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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It's funny. As I read several of our colleague’s responses they all mentioned how few states are on the Route 21 page. I felt the same way!
ReplyDeleteI am in one of the states on the page, New Jersey. I'm not sure if it is just my naiveté, my district's technological awareness, or that NJ has just snuck in the 21st Century Standards without me even realizing! I wasn't surprised we were up there, as I know we have had technology standards for years, and have strove to integrate technology wherever possible. New Jersey is a leading state in education, and I was proud we were there, but integrating technology does not seem very new. Even when I was in elementary schools I recall my teacher having us do computer projects: power point presentations, research papers, brochures, etc. Nothing to the extent of what we all do now, but something.
Maybe it was just the districts I grew up in...
Regardless, I was also impressed with the amount of companies involved in this effort. THAT I haven’t been at all aware of. I’m not exactly sure the role of these companies, but I haven’t noticed any specific change in terms of Lego, HP, Ford, Pearson, etc.
I like your review on the Partnership for 21st century learning. You are right, the world is changing. I agree with you about how creativity is needed. In the Learning for the 21st century report and Mile Guide, there is a quote from the American Diplomacy Project. Part of it says, "One key competency that employers across-the-board value in employees is the ability to think creatively and logically in order to solve problems". Review www.publicschoolinsights.org/note/2343 and read, "Do We Have to Choose?" Scroll down to about the eighth paragraph and it reads, "We can probably kiss crucial subjects like history, literature and art goodbye if we can't make any case for transferable skills". This is a mighty scary thought for many of us. As the article says, I hope we don't. Forest Grove High School is a school that 21st century learning has found its way to. This school has embraced the three R's, rigor, relevance, and relationships. Checkout the success stories from the listed schools. I can only suggest, write in to my BOE of the great changes and to join them.
ReplyDeleteHi Erica & Victoria,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your responses! Erica, It's great that your schools in New Jersey are taking advantage of technology and using it as a learning tool. Some other posts I read were from our other colleagues who were from one of the states listed, but haven't seen this program in action. I remember mainly using PowerPoint in school. I wasn't introduced to a Smart Board until college.
Victoria, I will definitely have to check out the success stories. I might have just scanned over them. There is just so much on one website! I would like to see more states become members and join those success stories.
I too found it interesting that there are only a few states listed for the Route 21 website. I wonder when the other states will catch on. I also found the site easy to navigate. I found it interesting that there are people out there that know we need to get education into the 21st century. I like your statement about the fact that as teachers we are responsible for teaching our students for the world they will face. I am glad that my district is starting to get there though it seems slow, at least we are moving toward the right direction.
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