One of the pieces of information that surprised me is the suggestion of portfolios to show future employers. I recently heard from a news program that a community job fair stressed to those looking for employment to focus their resumes on what they can do for the companies by which they want to become employed. Until now portfolios have brought to mind writing samples which hopefully show progression of writing abilities throughout a school year. I was impressed that the use of P21 content was made available to educators!
One of the things that concerns me is the money $$$ it will take to bring a 21st century Learning Environment even to affluent districts much less disadvantaged districts. Also, is all learning hands on or most? What basics like reading, writing, math skills, if any, are taught through traditional methods?
The implication for me and my students is that there will have to be a big change in the approach to content mastery. From the research, level of acceptable proficiency, to the assessment of these 21st century skills, a radical shift in learning responsibility will have to be embraced by my district first, then me, then the students.
This web site is invaluable to educators looking for practical ways to change teaching techniques to include technology and bolster much needed skills for our students.
It will definitely be a 'go to' site for me!
http://www.p21.org/index.php
Ooops!
ReplyDeleteBase Home page web address for this site is http://www.edutopia.org/
I too see money being an issue in the implementation of technology for 21st Century Skills in the classroom. Schools may have to have more business partnerships to access these technologies. I am seeing more charter schools popping up around the country that have successful programs. I don't know if this is the wave of the future or not.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that, "portfolios to show future employers" is an important lesson we can teach ourstudnts. Future employers are going to want to see concrete evidence of why they should hire you. Employers are going to remember the things you include in
ReplyDeleteyour portfolio longer than they’ll remember what you’ve put in your resume. These are skills that were not taught to me in school. What a great Language Arts lesson I coul make this for my class - even thogh they are only in 5th grade. It is a great lesson in communication - one of the 4
C's.
I also thought the site was pretty impressive and appreciated the examples of how to actually incorporate the skills. Although I agree that it will require a large investment to create 21st century learning environments, I know that my school has computers available that are not being adequately used. I also think it would be interesting to incorporate the use of MP3s or cell phones, since most kids, even in my school where over 90% of students are on free or reduced lunch, have them. Incorporating these skills is going to cost money, but I think the bigger challenges will be to change the attitudes of those with the power to affect change and to provide training so that teachers are able to use the technology.
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