I recently was researching a website about teaching 21st century skills in schools. The group, The Partnership for 21st Century Learning, suggests that schools need to enforce the skills students will need to live and work in the 21st century. The group discusses on their website that their is a disconnect between the skills taught in schools and the skills needed in our community and workplace. With their partnership, they work to help create a set of skills that allows to students to be well-rounded in all aspects. They discuss the importance of teaching the core subjects, life and career skills, learning and innovation skills, and information, media, and technology skills as an interconnected curriculum. I agree with everything this website suggests in order to help create more well-rounded students who are ready to live in our communities and work in our technologically advanced environment.
I feel that my students are at an advantage when it comes to this. I feel very fortunate that my students have the opportunity to use computers on a daily basis. They have recently learned how to email and blog. My students find these things to be "fun". Through their "fun", they are also learning many things. We are learning how to be professional online through email and blogs, how to edit our typing because others will read what we see, etc. I believe that as more new technologies are created, we need to incorporate them into our teaching, in order to help prepare our students.
Resources: www.21stcenturyskills.org
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Jacqueline,
ReplyDeleteYou make the perfect argument for integrating communication technology into the teaching of basic skills. This can have a dual benefit. On the one hand, students learn to adapt to new technologies. Even if these technologies are obsolete within the next few years, the adaptation skills they will learn in school (if they are constantly challenged with new technologies) will serve them throughout their academic and professional careers.
Another benefit will be that, unlike the generation before them, your students will learn how to use Internet communication tools in a guided academic context, rather than in an uncontrolled setting. Because of this, they will represent themselves better online, both in their content and in their presentation.
I teach many of my students the skills that are discussed on the 21st Century Skills website. Many of my students use the computer for entertainment and not to complete tasks that will help them in their future. We are expecting students to be techno-savvy because they are growing up in 2009 but many teachers are not taking the time to adequately prepare students by integrating these skills in the classroom. Students may know about new technology but they are often not professional in their communication when emailing/blogging.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post!
I too wonder if my students’ experiences with technology are preparing them for the skills needed in the 21st century? I also have computers in my classroom and the students are on them at least once a day. I usually use this time to support the other academic skills that I am teaching. I know that they are benefiting from simply using the technology but is there more I could be doing. Are we using the technology in our rooms in a similar way that they will need to use technology in the workforce? My students think of technology as "fun" because it is engaging and reminds them of their video games that they play constantly at home. I want to try to keep the fun so their interest will remain but also be sure that they are using the technology in a way the will benefit them in their future careers.
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