for my group's endeavor, Wiktacular! Below you can navigate to another masterpiece of technological genius being developed by some of my classmates called EduTechReview.

You’ve Seen the Blog Now Check Out the Wiki! | Keila's Tech Trek

Posted using ShareThis

Brad Paisley's Welcome to the Future

When I was ten years old,
I remember thinkin' how cool it would be,
When we were goin' on an eight hour drive,
If I could just watch T.V.

And I'd have given anything
To have my own PacMan game at home.
I used to have to get a ride down to the arcade;
Now I've got it on my phone.

He-e-ey...
Glory glory hallelujah.
Welcome to the future.

My grandpa was in World War II,
He fought against the Japanese.
He wrote a hundred letters to my grandma;
Mailed em from his base in the Philippines.

I wish they could see this now,
Where they say this change can go.
Cause I was on a video chat this morning
With a company in Tokyo.

He-e-ey...
Everyday is a revolution.
Welcome to the future.

He-e-ey...
Look around it's all so clear.
He-e-ey...
Wherever we would go and well we...
He-e-ey...
So many things I never thought I'd see...
Happening right in front of me.

I had a friend in school,
Running-back on a football team,
They burned a cross in his front yard
For asking out the home-coming queen.

I thought about him today,
Everybody who's seen what he's seen,
From a woman on a bus
To a man with a dream.

He-e-ey...
Wake up Martin Luther.
Welcome to the future.
He-e-ey...
Glory glory hallelujah.
Welcome to the future.

Technology, can we enjoy life without it?

I am lately returned from a long family reunion in the WV mountains. As I am currently enrolled in a course at Walden University focused on the impact of technology on society and education, this trip was appropriately addressing just that topic. Our hosts supplied a wonderful view, a fabulous fare, and good company. They did not, however, supply the dozens of family with any reliable technology. In fact, the literature detailing the event carried the following disclaimer:

“Please Note: There is no cell service at the farm. No carrier at all. Really! The last opportunity you will have to use your cell phones is in Elkins, an hour north of our location.”

Needless to say, even being told this ahead of time, many guests did not believe it. An hour?! That is a pretty big dead zone. No carrier?! Well, certainly Alltel or Verizon or so-and-so has coverage there, we thought. Alas, it was true. Over a week with no cell phone was a difficult adjustment for many of us! Internet service was doggedly slow and intermittent. We had to get our news from CNN instead of cnn.com. Who among us can remember being so isolated, feeling cut off from our loved ones and the steady stream of input we typically enjoy? Many in our party struggled with knowing the time. Several guests did not even own a wristwatch because they had come to rely on the cell phone as their personal timepiece. I found this particularly entertaining. Dr. Thornburg discusses the surprising uses of the cell phone as a camera, mp3 player, etc. Here it is at its most extreme. We can follow Dr. Thornburg’s evolution of the clock to where we have people continuing to charge and carry a cell phone that can’t even be used to make a phone call only to know the time! (Laureate Education, 2008)

As I reflect on my time in the dead zone, I see the implications for using technology in the classroom as a bigger challenge than I did previously. When we rely on the technology, it is so much more difficult to do without it. I want to incorporate technology, but not as a replacement for basic skills. I always tell my own children that SpellCheck is not a substitute for knowing how to spell. Similarly, I would want my students to be considering sources beyond those available electronically.

One of the first things I would like to introduce to my students is a literature blog. As a social studies teacher, I find the volume of historical literature to be so rich, that I can hardly keep up with my own reading list. What I would like to do is provide my students with a list of recommended historical works, fiction and non-fiction from which they would choose a book to read. Over the course of the grading period, they would have required blog entries to share the book with their classmates discussing the historical period or event, basic plot, favorite part, their recommendation or not, etc. Over the course of the nine weeks, the students would have ample time to read and share without overwhelming the regular curriculum. Each grading period, they would choose another title and repeat the process. The literature blog would serve a dual purpose. It would allow them the class to practice writing and reading appropriate blog entries and also reinforce the value of reading actual books made out of wood pulp. The best of both worlds!

A Book in Time website has a great list of suggested non-fiction titles separated into World History and American History categories, and then further broken down into period and topic. A good selection of historical fiction titles for secondary students can be found here.

Reference:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Program Four. Technology and Society. [Motion Picture]. Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore: Author

Introduction

I'm Carrye DeCrane.

I am a new teacher. After many years as a programmer and software trainer in corporate America, I finally earned my 7-12 Social Studies license only this past summer. I have been a substitute teacher since September. Substituting is illuminating! I learn a lot about what works and what doesn't just by visiting different schools and classrooms. While I don't have a lot of secondary experience, I do know a thing or two about students who struggle with reading. Whether it's a software manual or a dense history text, my goal has always been finding new ways to help students get through the material successfully. In this increasingly technological world, the meaning of literacy is expanding and I hope to help my students keep pace with strategies they can use not only in American history, but all their subjects.