The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

One of my assignments for grad school this week is to check out The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Basically, this is an organization whose goal is to re-focus K-12 curriculum to accentuate skills that will benefit students most in the 21st century. My initial reaction to this site (and the organization) was this that it had a righteous goal, but they probably would not influence any real change. I read through their framework that included traditional subjects (language, math, science, history, civics, and the arts) and supplemental subjects like economics, geography. Economics and geography are topics that are usually covered in some kind of history or social studies class, but the partnerships identifies these two as stand-alone subjects.

Something that surprised me about the curriculum was the absence of rigorous technological training. I assumed that a 21st century skill-set would be filled with computer and technical classes. The biggest surprise I experienced was the impressive list of strategic council members the partnership has. This is what changed my view of this organization from a fly-by-night group of educators trying to create change to a true partnership capable of revamping the US curriculum. The list of council members includes: Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, Ford, Hp, Verizon, and Disney. These companies are considered (at least by me) to be big players in the field of technology and add validity to the partnership's goals. With the support of these companies, I believe the partnership may have the ability to create real change in the education field.

The only issue I have with the partnership is that I am not seeing the effects of their work. I have never heard of 21st century skills until now. I feel like there must be more they could do to get their name/cause out to the educational community. It seems like teachers, principals, and school administrators would have to stubble across this website in order to know about it. I think the partnership should take a more aggressive approach to get their message heard. A direct mailing (or emailing) would help spread the word. Because they are not proposing radical changes to curriculum, I believe that most people in the education community would be likely to listen to the partnership.

Based on the mission statement from the site, I feel like any changes the partnership would make would be very beneficial to students. I agree with them that we need to start teaching students the skills and mindsets that they will need to be successful in a global future. Students would have no trouble at all adapting to more relevant instruction. Teachers, on the other hand, would most likely resist any type of change. I try to be flexible in my classroom and use a variety of methods of instruction. In my own instruction, I have made an effort to focus on using current technologies and methods of communicating. Hopefully the ideas of the Partnership for 21st century skills will catch on in schools across the US and our students will thrive in the future.

Check out the site for yourself:
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/

Classroom Blogging

When I first started thinking about the idea of using blogging as an instructional tool, because I teach English, my mind immediately went to novels. I love studying novels with my 7th and 8th graders. One of my favorite things is hearing their reactions and opinions about the story. When I have class discussions, I usually don't get too many students who really want to share. I am constantly pulling teeth to get students to respond.
If I had students blog their reactions and feelings about the novel, I would get more responses. Students would be able to post responses to prompts and then leave each other comments. This would enhance my lessons because discussions would be a lot more in depth and would not be constrained by classroom time. Also, I think many students would have more to share because they would have had time to formulate what they want to say rather than coming up with something on the spot in class. I think blogs are a great way to make classroom discussions deeper and more meaningful.

it's a good thing technology is everywhere

I experienced a recent computer failure that has helped illuminate two important points about technology;
1. We have become extremely reliant upon technology
2. Technology is extremely prevalent.

So my computer stopped working and I started freaking out. I had no way to check my email, get information, or participate in my online class. Once the initial panic wore off, I started to be bored. Usually I spend a considerable amount of time surfing the internet, emailing, facebooking, and watching hulu. This experience really showed me how much I have been relying on my computer.

Now the good news. Because we live in a society filled with computers and other technologies, my boredom did not last long. I pulled out my itouch and was able to check my email and get my web surfing fix. That held me over until the next day when I was able to log on at school and complete some schoolwork online. It took my computer breaking down for me to remember/realize the fact that technology is everywhere. I tend to think of my computer as the only way to go online, but this experience helped me to see the technology all around me that I often take for granted.

Welcome!

Thanks for checking out my blog. This blog is all about my experiences and views on education. Right now I am working as a teaching assistant who helps teachers intergrate technology into the classroom. Check back regularly as I am planning to update often.