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Thank you in advance for sharing your ideas. There is always room for additional strategies and lessons to enhance the learning of our students.

Friday, March 25, 2011

21st Century Readiness

Are we preparing our students for the 21st Century world that they will enter after graduation? As educators we need to do a self-evaluation or inventory and ask ourselves this question. The world of technology is among us and competition in the workforce will encounter the use of technology. There are so many initiatives in place to assist educators and prepare them for the 21st Century classroom. I recently visited the Partnership for 21st Century Skills web page, http://www.p21.org/ . This organization has a central focus and commitment for the readiness of students. Members of this group focus on fusing the 3 R's and 4 C's in education. We know the 3 R's as reading, writing and arithmetic. The 4 C's consist of critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity. These are areas critical to building a foundation for our students.

Many educators are apprehensive about using technology in the classroom. P21provides numerous professional development opportunities for educators and others wanting to know more about 21st Century learning. Even if conferences are missed, there is still an opportunity to receive the information, as there is an open link to missed conferences. There are additional resources available for view, which support 21st Century Readiness. One which I found very informative was the Connection to Common Core Standards for Math and ELA (English Language Arts).

I was still a bit curious; therefore, I did another search and found a blog by Adam Shamer. The blog is quite interesting as it supports the efforts of P21. He speaks on the chart that P21 uses to explain student outcomes and support systems:

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Adam's blog site is http://blog.entrepreneurthearts.com/2010/05/06/the-four-cs-of-21st-century-education/ .

These are excellent sites to keep us abreast of 21st Century learning. Students will benefit as well as educators.

Do you feel that the use of technology will enhance classroom experiences and prepare students for the world ahead of them?
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2 comments:

  1. Yian KongMarch 25, 2011 at 3:58 PM

    Technology has made many things possible. Just to name a few, computer testing is gradually replaced pencil and paper mode of assessment, use of web 2.0 tools such as blog, wiki to aid teaching and learning, use of skype and other instant messaging applications enables communication and collaboration around the globe anytime anywhere true, use of internet brings learning beyond the four walls of the classroom. Usage and evolution of these technologies shows no sign of slowing down. Thus, I strongly feel that technology will enhance classroom experiences and prepare students for the world ahead.

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  2. KimMarch 27, 2011 at 6:42 PM

    Yian you are correct. Technology will not slow down. As you mentioned testing is now being administered online. We are in the process of preparing our students to take the state assessments online. The teachers are more nervous than the students. The students are excited about the change. Soon almost everything will involve technology of some sort.

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