Partnership for 21st Century Skills website (http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/) takes a little bit of exploring to find the gems but is definitely worth the time. I did not see anything in particular that I disagreed with on the website. I was surprised to see that one of the partners was Appalachian Technology in Education Consortium because when you think of Appalachian you think of a very rural area with very little technology. At first glance it gives the appearance that it is focused towards administrators of districts and states however there are some great resources for teachers.
The most useful information for teachers was found under tools and resources labeled as Route 21 and Video 21. Route 21 has links that can be browsed by support systems, skills or knowledge. Under support systems I found an assessment tool for math that upon further exploration may be useful in my class. Under knowledge I found a link to MIT with a game that teaches pre-algebra and algebra concepts through a video game format. This is not the typical video game where solving math problems get you a reward at the end but are embedded throughout the game. I can use it as a full game with the students or can break it into parts and coordinate it with the pacing of my curriculum. Video 21 provided video lessons of teachers using technology in their classroom. This is a very valuable tool because as educators we rarely get to see others teach much less use technology within our subject area.
As an educator I gained a valuable resource for finding new creative and innovative ways to integrate technology into my classroom. Not only can I view how others are using technology but in ways beyond what I am currently using. I have online learning in my classroom and the use of some programs but am looking at advancing my ability of using technology and incorporating the technology literacy’s the students need to learn. As I increase my knowledge students should not only grow within their math skills but their ability to interface with technology. This is crucial since I teach eighth grade and the students are suppose to be technology literate by the end of eighth grade.
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I agree that Route 21 and video tools were good resources for developing your teaching skills to address 21st century skills. I was impressed that the videos covered all grades K-12 and every content area classrooms.
ReplyDeleteThere are indeed several very good reading materials and teacher resources on the site. I read with great interest an article by Douglas B. Reeves entitled, "Three Challenges for Education Leaders". He detailed several of the challenges that educators face as they try to implement the the 21st century skills. Please take a read.
ReplyDeleteThe ability to view other teachers in the classroom and utilizing technology is definetly a useful resource that the 21st Century web site provides. I am a technology teacher so I am always looking for different ways to implement content areas into technology lessons. I am just concerned for school districts who have computer labs but depend on the classroom teachers to soley address and prepare students for 21st century skills. Are teachers prepared to take on this monumental task and will they get enough support from adminstrators?
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