It has been my experience that we all use terms such as learning, education and schooling. We assume we agree on their meaning but I do not think we truly have a shared understanding of these terms. There are also terms and phrases I wish would not be bantered about such as ‘21st Century Learning’. Does that mean we learn differently in this century than in previous ones? To me learning takes place in the mind. How we create understanding,…
I work as a technology integration specialist, an instructional coach if you will. Every year my role is different. The focus keeps changing and it takes on different dimensions. At times I am evangelist, troubleshooter, tinker, researcher, dreamer, clerk, record keeper, obstacle and teacher. As the summer begins I look back on the past year and the work I have done within my district and with educators outside the district. I am beginning to reflect on the highs and lows, strengths and weaknesses,…
I must admit that I do not like the term “21st Century” anything; learning, skills, literacy. Learning and thinking have not really changed, the tools may have, but not the process. I have been reading Benjamin Franklin’s Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pensilvania, Philadelphia, 1749. This document laid the ground work for the Academy of Philadelphia later to become the University of Pennsylvania. As I was reading I was looking at Franklin’s proposal for study and thinking…
There has bee a lots of discussion about what it means to be literate in the 21st Century and if there is such a thing as 21st century literacy. Ryan Bretag’s The Great Literacy Debate, Ben Gray’s post 21st century confusion and 21st century clarification. There have been discussions on twitter and plurk and these lead to Will Richardson coordinating an illuminate discussion of the topic. I have never been great with semantics but I do know there are many…
Teach 42 shared a video the Networked Student in Plain English. I think this is also an excellent example of the networked teacher. This illustrates very well how I work within my learning network and how we can continue to be life long learners in any area that we have interest. I believe teachers need to be similarly network to enhance their learning and to learn how to effectively use these tools to support student learning. I will be sharing…
I spent a wonderful 3 days at Sturbridge, MA. The pre-conference day of discovery was a fun event and Dennis Swain out did himself inspiring the teachers in attendance on how to use Discovery Education Streaming. He also brought with him some wonderful STAR educators to share their expertise. The next 2 days were devoted to the MassCUE annual conference. Our first keynote speaker was Wesley Fryer. He spoke to the differences in today’s students, the importance of 21st century…
Friday I attended an Apple Roadshow, which highlighted best practices in a one-to-one environment and was reminded of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. A while back I looked at this site, but never really spent any time with it. One of the resources they have put together is Route 21. Route 21 contains ideas and materials for implementing new skills and tools into regular classroom instruction. It is well worth a look, there are many good and practical suggestions…