Hey everyone,
I hope everyone is doing well. I feel that I am running on empty this time of year. The days are getting longer, but I still can't find time to get everything done!
But, you didn't tune in to hear about my schedule, you want to know about what I think about the site The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Well...I will tell you.
I think that this site has the right idea. First, let me tell you that I am impressed with the list of partners on the site. Companies like Cisco, Dell, Intel, and Apple are all partners in this partnership. So, I think that the people involved in this site are legitimate. I believe that everyone involved has a stake in preparing students/future workers for working in the 21st Century.
I also think that the skills and core subjects that the site lists are on target. Learning and Innovation, Life and Career, Core subjects and Media/Technology skills are all important skills that our students need. The site also gives ideas for standards, assessments, learning environments, and professional development opportunities that can help teachers get their classrooms into the 21st Century mode.
But, as a teacher I did not find this very user friendly. Perhaps if I subscribed to the site, I would get some better information, but everything I saw was an overview of the program. I looked at some of the online resources, but I don't think that they were organized very well. Plus, some of them very not helpful at all.
So, this site has the right idea, but that is all it is, an idea. As a teacher, I not impressed or inspired to get into the 21st Century skills way of teaching. I have seen other sites with standards for technology that have been much more user friendly. If they cater more to teachers, then I think that I would get on board, but not quite yet.
Here is another site that I think might be just as, if not more helpful.
http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS
Let me know what you think!
Tyler
About Me
- The Winner Family
- I have been told, "the days are long, the years are short." I want my family to remember the exciting years of raising our four little winners, long days and all. There are so many moments of joy, stress, love, and plain old craziness that I want to be able to look back and laugh at it all. I also hope to share my crafts, games, faith formation ideas, and those all important mommy reflections. I am no writer, so please excuse the typos and general lack of creativity. Here we go...
Hi Tyler,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it is a bit skimpy on off the shelf ideas. NETS is much better for practical suggestions. The 21st century site is more theoretical, giving suggestions as to where the technology could take us if everyone had the resource.
I also like the idea that this is a cooperative effort between the business and education communities. It would be beneficial if they told us exactly what they are looking for.
This site definitely serves as a good outline of some great suggestions of things that need to be done. I liked being able to see what other states were doing as well as getting some ideas for professional development. As far as the sight being somewhere that educators can go to get specific lessons or specific ideas on integration...probably not the best resource. I agree with Tyler that it is not the most user-friendly site, but all in all, I did find it to be a great resource to get the ball rolling.
ReplyDeleteMagan
Tyler,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments about this website. It is a good idea and I like that there are groups out there pushing for a reform of our educational system.
The site may be a little more user friendly than what you think. If you click the big 21 on the left side of the page, it will take you to another page which gives you videos called "snapshots". The videos gives some real world exposure to what the group is trying to get across. Try it out.
Rob Winner