While exploring the website "The Partnership for 21st Century Skills" I found myself very overwhelmed with the amount of information provided. I had a very hard time concentrating and thought the information repeated itself somewhat. It was useful however in the sense that it gave a good outline of what students today should be focusing on. One thing I was surprised to see was the very long list of sponsors. With so many major technological supporters, you would think this curruculum would be incorporated more so than it is, especially since the Department of Education is also a sponsor.
I agree that our students are not being prepared properly for the work place they are going to face when they graduate in five years or ten years. This website devises a good plan to allow educators and administrators to see where curriculum needs to be directed. As an educator, this site helps me see where education is heading or at least needs to head. Knowing this informaion allows me to "try" to get a head start to preparing my students for the 21st Century workplace.
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I can agree with what you say about not preparing the students for the 21st century. The students that I teach I know I am not preparing them for the 21st century. The curriculum that is being taught needs to be centered towards the integration of technology. I thought that the site was good and I thought that there were lots of resources there that I think would be very helpful for myself.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that students are not being prepared for the 21st century. With schools lacking in technology resources, it is difficult for teachers to integrate it into lessons. I really liked the framework for implementing these skills into today's classroom instruction. There were many valuable resources provided that I would like to spend more time exploring. If technology was readily available to my classroom and students, I would be able to implement more into my lessons. For the time being, I would like to include a technology station included in my station work so I am sure that students are building some of the skills needed to be successful in the future workplace.
ReplyDeleteI also found myself being overwhelmed and having to figure out what certain things meant on the website in the context that they were presented. The FAQ they offer was helpful, though, and I got a pretty good idea of what their goal is and how much work they are doing.
ReplyDeleteThe Department of Education sponsorship also puzzled me, and I figured since they have such a backing, that the program would be well on its way to becoming the standard. It's off to a good start in North Carolina and West Virginia, and hopefully the rest of the United States will follow suit and realize that the workplace today is not the same as it was a generation ago, and that work needs to be done so that our future generations are prepared for it.
I sometimes don't think that students are resistant to using technology, I think it is the type of technology that we incorporate that sometimes makes the difference. When we got our first mobile lab, everyone was all fired up about using laptops in the classroom and the kids were excited because it was something new. Since then, it has been three years, it is just not something that the kids really look forward to anymore, and the fact that you have to spend at least 15 minutes fixing all the laptops that someone screwed up that had checked it out previously.
ReplyDeleteI agree that society is leaning more towards the technology aspect, but I'm not sure what direction it is really headed in. Some jobs require a lot of technological know how, yet others, no so much. We shall find out...