Skills and Dispositions for the 21st Century

I was impressed with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills website at http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ I liked the mission statement, which in summary stated: A collaboration of educator, businesses and government entities working together creating skill lists our children need for their future. I believe this is a very lofty concept. As I reviewed who the members of this organization were I thought their goal might be attainable. The site was very easy to move around; it had a number of PDF files that I could download for more information. The graphic designers did a professional job. I especially liked the graphic of the rainbow for the framework section.

Upon further exploration of the site my opinion sadly changed. I read through the different skills the authors felt students needed and my reaction was; When was the last time they had been in a classroom? The site breaks skills into 3 different subcategories: learning and innovation; Information, media, and technology; life and career skills. Within these categories there are different skills needed in order to be successful. Other than the information, media, and technology subcategory I believe those skills sets are embedded within our curriculum already. From my own experience, educators use the content they are teaching as a vehicle to drive the many skills needed such as: collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity.

Starting in 2002 the Partnership for 21st Century Skills have been working closely with 10 different States to meet the challenges outlined on this site for the 21st century student. The only problem I found was that there did not appear to be any follow up regarding the successes or challenges these States went through. The goals and innovative ideas are impressive but I could not locate a plan to implement them. I was pleased to note that the Partnership for 21st Century Skills did correlate their list of skills with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

I found the following quote on the ISTE site and it eloquently states how I want to instill these important skills to my students (Knezek, 2008).

"Teachers must become comfortable as co-learners with their students and with colleagues around the world. Today it is less about staying ahead and more about moving ahead as members of dynamic learning communities. The digital-age teaching professional must demonstrate a vision of technology infusion and develop the technology skills of others. These are the hallmarks of the new education leader."
—Don Knezek, ISTE CEO, 2008


References:
Knezek, D (2008). International Society for Technology in Education Retrieved January 24, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Retrieved January 24, 2009, from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/

Application 2: The 21st Century Communication Pathway

My first thought when we had to create a blog was ‘facebook’ or ‘my space’. I simply considered it a place for kids to unwind and chat with their friends. I have since changed my mind. When I compare a blog site to my class homepage I see it as a dynamic page that invites the world in to read and comment about your thoughts. It also gives the author the ability to maintain, update and add content. A blog site has many possibilities for a classroom. I have considered three different ways I might use a blog in my third grade class.

The first method would be a way for my students to showcase their work to the world. My second idea would be an on-going blog for my students to reflect either to a question of the week or an open reflection. I would also require my students to respond to their peers. The last idea would be for my parents. I would like to create a podcast resource page. It would also be a page my parents could ask me questions regarding homework, class field trips, and class work.

As an educator it is also my responsibility to teach my students the skills they need in order to interact appropriately. In the beginning of the year we would collaborate to create class rules. I will extend the collaboration to include web rules.

Kids love to show their work. It gives them pride in what they produce. By showcasing their work on the Internet it gives them a bigger audience and a new place to shine. I believe my students will try harder to create a perfect paper if they know others are going to read it. I think this will show my students the importance of proofreading their work and using proper grammar. Their work can also be showcased in many different ways. My students can create podcast and upload them, or they can type them and add their own flair by using different fonts and illustrations.

The Alaska grade level expectations (GLE’s) for third grade writing requires students to write on different topics, use a variety of forms, provide feedback to their peers and write to a specific audience. I believe my second idea about having a reflective page will be an effective place to practice these expectations. I will post a variety of questions that will address different cognitive skills. In order to give my students ownership of the ‘question of the week’ I can ask for their input.

My last idea is to have a resource page for my parents. At least once a week I have parents sending me notes or calling asking a variety questions. If I had a page with a podcast on classroom lessons as well as other comments my parents might get their answers in a timely manner. On this page I think it would be important to establish a time of day that I respond to questions. This page could become a managerial nightmare if I don’t establish ground rules.
I look forward to reading your ideas and getting feedback on my ideas.

Ups and Downs of Blogging

As some of you know, my school district had a snow/freeze day today. I figured it was a perfect day to work on application 2. I grabbed my coffee and headed up to my computer. I logged in to edublog.org and I was greeted with waiting.... and waiting... and waiting.

Finally, when I was about to give up the page popped up. I looked over application 2 and began to post my idea for how I was going to utilize a blog site within my classroom. I attempted to upload a podcast example of my idea. BIG MISTAKE! The site crashed and all that I had saved disappeared. I was not a happy blogger. I thought that maybe the freezing rain had done something to my connection.

I restarted my router and computer. A fresh cup of coffee later and I was ready to roll. Unfortunately the site was still DOWN! I decided that I was going to out-smart the blog site and typed my idea out in a word document while I waited for the site to come back up.

During this time I inquired on the message board if others in class were having the same issues and found out that some were. After a few more failed attempts at uploading I came to the conclusion that I needed a fresh start. HENCE the new blog location.

After hanging a few pictures and adding some cool gadgets (Thanks Melissa for your help) I'm back in business. Please adjust your URL to my new blog home.

Happy Birthday Alaska!

Last night my husband, youngest daughter and I celebrated with other Alaskans our 50th anniversary of statehood. It was a fantastic time ending with an awesome fireworks display. Not only is it Alaska's 50th anniversary it is also my schools 50th. To commemorate our school we are creating a school wide quilt, a time line, and will be having an alumni celebration in April. I have been trying to document the production and hopefully I will create a podcast to share.