What do we need to teach our students to be successful in the 21st Century? Take a look the Partnership for 21st Century Skills Framework.
After reading through the 21st century skills framework, I found many important skills that we should be teaching our students. I think some of the most important are the following: Creativity, Critical thinking, Collaboration and Problem Solving. In genreal, it seems that students need to be given many opportunities to figure things out with their peers using creativity, problem solving, and colaboration. Students should be taught the way to use technolgy as a means of doing these things. However, I think one of first skills that should be taught and one of the most important is the critical thinking skill. There is so much information through media for students to go through, they need to know how to determine if it is valid and reliable. They also need to consider the viewpoints being expressed, and any biases that may be present.
How could these be implemented in your classroom?
I think the skills presented in the 21st century skills framework can be implemented in a variety of ways. Studetns could be given researched based projects to work on that could include working with others to find a solution. While engaged in the project, students could be expected to use various forms of technology. Studnets could be doing real world activites that involve higher-level thinking while again using technology to assist their learning.
What are the benefits of implementing these skills for your students?
Elementary students will be prepared for later years of using technology and 21 century skills. Students will be ready for college and prepared for a professional job.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Video Reflection
How connected are you?
I think that this video is exciting. The amount of knowledge that is available instantaneously is astounding. The idea of learning through building a network on the internet, like demonstrated in the video, is the direction that education is headed. I feel that I am somewhat knowledgeable on "building a network" for the sake of learning, but admit to having a ways to go in some of the areas. I am very comfortable navigating through search engines, websites, data-base systems, video-clips, etc.. I am using resources through the internet more and more now in my teaching. However, blogging, video-conferencing, and other means of communication are somewhat new to me. Emailing is the primary way that I prefer to communicate with others through the internet.
Are you a 21st Century learner, teacher or both?
I have had experience learning through 21st century tools. The past couple summers, I have taken on-line courses through Hamline for my masters degree. The video some-what reminded me of those courses I took. A major requirement of all the courses was to frequently communicate with the other students in the class through an on-line system called Blackboard. We would reflect with each other on articles, websites, video-clips, assignments, and questions posed by the instructor. I never met any of the other students in the class or the instructor, but I learned a great deal from them! Many of the assignments required a lot of time put into researching, which I did primarily on-line. The instructor’s often reminded us to be critical thinkers as we performed our research, which I think is absolutely important to teach to students! The instructor’s role was definitely the "learning architect" and helped us with information management.
What role do you play in supporting the 21st century student?
I think my role as a second grade teacher is to expose students to the learning possibilities that technology offers and to utilize technology to increase student learning. The more comfortable they can get with technology at a young age, the more successful they will be in future grades. At this grade level, well probably any grade level, technology brings motivation for students., which is what I am learning this year. I am trying to use more technology in my teaching. I currently use the Smart Board, lab-tops, and the computer lab with students. However, I know that it is possible to do much more. I want to learn how to do more with my smart board, I feel that I have a ways to go before I am using it to its fullest potential. I would also like to try and get students going on another research activity using the computer lab and through implementing a technology center during guided reading time.
I think that this video is exciting. The amount of knowledge that is available instantaneously is astounding. The idea of learning through building a network on the internet, like demonstrated in the video, is the direction that education is headed. I feel that I am somewhat knowledgeable on "building a network" for the sake of learning, but admit to having a ways to go in some of the areas. I am very comfortable navigating through search engines, websites, data-base systems, video-clips, etc.. I am using resources through the internet more and more now in my teaching. However, blogging, video-conferencing, and other means of communication are somewhat new to me. Emailing is the primary way that I prefer to communicate with others through the internet.
Are you a 21st Century learner, teacher or both?
I have had experience learning through 21st century tools. The past couple summers, I have taken on-line courses through Hamline for my masters degree. The video some-what reminded me of those courses I took. A major requirement of all the courses was to frequently communicate with the other students in the class through an on-line system called Blackboard. We would reflect with each other on articles, websites, video-clips, assignments, and questions posed by the instructor. I never met any of the other students in the class or the instructor, but I learned a great deal from them! Many of the assignments required a lot of time put into researching, which I did primarily on-line. The instructor’s often reminded us to be critical thinkers as we performed our research, which I think is absolutely important to teach to students! The instructor’s role was definitely the "learning architect" and helped us with information management.
What role do you play in supporting the 21st century student?
I think my role as a second grade teacher is to expose students to the learning possibilities that technology offers and to utilize technology to increase student learning. The more comfortable they can get with technology at a young age, the more successful they will be in future grades. At this grade level, well probably any grade level, technology brings motivation for students., which is what I am learning this year. I am trying to use more technology in my teaching. I currently use the Smart Board, lab-tops, and the computer lab with students. However, I know that it is possible to do much more. I want to learn how to do more with my smart board, I feel that I have a ways to go before I am using it to its fullest potential. I would also like to try and get students going on another research activity using the computer lab and through implementing a technology center during guided reading time.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Best Smart Board Lesson
The best smart board lesson that I have done so far this year was playing addition basketball with the class. The lesson consisted of making a table on the smart board in-order to keep track of student points and using the dice interactive tool. Students had a chance to roll the dice, add the numbers with their team, and then mark a tally on the table. We kept track of each team points in each half and then found total game points. The game turned out to be a success. I also have used the create your dice tool for a similar vocabulary word game.
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