21st Century Skills

I was very impressed by the website Partnership for 21st Century Skills. I think it is well thought out and innovative. I was saddened that my state is not a participant. I think education is far behind technology, and the ideas in this website could help to bring education closer to meeting the needs of technology in the workplace and in life.
I was surprised that Missouri was not a part of this project. I was also surprised that Illinois was a part of it. As I read through the Illinois’ site, I found that they are working on updating their state assessments. I really think Missouri needs to be working on that as well. I was pleasantly surprised that someone is working on updating those assessments.
I disagreed with some of the information in the rainbow and rings symbol on the home page. It was a pretty good depiction of things, except I do not think standards and assessments have caught up with the technology rainbow. Since this is a core support for the rainbow, I think it would have to come first. I think the assessments, in particular, state assessments, are way behind in this area (and in other areas). State assessments are just now going “on line” in Missouri and they do not really incorporate any technology other than that the traditional test is now online. It is the same format just available on the computer, now.
I also think the state tests neglect the collaboration component and possibly the creativity component. Technology is also not included in the state standards; in Missouri they are called Grade Level Expectations. I think we must rush to get these supports in place or the whole rainbow may fall. It is very important that our state standards and assessments get on board with technology and the new types of learning. Teachers must feel that their work in technology and collaboration is important. If this support was really in place, I think there would be less resistance from teachers to incorporate these necessary skills.
I think that students and educators need to embrace the idea of 21st century skills. Illinois had a wonderful idea of making sure the principals are on board with the program. This is a key component to making it work. No matter what I want to do as a teacher, I must have the support of my principal to truly feel successful. Principals are also the key to getting educators on board and to supporting students in their endeavors.
The second thing Illinois was doing was updating their state assessments. I think if we are going to work toward a broader view of education which will include more learning of technology and collaboration, we must update the state assessments. I am tired of state assessments that nearly demand we teach to them in order to get our state money, and also demand that we do not teach to them. There are so many things not taken into account. Things that are not tested are deemed as worthless, instead of essential education. These things, such as collaboration, computer knowledge, etc. may be the whole pillars of our future. I realize that state assessments cannot test everything. However, because of the new direction that learning for the workplace is taking us, we must update our assessment and the sooner, the better.
This site is an excellent source. I was disappointed that the professional development was already over. I could not have afforded to go to New York City for it anyway, but I wish there would be some professional development near me that I could attend. I am wondering how to go about getting my state involved. I wish the website had been more specific about what you can do to spur your state to join. It did give some information, but I am still not sure what I need to do as an educator to help this happen.

I teach 8th grade math. I think it is important for students to learn how to blog properly because it is becoming more and more a part of society. This will be a life skill. Since anyone can read blogs, students need to be aware that prospective colleges and even employers may be able to access their blogs to make decisions about who to accept or hire. Therefore, they should always put their best work on the web. This week I have chosen to use my blog for students to showcase their collaborative work. I created a private chat room with a password. I gave my students the directive of collaborating to decide what data they would collect to put into our data analysis lessons. But, they cannot talk to each other. They can only "chat." When they are finished collaborating, they must post to my blog what they have decided, as a group, to do to collect data. I gave them some ideas such as surveys, lunch room observations, and parking lot inspection. In the near future, I will have them collaborate on exactly what those ideas will mean. For example, if they choose a survey, the next step will be to collaborate on to whom the survey will be given and what questions we will use. I am excited about this new way to teach my lessons. It is easy to incorporate language and science in this lesson so that it is cross curricular. However, I think it is a little more difficult to come up with creative ways to use blogs in a math class than in a language course. I look forward to brainstorming more ideas and ways to incorporate technology in my classroom. I also welcome ideas from my readers. As I tell my class, all ideas are welcome here.

First blog

I am really not sure what I am doing. I thought I might post some difficulties I am having and see if anyone has any ideas to help. I teach a math class in which I have students with special needs. I only have 10 students, but the special needs in the class are very demanding. I have been presenting lessons with lots of activity and interaction. This is great for 8 of the students, but 2 of the students are having trouble focusing on the lesson and getting their assignments done. How do I continue to present the lessons in an interactive way (which is how we are supposed to design lessons now) and still meet the needs of the 2 students with attention problems?