21st Century Skills

We are now one decade into the 21st Century and we are still having the conversation about how and when we will incorporate 21st Century Skills into our  educational curricula. It does seem that many of the other aspects of our life have changed in much greater ways over the last ten years. We take for granted that we can access online banking, streaming movies on demand, HD television, iPods, social networking, personalized DNA mapping, etc. So what has changed in the schools?

Quite a bit actually. For example, we now see interactive whiteboards, 1:1 laptop initiatives, adaptive computer programs for individualized learning, virtual high school, online video and content subscriptions, student response systems, and robotics courses. Technology budgets are  growing and myriad uses of technology can be observed at every level of the educational system.

Although a crucial piece of the puzzle, technology alone does not create a 21st century learning environment. 21 Century Skills: Learning for Life In Our Times is a great primer for those who want to understand what exactly 21st Century Skills are, and why they are important to the economic survival of our country. A strong foundation of 21st century skills is important for anyone that hopes to compete for the intellectual jobs of the 21st century.

Framework of 21st Century Skills:

• Learning and Innovation Skills – Creativity and Innovation, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Communication and Collaboration
• Digital Literacy Skills - Information Literacy, Media Literacy, and Information and Communications Technology Literacy
• Career and Life Skills – Flexibility and Adaptability, Initiative and Self-Direction, Social and Cross-Cultural Skills, Productivity and Accountability, Leadership and Responsibility

To teach students these new skills, our instructional models must change. We need our students to become active participants in the planning and management of their academic assignments. To succeed in this new economy one must be know how to be a learner. The wealth of resources and “just in time” learning opportunities is lost on someone who does not know how to guide their own learning. To some it up in a quote by Eric Hoffer, “In times of change learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”

The types of activities that combine 21st century skills with core academic activities focus on solving real world problems by working in groups and collaborating with people in remote locations by using information and communication technologies. An excellent example of 21st Century learning would be the SARS project. Six high school students from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Singapore, the Netherlands, Cairo, and the USA, worked together to plan, create, and deliver a web site for use by other students on a topic they really cared about- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The skills needed to bridge time barriers, language barriers, and select the appropriate technologies to complete this authentic task are the very skills employers of the 21st Century will be looking for.

The World Is Open

What an exciting time to be involved in education! I just finished reading The World Is Open by Curtis J. Bonk. The book is based on the premise that we all learn. And, we all learn in very different ways. The web affords us all an opportunity for customized learning. The WE-ALL-LEARN philosophy presented by Bonk is presented in a series of openers:

• Web Searching in the World of E-Books
• E-Learning and Blended Learning
• Availability of Open Source and Free Software
• Leveraged Resources and OpenCourseWare
• Learning Object Repositories and Portals
• Learner Participation in Open Information Communities
• Electronic Collaboration
• Alternate Reality Learning
• Real-time Mobility and Portability
• Networks of Personalized Learning

The possibilities are mind boggling when one considers all of the learning options both formal and informal that are available these days. A person can stitch together a world class education without enrolling in any accredited programs. Geography does not impede education and economic opportunities for those that are connected.

The plethora of distance learning opportunities are forcing our educational institutions to consider alternatives to traditional assessment, course delivery, and teacher-led classroom instruction. The controlled and supported enterprise of licensed software is slowly eroding and giving way to cheaper and more individualized open source alternatives. Professional development and teacher training is also changing as more individuals embrace the “just in time” resources of the web and develop individual strategies for improving their tech skills rather than depending upon faculty presentations and one-size-fits-all delivery models.

Perhaps the most thought-provoking topic in this book is the revelation that we are moving to a m-learning model. A learning model that embraces not laptops, but mobile cell phones. Countries like Japan and Korea are already using their cell phones for this purpose. Poorer countries in South America and Africa are leap-frogging past laptops and going straight to the cheaper mobile approach as well. ACU in Texas gives away iPhones to incoming freshman and expects them to be used for both administrative and educational purposes. Many top universities make all of their lectures available for download from iTunes University. Where is this headed? What is the impact on K-12 education?

As with any fast paced technological change, we are trying to catch up. The driver of all decisions should be based on learning and  improved student achievement. It will take the collective effort of educators, administrators, school board members, students, and community members to develop a thoughtful and responsible approach to education in the 21st century.

Not all is rosy as we enter what Bonk refers to as a “renaissance of learning.” We need to consider solutions for those with limited or no web access, ethical technology usage, the quality of online programming, new forms of cheating, copyright rules and piracy, universal access for learners with disabilities, teacher training, and rigor and relevance for students. We must choose wisely as we move forward in this uncharted educational landscape.

Technology in the Elementary Schools

Check out this recent article in the Kennebunk Post highlighting the use of instructional technology at KES. I think it underscores three very important principles to successful technology integration: efficiency for teachers, engaging activities for the students, and effective delivery modes tested and proven in the classroom environment.

Efficiency: Individual teachers can benefit from a collective effort. Every classroom has a Smartboard. Every grade level teacher covers the same required Maine Learning Results. Add a laptop and a shared network and what happens? Shared resources, collaboration, and individual teachers who help their peers by creating and sharing content that is proven successful.

Engagement: Students love to be involved in the environment around them. Technology in the form of interactive whiteboards, math mats, desktops, laptops, Wii games, etc stimulates their interest and encourages them to have fun learning.

Effective Delivery: A solid foundation of teaching methods, education philosophy, content expertise, 21st century skills, and brain-based learning awareness is needed to develop a great curriculum experience in today’s elementary classroom. It’s happening in the RSU 21 schools every day.

Technology Presentation

This is a pdf of the technology presentation I made to the RSU 21 School Board on December 12, 2009. Topics discussed include: Challenges, Trends, and 1:1 Planning.

Siftables

Siftables are cookie-sized computers with motion sensing, neighbor detection, graphical display, and wireless communication. They act in concert to form a single interface: users physically manipulate them – piling, grouping, sorting – to interact with digital information and media. Siftables are a creation of the MIT Media Lab.

Can you imagine possible applications for these tangible computer blocks in the classroom? The mesh between physical interface and digital content is part of what made the iPhone so successful. Users like things that are intuitive and easy to grasp. No pun intended.

Changing Educational Media

Printed textbooks are likely to disappear from the supply closets of our schools in coming years. Standards for ‘Universal Design for Learning’ are being developed and implemented across the United States. Recently, NIMAS (National Instructional Media Accessibility Standards) legislation was passed that requires textbook companies to make digital XML formatted files available for use by students with a print disability. These digital files can then be used to present the media in many different formats – text to speech, ASL, large print, multiple device formats, etc.

Now that textbook companies are forced to comply with this law, some of them are considering offering both digital and print copies of their titles to all students. Pearson is one of the major publishers to step forward and begin offering this new format. For educators, this introduces a new level of flexibility that can be leveraged to meet the needs of diverse learners.

CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology) is working with Google to make book titles available in the XML format for all to access online. They have also begun to put together resources that illustrate techniques in which the XML file format can be customized to include tutorials, vocabulary links, Google maps, and reading comprehension tips for learners. The possibilities to truly differentiate one type of media for multiple types of learners is here.

We are seeing an increasing use of wiki platforms, videos and other online resources in the classroom. What will the role of the textbook be as we look into the future? CK-12 believes it may look like something this. There vision is a community of free materials that can be collected edited and used by teachers and students. These edits can include pictures, links, mathematical formulas, and text. And, it can all be accessed online 24/7.

This new type of online textbook will remain dynamic and fluid. As new information is discovered it can be added, as new resources are found they can be shared, and students will be studying relevant and up-to-date materials that can be customized by their teachers for maximum effect. These tools are also being offered for free. These ideas are driving the textbook policy changes in California.

Learning and the Brain: Part 2

Multi-tasking is a myth. I heard it over and over again during the sessions I attended. Yes, you can do more than one thing at a time. However, you cannot perform any of the multiple tasks at 100%. You can talk on the phone and drive, but both your conversation and your driving will suffer impairment. (One study found that texting or talking on the phone while driving is 4 times more of a distraction and dangerous than being legally inebriated.) You can listen to music, chat online, and do your homework- but your homework will suffer as a result.

So what does this mean to those of us in a technology-rich world with multiple digital distractions at our students finger tips? It means we must have eyes up and lids down at times, clear expectations for our students concerning the use of electronic devices during class, and above all- we must have challenging and engaging lessons that require the full attention of our students. One of the lecturers suggested going as far as giving students a 5-minute “text break” to catch up on cell phone messages so that their attention would not be diverted during the lesson.

 

Learning and the Brain: Part 1

I recently had the opportunity to visit the MIT campus in Cambridge, MA where I attended the Learning and the Brain conference titled “Modern Brains: Enhancing Memory And Performance In This Distracting Digital Age.” The presenters connected and explored the relationships that exist between biology, cognitive science, technology and education. For me, it was a rare chance to look at educational technology through the lens of a neurobiologist. The next few posts will concentrate on various themes presented at the conference.

Dr. Gary Small, MD, gave the opening keynote. He most recently wrote “iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind.” He spoke about a new kind of generation gap which he calls the brain gap. Digital natives have brains which have mastered modern technology, but lack the empathetic skills honed by face-to-face contact with others. By contrast, older digital immigrants adapt more slowly and are reluctant to try new gadgets but they possess the skills and intelligence to excel in face-to-face social interactions requiring empathy and the ability to read the body language of others.

The good news is that both can be addressed. The skills of the older generation can be strengthened through focused and prolonged professional development programs focusing on the use of newer technologies. For our younger generation, we can best help them by asking them to unplug once in a while ask that they take part in educational, family and social events without their cell phones or computers in tow.

Dr. Small also commented on the growing disconnect between the social networking environment that exists outside of school and the closed access of the environment that is found inside of school. To illustrate just how pervasive social networking has become, he showed us this YouTube video:

A thought to leave you with: Is there a safe and effective way to leverage the popularity of these pervasive social networks to improve the delivery of educational services to our students?

MLTI Program Expansion

All classroom teachers in our district now have an MLTI laptop device. This move has given us stability by offering a common platform, a common set of programs, and a common machine to our teachers. My hope is that this will result in more efficient professional development offerings and increased collaboration between teachers at all grade levels and schools.

In addition, we are able to take advantage of the support contract, pricing, and professional development offerings that the State of Maine has negotiated with Apple. We also have commercial software titles included in the MLTI package that we would otherwise have to pay for. To support our users, we have created a resource page. We will continue to add to this area of the web site as we develop materials.