The 21st Century version of Education

Apparently our schools are not only struggling to meet standarized test scores, but they also are not connecting our students to the 21st century as far as technology and collaboration. I have had the chance to explore the website http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/, which is a website that promotes the skills and technology that is needed for students to progress in the next phase of the workforce in the 21st century. In the mission of the site, the site mentions how our students are suffering a gap between knowledge and skills they aquire from school and the ones needed for the 21st century workplace. The site is a well organized site which promotes its own standards and thoughts about the content that should be presented and taught in schools to better prepare our students for the future. Our "good ole" core is intact along with creativity an innovation, critical thinking skills (which I believe most schools are emphasizing), communication and collaboration within the sites standard frameworks. There is also a direction to implement media literacy, implementing technology into the schools and pursuing life skills. Is this not a great idea to add to the core skills? Yes, our schools and students are falling far behind in the race to compete in the 21st century. So, in that regard, the 21st century site is attempting to inform its readers a very positive and needed strategy.

Do we see this helping our schools? Well, from the schools that I have taught in and visited, not really!! Why, well this is what the site fails to mention. There is a huge cost to add this amount of technology to schools, and now is not the time for school systems to increase the budget. The site also mentions through the "Route 21" link that teachers should be provided with effective training and support for 21st century skills in the classroom. Wow! The thought of learning how to use the technology and gain valuable lessons would be refreshing to most all teachers. Hopefully most schools are not telling them the same my system is doing, we have no money for professional developement.

Overall, the idea of developing our students for the 21st century is where we need to be. I like other educators around me, are worried that we are falling behind because of limits our administrations have on them with time, budgets, and test scores. I would recommend to review the site especially the frameworks because they go beyond the traditional standards and open our eyes to what we could have eventually have in the class.

Tim

Can we force our way through the blog barriers?

Until March 2nd, I honestly had not really thought of using blogs in my class. There can be a couple of reasons for this. One, I have been so focused on teaching standards, and two, every blog website at my school is blocked by "websense". I began to venture toward one of my favorite blogs, and the old blocked message of "social and networking" appears. While the idea of using blogs for student interaction with eighth graders is a pretty interesting thought, I simply can't at this point in time. Now, the question is what can I do to enable this for my students. I have spoken this week with the technology person at my school, and I was not surprised by the response of how we would open the system to myspace and facebook, etc. if we unblocked these sites. So, let's be optimistic and imagine we have the power to blog at school. What could the students gain from blogging about Georgia History? Would I gain a better perspective of the students thoughts? Would they work better together without the teacher looking over their shoulder? Blogging does have a real chance to enhance learing. The students could use it to have many debates over the Civil Rights movement, the reasons for the Civil War, and many other events within the content. I also feel that a class blog would be useful for students to simply exprees their thoughts about the class. What could help them learn and understand the content better? How would they change the way the class was structure? Although there are ways to use blogs for class purposes, the main challenge is breaking down the blog barriers? Any thoughts out their for this seemingly impossible task at the moment?!

Tim

Dazed and Confused with Technology

As a veteran teacher of twelve years, I have navigated my way through the era of handwritten report cards, vcr's, and overheads to emails, grades reported on the computer, learning Power Point, and using different software within the confines of the classroom. Now, I feel behind and overwelmed again when it comes to technology in the classroom. I am slowly learning how to use WebQuest and Smart boards, but the idea of using blogs, wiki pages, and podcast is blowing this "traditional" teachers mind. Hopefully, I can find some help and advice on how to deal with the new wave of technology that is entering our schools. The students are moving at a much faster pace than we are as veteran teachers. So, as I learn to blog, maybe some experts out there in cyperspace can give me an extra hand as I make this journey.

DrakeDawg1