STSD Curriculum & Technology Update

Regular updates and musings on curriculum and technology in the Salisbury Township School District in Allentown, PA.

21st Century Skills

Borrowing from fellow colleague STAR DEN Advisory Board Member Jennifer Dorman, I am including her research links for our learning community’s professional development.
* U.S. Department of Education National Education Technology Plan
* U.S. Department of Education Technolgy Evaluation and Research
* The Partnership for 21st Century Skills
* Noodle Tools 21st Century Literacies
* 21st Century Technology Support Project
* Landmarks for Schools
* enGauge: 21st Century Skills - Literacy in the Digital Age
* Skill Sets for the 21st Century
* The Evolving Definition of Literacy
* Big6 The Importance of Contemporary Literacy
* Teaching Information Literacy
* Learning in the Digital Age
* Preparing the Digital Generation for the Age of Innovation
* The Challenge of the Digital Age

Randy discussed enGauge in our initial meeting.  I thought if we shared a common list of resources, we might deconstruct our notion of “basics” in light of the what Pink [A Whole New Mind] calls the Conceptual Age.

Educational Change

I had blogged about this about a year ago on my own blog, but thought it worthwhile sharing here...

Renate Nummela Caine and Geoffrey Caine present some significant ideas about why and how our educational system thinking must change. In their article Understanding Why Education Must Change, the authors assert correctly that our students will be working in an era of communication, not in factories as was the case in the past. Our present system of education is based on a series of assumptions:

1. Only experts create knowledge.
2. Teachers deliver knowledge in the form of information.
3. Children are graded on how much of the information they have stored.

Our future system will need to be based on a new series of assumptions:

1. Dynamic knowledge ( the sort of knowledge that is naturally and spontaneously invoked in authentic interactions in the the real world) requires individual meaning making based upon multiple sources of information.
2. The role of educators is to facilitate the making of dynamic knowledge.
3. Dynamic knowledge is revealed through real world performance.

In regards to technology:

Also, if we consider what technology in the information era makes available to children and students, we find that trying to control knowledge the way we are used to is beginning to look like holding water in our hands. Information is available everywhere and in multiple forms, from complex software to 500 television channels to the world wide web. Not all children have access to every one of these, but not having access is already handicapping children now in school and will continue to do severe damage to their futures as the school years progress. This massive flow and availability of information, together with our new appreciation of just how interconnected the human brain is, will be for education to become much more complex. And that is precisely what is needed if we are to teach for dynamic rather than surface knowledge.

Classrooms for the Future

From the PA Department of Education - Education Hub web site:

“Classrooms for the Future is about recognizing and embracing the need for high school reform, enabling teachers to use technology as an effective tool for educating students, and preparing students to enter and successfully compete in the ever-expanding high-tech global marketplace.

This initiative will transform the way high school teachers teach and how students learn by providing $20 million to equip these schools’ English, math, science and social studies classrooms with enhanced technology, laptop computers and other state-of-the art resources.  Just as importantly, an additional $6 million in state and federal funds will be used to provide teachers and school leaders extensive training on how to best harness the power of technology to increase student achievement and ensure students are ready for college and the high-tech global job market.  All told, Classrooms for the Future will provide funds over the next three years so all high schools in Pennsylvania may participate in this initiative. ”

Are we ready for Classrooms for the Future? How will this impact our technology plan?

Talk about it in the discussion forum…

IM Talking Points

Should schools use instant messaging?

IM Talking Points

Talk about this in the discussion forum....