APPLICATION 4
Partnership for 21st Century Skills
I was impressed with the reading sources available on the web site. It is easy to navigate and I like the drop downs at the top of the main page. It didn’t take long before I found an article which is of interest to me. The Middle School Journal was very informative. I teach at this level and printed a few copies for the teacher’s room.
I was surprised to see that the site consists of more then just a data base of reading resources. A great deal of time and effort was put into developing and maintaining this site. For example visitors are encouraged to join a Cyber Summit which will take place starting June 1st, it sounds like a good way to learn more about the 21st Century Skills Movement and how I could improve my teaching methods to support this.
I did notice that the site stress a particular point of view and does not leave much room for debate regarding some topics. For example Core Subjects are listed on the site, directly below is the 21st Century Themes that the creators of this site feel should be woven into the core subjects. As a teacher I always examine information objectively, using what I feel will be helpful and leaving out what I feel will not be beneficial to my students. Much of this is a matter of opinion and not a proven fact. The site seems to present some of the information as a proven fact and not just a suggested way of doing things.
The implications for students and teachers are that we will all need to adjust to the changing times. Teachers need to educate and evaluate their students differently. Students need to shift their thinking from personal to team oriented goals. It is obvious that students and teachers must become more “tech savvy”, however, this will not be enough. When our students enter the work force they will be expected to possess strong communication skills. Collaboration with coworkers will be an important part of most jobs.

Idea for using Blogs in my classroom

I teach computer technology classes to grades six through eight. The blog would be used for my eight grade classes.

I polled several 8th grade classes to see if many of them have used blogs as an instructional tool with other teachers, most have not done this. Considering most students are familuar with blogs but have not used them for instructional purposes I have decided to formulate a plan to start simple and then later create more detailed uses of the blog format. My reasoning behind this plan is to build the confidence of students and avoid possible frustration that may occur if students begin to struggle.

I will begin introducing my classes to blogs with an on line demonstration of how they work and what they can be used for in school. I am fortunate to have my computer linked to a projector which displayes what is on my monitor to a large screen in the front of class. Using the blog as a place for students to interact about content would be a good starting point. My plan would be to post questions on the blog which pertain to the week’s lesson that students are required to answer. To get them started they could begin during class and would be required to finish for homework. Most students do have access to the web at home, however, I would need to make modifications for those who do not. Untimately I would like to use the blog to publish student’s work. Several of their projects are digital files so this would work nicely.
The use of a blog in my class is a good tool for instructional content because it not only covers the particular assignment but also reinforces the use of computer skills such as web browsing, and word processing.

Using a blog will allow students to make up work they have missed due to absense from class. I see each class only twice per week so it is difficult for students to make up assignments. Using a blog to post projects would allow students and parents to see what is required. The blog could also be used as a way of posting exceptional projects; this could serve as a form of motivation to students. This will be a definite enhancement to my lesson.