‘The Partnership for 21st Century Skills” website was designed with a vision of preparing our students to succeed as citizens and workers in the 21st century. When reading this week’s blog assignment, my first reaction was a shocking one. If this very important website exists, why then has it never been mentioned in my school district. As I read the information presented in the website, I was impressed by the organization and content of the information.
The information that surprised me from the website is that not every state is listed in the “How States are Integrating ICT Literacy into Schools.” (page 18-19) I am thinking that every state should be listed. I feel that when a teacher is viewing the website, it is a powerful statement to see your state listed. It also surprises me that the website was developed in 2002 and there is not a link to real world results. What I mean is if a school implemented the nine steps to build momentum,(page 20) “Were the results met?” “Did students succeed that went through the program?” Another surprising thing was the very detailed list about “How Key Stakeholders Can Support the Effort” (Page 24) Is there any research showing how public and private sectors have followed through with the website’s suggestions?
I did not disagree with anything on the website. As I stated above, I would just like to see an update as to if the plan works. I would also like to know if students are more prepared and succeeding at their jobs. It would be powerful to have some testimonials from students who went through the program.
The biggest implication for my students is to incorporate technology as much as possible in my daily lessons. For me as an educator, this is my vision for my students. The statement from pages 21 & 22 really made me think: “The power of core subjects and 21st century skills to make a difference in student learning is tempered by the fact that many students do not yet have access to them.” This was written in 2002, and here 7 years later, my students still do not have 21st century technology readily available to them in the classroom. As an educator, I need to come up with a plan to try and change this fact. I still have only 2 computers in my classroom. It seems that the majority of technology improvements that are made in my district happen in the middle school and high schools. This continues to be a challenge for educators to balance the teaching of basic skills and 21st century skills.
References:
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A report and mile guide for 21st century skills. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdf
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Julie,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! When I saw that the article was written in 2002, I immediately wondered if there were any statistics or articles regarding the success of the program. My school system seems to be similar to yours. We feel that most of the technology in the county is geared toward high school students. Elementary school is where it is needed to most because we are responsible for "exposing" the children to these technologies. Our technology instructor works part time and when she is at the school, it is very hard to get your students into the computer lab for a lesson. I remember sitting in classes as an elementary school student and learning how to type and playing Oregon Trail. Now the children are not even taught how to correctly type at my school. I hope that 21st century skills makes it into my county in the future. I would love to see Georgia on the website!
I feel like all three of us are on the same page. I wonder why my county has not heard of this when we have several positions at our central office dedicated to "technology integration". It seems to me that it is not only our classrooms that are behind but our districts!!
ReplyDeleteJennifer-
Oregan Trail was the best game ever! They actually have a new version available to use in the classroom.
Jennifer and Meghan,
ReplyDeleteHello! Yes, I noticed that we are all feeling the same frustrations about the intergration of technology. We just recently had back to school night, and the parents were told that 36 new computers were put in the lab. Then it was stated, “so that your children can have more contact with technology.” As I sat there thinking, “how does that happen when there are only so many open lab times in the day?” Somehow schools always make it sound like every year they increase technology time when in fact the exact same amount of time is still spent in the computer lab as 5 years ago.
This week I found an hour to bring my class to the lab. (I was supposed to be doing test prep during the block I went into the lab) My third grade students were estactic! I introducted them to the math website. I gave them an hour to explore the website. Then I asked them what they noticed. Their responses were amazing. I was proud that they knew exactly what was on the site. In addition to this, they also said things like, “I noticed the back arrow brings you back to the thing you did last.” I feel that they will be getting enough test prep for the May test rolls around.
Julie Budd
Ladies,
ReplyDeleteI noticed you guys were talking about technology classes in your school. Do you have a separate technology person who teaches?
For learning to type correctly, we have a program called Type2Learn. Most of the technology taught in our school is done by the media specialist/librarian. She does webquests, Type2Learn, Powerpoint and other tech skills with them in addition to book check out, etc. Does your library have anything similar? Who is responsible for most of the technology education done in your schools?
Tanya
PS. New Oregon Trail!?! What!?
Our school moved to a block schedule this year so that grade level teachers would have more to collaborate, however, as good as this is, we are struggling with all having reading at the same time and math, etc and when we do have a free moment to use the lab...we can't because other grades are in there everyday at the same time. So, even though I have 30 minutes everyday that I could integrate some technology...I can't because of the lab schedule. I am sure this is just growing pains, but it is frustrating.
ReplyDeleteWe also have the middle school and high school dilemma. We get their trickle down. :)
Julie,
ReplyDeleteFirst,let me applaude you for "going rogue" : ) and taking the class to the computer lab when you should have been doing something "important"!
We all need to do a little more of this. Structure is a good thing, but too much bogs down our creativity and our individuality.
The availability of technology, as well as the support and training, all seem to be issues with us. I can imagine that this is an issue in many, if not most, middle and lower class communities.
When I was at the middle school two years ago, the students participated in both Type to Learn and Oregon Trail, both wonderful tools. Being able to type efficiently and correctly is a very basic yet very important skill for ALL of our students, not just those going into some sort of business/secretarial type of work as in the past (ok, I'm dating myself!)
There is so much out there, my plan is to tackle one thing at a time... blogs or wikis or podcasts, etc... make mistakes,practice, colloborate, ask questions, revise, and start again. If I cannot learn what I need to learn to be a more effective teacher in the 21st century from my school district, I will learn the old fashioned way -- trial and error.
I was also shocked that the article was written 7 years ago and I have never heard of it. Testimonials would of been a nice addition to the website to see if the 21st century guidlines and standards are actually having a positive outcome in the classrooms.
ReplyDeleteIn response to everyone's discussion on technology labs and teachers, my school has a technology person but she does not teach the students. The regular education teachers are responsible for signing up to use the lab and doing our own instruction. It would be useful if she was responsible for this because I could even learn a few things from her. Instead her job consists of making sure everyone's equipment is working and who knows what else. :)
When reading your post I also found it interesting that this article was written almost ten years ago. Not much has been done within my district until just recently. I have been part of a technology grant developed by my district but the grant only involves a handful of teachers. I am surprised that these programs would not be more widespread. I try to teach my co-workers but there don't seem to be enough hours in the day!
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