What we need!

What do we need to teach our students to be successful in the 21st Century?



I think we need to have a positive frame of mind to teach our students. Many educators look at technology as daunting or difficult to implement so then they do not use the various forms of technology. Unfortunately they then are not helping students to be stronger learners. If educators don't give students exposure to 21st Century skills then they will not learn about or be prepared for what is out there in the world.



Take a look the Partnership for 21st Century Skills Framework. How could these be implemented in your classroom? What are the benefits of implementing these skills for your students?

I think starting small is a good way to get started with implementation. I would need to look at my students and see where they are and then add components as needed. They are doing well with the SMART board, computers, and searching on the Internet so it would be fun to now incorporate some other type of learning such as a blog or Think quest to advance their awareness of 21st Century skills. Also by incorporating daily life into our learning we can see how life and career skills are connected to what we are doing in our classroom. We had a discussion about iPods and they were amazed that I had one and used it often. I think it would be neat to put some school material on the iPod and bring it in and connect it to our SMART board and/or sound system.
I think one of the benefits to the implementation is having balanced well rounded students who are ready for the world around them.

Video Clip

Knowing you are one of many teachers a student like this will have in their educational career:How connected are you? Are you a 21st Century learner, teacher or both? What role do you play in supporting the 21st Century student?



I feel that I am just beginning to be connnected this year. After taking my first tech class at SLP this year and this cohort I have been introduced to many different mediums that are out there. I felt like this is the first year that I truly could incorporate techonology in my classroom.



I think I am a little of both, teacher and learner. I feel that I have started incorporating technology with my second graders, much more than I have in the past. Students are so curious of what we can do and the tools we use. I also think I am a learner, still finding out the new mediums to use and the jargon. I would love a teacher to show me all the different places that I could look at for information. I liked how the video clip solely used technology instead of a textbook. In addition I think it was awesome how someone can use webinars and podcasts to hear someone that is far away. That speaker or session could be so powerful.

I feel that I want to foster students curiousity about technology and have them see and work with it. I also think it is important to see me learn how to use it so they know that they won't be perfect at it right away and they will have to practice it. In addition, I want to ensure that they are safe when they do use knew technologies. I want them to have enjoyment, educational benefit, but I need to make sure they are safe as well.