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My initial reaction to the website was one of admiration. It is refreshing to see a coalition of organizations band together to promote twenty-first century skills; however, as I examined the site, that's about all it does. Booklets are offered to describe twenty-first century skills along with additional standards the are designed to work with our state standards to promote collaborative learning and so forth, which is great except most teachers already practice this. These standards should be aimed more at the state and what needs to be promoted.
I am surprised by the lack of practical resources. Yes, it was informative in regards to the need to implement twenty-first century thinking practices and technological experience that businesses are looking for, however there is a surprising lack of resources to help implement this. Yes, there are the booklets, however they only outline what the needs are and offer little advise as to how to reach it. I even surfed over to their link for Apple Professional Development, and their site had more of the same thing: pdfs that state what twenty-first century skills are, but offer little resource to help obtain those goals.
While I was searching this site I was expecting to find a resource area similar to the wikis we created the prior week, that is a collection of online resources. I was expecting more resources in the form of websites or freeware that utilized a greater verity of technological resources such as OpenOffice. There are several sections that state technology and twenty-first century skills should support the lesson and I agree, I was just hopping to see a few more tools that can aid teachers. Also, I am surprised there is not a page specifically designated to offering grants related to technology and Twenty-First Century skills. It takes money to help run a classroom and in this economy any grant would be welcome.
As for any implications between what this website states teachers need to do to promote twenty-first century skills and my students and myself I see some changes, but not much. As I stated, many teachers are pushing collaborative learning and creative thinking. My students have been interacting more with technology in regards to using e-mail to turn in assignments. Frankly, this course will have a greater impact on my students than Partnership for 21st Century Skills. While this group of people push for teachers to use it, they provide little resources to support their mission for teachers to utilize or at least, resources that go beyond stating what twenty-first century skills are.
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You make some insightful and discerning observations regarding the implications P21 has for practical classroom application. It seems that P21 itself functions more as a large scale initiative, while the website is designed to act as an informational vehicle for said initiative. It does give the educator the feel that the aim is geared more at businesses and the administrative level of education. However, much of these initiatives begin with an increasing number of local educators putting these skills into practice, which gets the attention of other stakeholders through the impact on students.
ReplyDeleteYou should check out the "Route 21" link on the website. There are numerous videos showing 21st century skills at work in actual classrooms. This feature of the website is quite helpful for the educator looking for innovative ways to incorporate 21st century skills into his or her classroom practice. Let me know what you think.
I agree with you about the P21 site being an excellent vehicle for grant opportunities. It seems that hosting grants would indeed suit the purpose of their initiative. One of the greatest challenges to educators is not that they lack desire or ideas, but that they lack resources. This is not to say that we cannot begin teaching 21st century skills without technology, but the need for technological resources is imperative to well-rounded progress. Do you know of any other resources for educational technology grants? I have started to look recently, but have not found many so far.
Shawn,
ReplyDeleteYou brought up a great point. I also think the P21 site is more informative than resourceful. It is a great tool for educators, administrators and states that have not found the need to move toward teaching 21st century skills to our youth. It is fairly persuasive in convincing our chief officers that action must be taken in order to provide our students with the technology skills they will need to perform successfully and effectively in their future work environments. In my opinion, this is the principal service this site provides.
Thanks for your comments.
Casi Houck
Shawn,
ReplyDeleteI think you give a real honest appraisal of the P21 website. You especially highlight some glaring ironies: “I was expecting more resources in the form of websites or freeware that utilize….” The fact that these giant software companies like Microsoft, Apple, etc. do not offer any “freeware” to assist teachers in their pursuit of teaching twenty-first century skills in the classroom is absurd. You would thing that sponsoring this website would be a perfect opportunity to showcase some of the latest innovations in educational technologies and, furthermore, give educators a helping hand in achieving the lofty goals this site puts forth. The gap between education and business is purely one of money. Businesses may not see large profits in educational software.
I was unaware of the P21 site and found it useful more in its ability to influence curriculum change in schools. I am impressed by the link to states like Ohio. It is interesting to see how this state has been impacted by P21, including the governor.
This is definitely a website to know about, and I think it will continue to evolve and influence education.
Russell
Shawn,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your scrutiny of the P21 website. I think as I read most of the article, I was just excited that someone acknowledged what we are seeing. I did not dig deep enough. Resources would be an excellent idea to back up what they are saying. School corporations do not have the resources (money or skills) to train and educate students the way businesses need them trained.Perhaps the old saying, "Put your money where your mouth is" would be a good beginning toward bridging the gap.
Thanks for your post.