My first reaction to this website was that it looked inviting and easy to navigate. The goal of this organization for education is to build collaborative partnerships among education, business, community, and government leaders. This is a site that I am going to have to continue to explore over time because it is a lot to take in all at once.
This site has a ton of useful information! I found a bunch of resources in the "tools and resources" tab and then clicked on "online tools." If you click on "Route 21," it takes you to links that show how "21st century skills can be supported through standards, professional development, assessments, and curriculum and instruction." The direct link for these resources is: Browse 21st Century Resources. The sites are rated using a star system. You can also browse by support system, skill, or knowledge.
Another important section of this site was the professional development assistance section. Here, there is a list of companies and organizations that provide administrator and educator training to states, districts, and schools. There also links to presentations and videos of presentations by the partnership. They have also put together a guide, called the "MILE Guide." This is a "guide for 21st Century Skills to assist educators and administrators in measuring the progress of their schools in defining, teaching and assessing 21st century skills."
Something that surprised me was the amount of resources available. This is something that all teachers can go to and benefit from. There are even lessons that include teacher and student plans, rubrics, presentation strategies, links to sites for worksheets, and reflection paper ideas! This is something that I feel I can definitely use in the future to benefit my students. There was another thing I found surprising. I was wondering if the states that are listed under "state initiatives" are the only ones involved in this program. That would be only 10. Why so few? Is there anyone reading this who lives in one of the states listed? If so, how is this partnership benefiting you and your students?
I didn't see anything on the site that I disagreed with yet. Everything seemed to be very well organized and relevant to the skills that will be needed for our students in the future. Did anyone one else find anything that they disagree with or found questionable?
This site has many of the same ideas that David Thornburg and Chris Dede speak about in the DVD presentation for my Integrating Technology class. In his presentation, "Skills for the 21st Century," Dr. Thornburg discusses 21st century skills. These included critical thinking/problem solving, oral and written communication, teamwork/collaboration, diversity, information technology, leadership, creativity and innovative thinking, life long learning, self-direction, professionalism, ethics, and social responsibility. Essential skills also include Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. P21 (Partnership for 21st Century Skills) outlines these same qualities on their website. I included a graphic representation of their framework below. In the framework, they are called outcomes and are listed as core subjects and 21st century themes, learning and innovation skills, information, media, and technology skills, and life and career skills. There are also support systems such as standards, assessment, curriculum and instruction, professional development, and learning environments.
After browsing this site, I get several implications for both my students and myself. Students need to be prepared for different types of jobs that will exist in the future. The world around us is shifting and changing, so we need to mold our education system to fit with that. Students are going to need different types of skills than before to be able to keep up with the competition and new technology out there. We as teachers also need to keep up with it. The future is calling for more creativity and that is what we need to instill in ourselves and our students.
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