I recently took the time to research the website created by The Partnership for 21st Century Skills http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/. I am somewhat familiar with the purpose of this group and its initiative to better prepare students to not only succeed in classrooms of the future, but to prepare students to enter the 21st century workforce.
The web site provides lots of great resources – pages, videos clips, pictures, etc. But you have to look. It can be time consuming to look through all of the papers and files for the information you need, but the site does a good job of presenting ideas of how to teach “outside the box.”
Looking further, I was surprised that Colorado is not listed as a 21st century initiative state. After looking at the list of partner organizations, most of those companies have workforces based in Colorado. Our state prides itself on its high tech workforce and its military presence. I would have thought that Colorado would have been one of the first state of the list. I assumed that Colorado was on the list because teachers attended an inservice last year by this group. I did not realize that governor and the state department of Education are the driving force behind qualifying a state for initiative status.
Looking further, I was surprised that Colorado is not listed as a 21st century initiative state. After looking at the list of partner organizations, most of those companies have workforces based in Colorado. Our state prides itself on its high tech workforce and its military presence. I would have thought that Colorado would have been one of the first state of the list. I assumed that Colorado was on the list because teachers attended an inservice last year by this group. I did not realize that governor and the state department of Education are the driving force behind qualifying a state for initiative status.
While it is easy to think that students only learn while in the classroom, it is safe to say that just as much learning these days takes place outside the classroom as well. Students will rarely go home to hours of chores, they go home and “plug in” to the rest of the world. They are bombarded each and every day by hundreds of images, sights, and sounds of the world. Gone are the days of researching a paper or project in the bowels of the local library – using outdated encyclopedias. Students have access to the latest news, maps, and blogs of every corner of the globe. Remember when we were encouraged to write to pen pals in another country – and wait weeks for replies. Today it is possible to communicate in real time with another classroom thousands of miles away. Add a video camera and joint labs or music concerts can take place in front of a world-wide audience.
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I agree with you Todd that the days of researching a paper in the local library are gone. I was talking to the librarian in my school about that and she said that students do not use books and encyclopedias as we used to do, but they go directly online and get what they need in less time and have more updated information. I think that the book shelves in the library are going to decrease in number and space to give enough room to add more computers in the library.
ReplyDeleteNot only does the Internet make research faster and easier, it also makes plagiarism faster and easier. Instead of copying out of an encyclopedia or reference book, students "cut and paste" information and then submit it as their own work. I'm sure the ELA teachers address this topic regularly, but I also remind my students that plagiarism is a form of theft. They seem surprised when they receive a failing grade due to plagiarism. The technology that allows them to quickly cut and paste also allows me to find the exact source of the information. Rather than reviewing their annotated sources, all I have to do is type one of their phrases into Google and I am instantly directed to the exact page from which they copied. Some students just do not understand what is wrong with it. I remind my students that most colleges now require assignments to be submitted electronically so that they can be reviewed by a product such as "Turnitin". Being ethical is something that can be taught completely without technology, yet is crucial to the proper use of technology.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised at the amount of time my students spend "plugged in" every night. They spend 2-5 hours daily on social networking sites, instant messaging, or texting. They are learning to collaborate, communicate, and research on the internet without the help of educators. It seems we need to do a better job of incorporating those skills into our classrooms.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is interesting to see which states have made the list and which have not. It is interesting that The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has been in existence since 2002 and they do not have all, or at least more, states on board at this time. I believe I read a post from Deborah that said all of the states need to work together to accomplish this task and I agree. All 50 states, and our federal government, need to be looking more closely at how we can be servicing our students with what they need to be successful in the 21st century workplace.
ReplyDeleteTodd,
ReplyDeleteI find that I spend about 2 hours a day "social networking" on my computer. Our students spend about the same time, if not more, on the computer talking to their friends. It makes sense to think that our students also do most of their research and papers online. As a teacher, I need to know how to research articles so I can teach my students how to do that. Last year when I taught third grade I had to do just that. We studied the solar system and each student had to research his/her planet of choice and then put together a power point presentation. My students used library books, but did not use an encyclopedia. Everything has to be right at their finger tips or else they have no idea what to do.