21st Century Learning

Educators are being asked to include more 21st-century skills in their teaching, but many schools limit access to the Internet and other tools they need to do so, says Meg Ormiston, a schools technology consultant. In this interview, she argues that teachers are likely to cut back on technology use if they are constantly blocked from the tools and sites they need. Districts should trust teachers to use the sites appropriately and teach students how to use the Internet responsibly, she says.
It's time to Trust Teachers
What do you think? How is limited access impacting you or teachers in your school? Do you see any challenges if access is opened up to sites like Facebook and UTube? How could we deal with those issues?

Here are two interesting articles about using social media in schools:
A Case for Social Media in Schools
A year after seventh grade teacher Elizabeth Delmatoff started a pilot social media program in her Portland, Oregon classroom, 20% of students school-wide were completing extra assignments for no credit, grades had gone up more than 50%, and chronic absenteeism was reduced by more than a third. For the first time in its history, the school met its adequate yearly progress goal for absenteeism.

Facebook:Our rationale for creating a Facebook page for our school is to “Go where our parents are.” Read more about this.

What do you think about teachers and administrators using social media and Facebook in school?

Read Betsy Ray's Blog About Getting Rid of Text Books

Getting rid of text books. What would this mean for classroom instruction? How would it increase student engagement? Would it really work? What are the challenges?
What do you think?

The most populous state in the US is the first to take on this complicated initiative. What do you think about online text books, is it the way of the future? Are printed text books redundant? What about open source text books? Are they a reliable resource? What about the quality control?

Read about Why California is Embracing Open source Text Books

ITunes is not just a website used to download the latest pop song, it's also providing educators with free resources for professional development.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced the launch of the California Department of Education on iTunes U, a dedicated area within the iTunes store.
Read More

According to George Lucas, founder of Edutopia, 'It’s time to have a conversation about what's right in our schools, what's working. Educators are dedicating themselves to providing their students with a high quality 21st century education, and using new technologies to make it happen.'
Click here for the blog.

What are you doing right in your school? How are you using technology to support high quality 21st century education? How can you improve? How do you see this improvement happening?

A Web 2.0 Class: Students Learn 21st Century Skills, Collaboration, and Digital Citizenship

Students in Van Meter, Iowa, Burlington, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania are experiencing education in a new room. Yes, they still go to class in a building, with walls, doors, and windows, but there is something different about these three classrooms. They are all connected. The classroom is flat. The class is designed to teach Web 2.0 skills, digital citizenship, personal network building, and social media responsibility and practice.Click here for the article.

What do you think about this? Is it a waste of academic time? Could you see this happening in your school? Don't forget to read the student comments at the end.

What do you think about cell phones in the classroom? This article highlights the potential benefits:
Cell  Phones Have Much Potential in Classrooms

Here's an interesting article. What's your take on this question?
Teaching To a Test