I was surprised to be informed on areas in school such as health becoming a part of our literacy units. It is a great idea! In addition we are going to connect skills such as global awareness into our education system. It is amazing that so many areas in which are so hard to fit into the day, will hopefully be of an importance in our education system. N.C.L.B had us focused on the core subjects without expanding significance of the other areas we need to teach, and now with the 21st Century Framework we will.
Although we will be expanding the awareness of bringing more skills and concepts into the classroom, I do disagree about the expectations we will have from our student's families. How can we expect the families to invest money they may not have to purchase expensive technology ? How can we help students stay up-to-date with society without having to be left behind because of money issues? Perhaps we can have students visit the public library as daily as possible? The 21st century framework means that students will have to take action to stay in touch with technology and teachers have to "give assessments to measure student progress and create goals that align with these 21st century skills ( problem solving , critical thinking.)
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Yes indeed, the site is a bit overwhelming. My first thought was that they were overselling the obvious. I think that it is obvious to most that technology is not sashaying in to our lives, but screaming in like a runaway freight train. I think the problem is not convincing the schools, but finding the funds.
ReplyDeleteJohn, I am so glad you agree! To make technology a significant part of our world we need to make it worldwide and maybe more available. How can it be more available? Maybe affordable or some kind of discounts for schools? Before implementing technology into our standards, we need to make sure we have the "funds" as you stated.
ReplyDeleteVeronica,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the site though overwhelming is exciting with the new integration of topics into various subject already taught. I also agree with you that the lack of technology within homes can cause this new technology wave to hit a wall. Money for this technology wave is going to be an issue in many situations and it is frustrating especially in this country’s current economic state. However, I like your idea of overcoming some of these of these obstacles with ideas such as teaching students to utilize the public library in order to keep up to date with these 21st century skills.
Christine
Christine,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your nice remarks to my ideas and support on the topic of money being a problem. Let us hope that teachers motivate students to use their public library and have the money in the schools to model to our students how powerful the use of technology is...now ...and perhaps forever...
WoW! The website was very interesting and a over flowing with information. Since I teach in a city school district, the money is a HUGE problem. It is hard for the students to get new school supplies.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is a great idea to incorporate health into a program such as this one to push how important it is for them to be a healthy and productive citizen.
I agree that the website contains an overwhelming amount of information. I was impressed by the number of leading corporations that are members, such as Apple, Cisco, Dell, Intel, and Sun Microsystems. It is great to see leading technology companies taking a vested interest in promoting these skills to our students. I was also pleased to see that the state I reside and teach in, Illinois, was one of the eleven that currenlty has a state initiative with The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
ReplyDeleteI know in my district we have the same problem that a lot of other districts and that is that not all of the families living i nit can afford technology. When I started doing projects last year, if students did not finish i during school hours I did extend time they had. I tried to make them team or partner oriented so that if they did not have a computer or internet at home, they could go to a friends house or the library where internet access was free. It does make it difficult when the big push is for technology and its use, but not everyone has the same opportunity. I would like to see a push some day where we see schools offering laptops or something like it, just like some colleges have started to do for all incoming freshman. The district could even set up some type of lease program with Dell, IBM, Apple etc. If we are to succeed as a country as a whole we need to start doing things to help everyone!
ReplyDeleteMike!! I agree with you all the way...please run for government, you got my vote:)
ReplyDelete