Ms. McQuaid’s Technology Blog

Evaluating 21st Century Skills6

After spending some time exploring the website http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php for the class I am currently taking, I became very interested in the goals and the content of the website. I did not ever realize that a group like this existed. It seems to have the goals for technology education outlined pretty well. I like the fact that it supports NCLB, yet it also points out the parts that are ineffective (standardized testing using modern technology for quicker results to improve classroom practices immediately). The mission is very technology and future-motivating for teachers: “Serve as a catalyst to position 21st century skills at the center of US K-12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education, business, community and government leaders.” I believe that this mission is very forward leading and should be used to drive education and education legislation.

I was surprised that the department of education was a catalyst in building this site. I am also surprised that so many corporations are involved in supporting this site. It seems that they are becoming more active in supporting and advocating for 21^st century skills (information technology, critical and creative thinking skills, communication skills, etc.). I wonder, is this the right way to go about this? Do we want big business driving our schools and curriculums?

Although I found some of the supporters and articles surprising, I did not disagree with anything on the site. I agree with the advocating for teaching these skills in schools today. As a contemporary educator, I am glad that there is an organization out there fighting to bring technology into the schools and advocating technology becoming a larger part of the core curriculums. The implications of this are good for educators and students alike. Professional development will help teachers learn about the technologies necessary in the classroom to teach 21^st century skills. As far as my students, they will be enriched with the technology resources I can connect to through this site. While exploring the site I found many links to resources that will enhance my use of technology in the classroom. Route 21 http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/route21/ offers many articles and resources that will be useful to classroom teachers integrating technology into classrooms.

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Classroom Blog4

I am an 8^th grade English teacher and am currently contemplating ways to use a blog to enhance my classroom and lessons.

The unit that we just began working on has the theme of Responsibility. The students will be reading four different novels and working in literature circles to complete activities relating to the novels and the theme responsibility. Each day the students are assigned jobs and they work together in their literature circles to complete these jobs. At the conclusion of the literature circles the students complete a Socratic discussion about the books and they also complete an essay. I would like to use the blog in place of the discussion and perhaps even the essay.

In order to accomplish this, I would post the questions periodically throughout the week and the students would have a rubric to follow for their responses. This will allow the students to respond to each other while also working on their writing for a specific audience. A question that I would post would be: Explain how the theme of responsibility is reflected in your novel. Remember to reflect on the main character’s thoughts and actions.

The students would have the opportunity to respond to each other and note similarities and differences among the novels that they read. They also are practicing writing for different audiences, which is a theme in the writing curriculum throughout the 8^th grade.

I think that I still have to iron out some details such as more specific questions to ask and a rubric for responses. Any suggestions or recommendations are welcomed and appreciated!

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Welcome2

Welcome to my blog!

I hope to use this as a tool to communicate with other educators about using technology in the classroom and perhaps eventually to communicate with students.

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