21st Century Fluency

A while back, we spent some time looking into 21^st Century Skills.  While many organizations have come up with lists of skills today’s kids will need to succeed, the foremost organization is probably the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills (www.p21.org).  This week we have been discussing not a new set of skills but an offshoot of the skill sets described by P21.  One of their four Student Outcomes is titled “Information, Media, and Technology Skills” and includes literacy within each subset.  I would place this week’s topic of 21^st Century Fluency within their broader category.

Coiro (2003) argues that there are key differences between fluency in standard text versus that of digital text we will find on the internet.  Among a list of differences, Coiro shows: “that Internet texts are often constructed with inconsistent features, pass through few editing processes, represent an infinite amount of links to related information, and are often designed to sell, deceive, or persuade young readers” (p 32).  These differences lend themselves towards a new set of skills students must have in order to find useful, valid, and accurate information in an ever more cluttered online environment.

So what are the specific skills that go along with 21^st Century fluency? After reading several lists this week I believe it boils down to two key ideas.  The first I will call Searching, and the second I will call Evaluating.  We discussed “Searching” a bit last week as we looked at how to maximize queries using search engines.  In addition to the physical search, fluency here also includes an understanding in how websites are designed and organized as well as how to maneuver in and around a site.  In terms of teaching, this is no easy task.  Whereas written books generally adhere to a set protocol, online texts have much fuzzier boundaries and much more artistic license.  This means that we cannot simply show students one way of doing it and be done; instead, it is a constant game of “click-and-go-seek” which takes time and practice.

The second aspect is what I will call “Evaluating.”  This is what we must teach students to do once they have found a site that they believe has good information.  This is a hard thing to learn, let alone teach, especially when so many sources online are intentionally inaccurate and biased.  Every expert has their own way of going through a website to determine its validity and accuracy.  For example, Philips (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011) recommends using the “ABC’s of Evaluation” where A = Author, B = Bias, C = Content, D = Dates, and E = Editor.  Working through this list could help students determine how trustworthy the site and information on it are.   I personally like November’s (2008) Get REAL acronym better.  In this, R = Read the URL, E = Examine the content, A = Ask about the author and owner, and L = Look at the links.  This is a little harder to remember for students, but open ended enough to work for whatever website you are dealing with.

In any case, 21^st Century Fluency is going to be an uphill battle.  As students are raised with more and more web access they seem to take the information they find at face value without looking much further into what it is they are reading.  Perhaps it is the “get it now” mentality that makes them accept the first links summary on Google as fact.  No matter, we must be adamant about teaching both Searching and Evaluating skills within our classrooms, despite our content area.  Furthermore, we need to get parents educated and on board with such skills so that they can work with their kids too.  This is not a skill set that one teacher can teach for an hour a week and think it will stick.  These skills need to be built in across the content and both in and out of school if we are to succeed in making the next generation digitally fluent.

Try Out Your Evaluation Skills On These Sites:

1) Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

2) Computer Tan

3) RYT Hospital Dwayne Medical Center

Resources:

Coiro, J. L . (2003). Rethinking comprehension strategies to better prepare students for critically evaluating content on the Internet. New England Reading Association Journal, 39(2), 29–34.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). A teacher’s perspective: Evaluating information online [Course Media]. Supporting information literacy and online inquiry in the classroom. Baltimore, MD: Author.

November, A. (2008). Web literacy for educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Partnership for 21^st Century Skills (2012). Framework for 21^st century learning.  Retrieved from http://p21.org/overview

Technological Reflections

The Perfect Online Teacher I Strive to Become

As I come to the close of another course for my master’s degree at Walden University, I wanted to share some thoughts about what I have learned and where I will take my classroom from here.  To start I would like to begin by looking at the technology I have been made much more aware of in terms of its use in a classroom. 

Blogs – Though they were not new to me, I did not realize how much potential they have for student learning.  Between the coursework and my own findings, I have thought of dozens of applications for them.  To name a few we have scientific journaling, a lab notebook that cannot be lost, and a discussion forum that will work not only between classes, but also between schools and even countries.  It was nice to discover how much administrative power we can still have in terms of access as well.  Blogs will definitely be a part of my new classroom.

Wikis – These were a technology that I had not spent time with outside of Wikipedia.  I now see them as an incredible tool to foster collaboration among students.  Again, I really liked the administrative options available, especially the power to see who posted what and when.  I have big plans for using Wikis in the immediate future with my classes.

Podcasts – This was another area I have very little experience with.  It was great to find useable freeware for editing and recording as well as posting. This is another one of those resources that would be a great outlet for students who may otherwise opt out of written assignments.  Podcasts also got me excited about looking into video editing for a classroom activity as well. 

Beyond the actual technology I have been introduced to, I have deepened my knowledge of teaching in several ways.  The most important of these has to be the realization that there are many more things that go into teaching than just covering content.  In order to be an effective, and current, educator, we need to be able to teach skills relevant to the 21^st century (see my post on the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills).  We must also prepare our students for a future filled with ever-advancing technology by holding them accountable to the National Education Standards for Technology (NETS) as defined by ISTE (see ISTE.org).  These are not just more to-do lists to throw up on a classroom wall, as implementation of these will require a complete metamorphosis of the class and the way it is taught.  As difficult as that will be, I have also realized that it is a necessity on a system-wide scale if education is to become relevant again.

One of the things that this change entails is a realization that a classic teacher-centered classroom, with the teacher up front constantly guiding the students, is not the best way any longer (if ever).  Instead, we need to shift to a way of teaching that is based around the students guiding the learning, rather than following a teacher.  Technology and implementation of 21^st century skills can foster this transition naturally.  However, it will be something that will take a lot of time and trials to truly master.  It must also be noted that this does not mean a teacher kicks back and relaxes.  On the contrary, our roll shifts into one where we actively guide students through the learning instead of preach from a pulpit.  In some ways this can actually be harder than the standard model as we need to be much more aware of where students are at and what they need help with (as opposed to teaching them all the same).

Most of the knowledge I have acquired in this class has been only skin-deep; a quick glance into what and how I should be teaching.  I am not knocking the class, just realizing that there is only so much they can show us in eight weeks.  Instead, a door has been opened that I must walk through on my own in order to affect student achievement.  The first step to this will be gathering more resources and knowledge.  Already, I have found several great blogs and websites that offer many great ideas.  Perhaps more effective than independent research would be the building of a community of colleagues who share a passion for technology integration and 21^st century skills.  However, both of these steps will be irrelevant if I do not immediately vow to practice and implement things into my classroom.  I have a belief that technology begets technology in the same way that knowledge begets knowledge.  In other words, the more I practice, the more I will learn, and the more I will use them more.  Additionally, I need to vow to freshen things up each year.  I cannot be content with doing the same activity the same way each year.  After dusting off each one, I need to look at where new technology and skills can be applied.

I believe the biggest stumbling block to the integration of many of the things I have discussed is the lack of technology and internet access in my district.  In order to overcome this, I have set two goals for the next couple of years.  The first is to convince my district to begin using, and invest in, wireless technologies.  As of now, there are no wireless networks in the district.  Most teachers have a laptop computer, but it must be plugged into an Ethernet port in order to get internet access.  In thinking about student use, and the rapid pace technology is moving, I believe wireless technology is imperative for my district.  This will mean compiling data to convince them that wireless networks are viable, safe, and cost effective, especially with N-wireless now readily available.  The second goal I am setting is to find a grant in order to get more computer access for my students.  Two (and a half) computer labs for 600 students does not cut it in today’s technological world.  The best option would be access to a Computer On Wheels (COW) cart, which is essentially a wireless hub with laptops that locks.  This way the school would have greater access and they would be much more user friendly for science classes where we can use laptops in a lab setting.

I can see that this course will certainly change the way I teach my classes.  As I look back at the checklist we completed during the first week of class, I see many areas where I said I “rarely” or “sometimes” do something that I will now do much more frequently.  Tying into the goals I just set above, I will make it a priority to: “Participate in developing a vision for technology integration” (Walden University, 2011), in my school and district.  This is something that I previously never thought of getting involved with, but now see as a requirement for furthering my student’s education.  Another area I see a change is how I: “Collaborate with students to explore and evaluate new and emerging technologies and investigate how these tools can be used to solve problems in real world environments” (2011).  Technology is not always a part of my curriculum, let alone emerging technologies.  However, through programs that this course has shown me and other things I have seen and wish to explore further, I believe I can get students involved in the online community to make real steps in impacting our community and world.

Resources:

Walden University (2011). Assessment checklist for technology integration practices. Minneapolis, MN: Author.

21st Century Skills

This week I spent a lot of time on the website for the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills (www.p21.org).  What I found is a group deeply vested in the future of our education system.  It is an organization supported and founded by not only groups like the National Education Association and the U.S. Department of Education, but by corporations like Apple, Microsoft, Disney, and Verizon to name a few.  All of them share my own belief that: “There is a profound gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21^st century communities and workplaces” (http://www.p21.org/about-us/our-mission).  Together they have come up with a relatively simple “list” of skills and dispositions which students should leave the educational system with in order to succeed in the increasingly global world.  Beyond the skill identification, they have a slew of resources to help integrate these skills from the classroom all of the way up to national policy.

The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, or P21, is not the first group to come up with such lists.  As we saw earlier this week, others such as David Thornburg (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011) have come up with very similar lists.  The beauty of P21 is not only their support and organization, but also the way in which they have wrapped the skills they deem so critical.  As opposed to an exhaustive list they have layered the main skills into four superseding categories for ease of application (see image at end of post).  The four categories are:

1) Life and Career Skills

2) Learning and Innovation Skills

3) Information, Media, and Technology Skills

4) Core Subjects – 3R’s and 21^st Century Themes

Each of these can be further divided, however these larger categories allow users a more practical beginning without being overwhelmed by another laundry list.  Though many of the smaller categories are not new, Creativity and Information Literacy for example, I appreciate the addition of values like Environmental and Health Literacy.  If P21 stopped here, with another list to add to the plates of educators, I would not give them much thought.  However, they have thought it through and realized in order to be effective in long-term application of these complex skills, a strong support system must be in place.  These include:

            1) Standards and Assessment

2) Curriculum and Instruction

3) Professional Development

4) Learning Environments

They realized that both students and staff are going to need support all of the way up the chain of command in order to integrate these skills successfully into our education system.  Along those lines, they provide an enormous amount of resources and links for support, ideas, and implementation guides for the classroom teacher up to the national policymaker.  I really like the series of self-assessments they offer educators and districts to see where they stand on implementation of 21^st century skills and guide them towards beginning implementation.     

One thing I did not agree with one hundred percent was P21’s push for virtual schools.  This may seem ironic coming from a student in an online graduate program, but hear me out.  As far as I can tell, P21 is pushing for virtual schools across all grade level and subjects.  I agree with them that virtual classes can be great for the right type of higher education program.  I also agree that they can be an incredible supplement for districts not able to offer a wide variety or advanced classes.  However, I cannot see virtual classes completely taking over as they are now.  There are still many advantages to being in a physical classroom with a teacher and fellow peers.  Even at higher levels, online education cannot replace all courses.  One reason I did not pursue a graduate program in biology online is that all of the programs currently offered online appeared to be a compromise in terms of equipment, research, and support.  I do see the value in offering some classes for upper grades, but do not see our society ready, socially or technologically, for a complete switch.

That point aside, the Partnership for 21^st Century Learning is spot on with what I believe I should be doing with my class.  I also believe they provide a ton of resources to help me get there.  The biggest challenge toward full integration is that to truly work, we need to apply 21^st century skills in everything and every way we teach.  This means that it cannot just go on in my science classroom, but must be system wide.  I am realizing that in order to succeed I cannot be a one-man army.  If we want these kids to really take on the skills they will need, we are going to have to push for change all of the way up.  This does not just mean my class, department, or even school.  We can plant the seeds there, but in order for our nation to be strong in the future, we are going to have to fight for nationwide implementation and support.  However, we have to start where we have the most effect, in our own classrooms.

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Skills for the 21st Century [DVD]. Available from Walden University.

Partnership for 21^st Century Skills (P21). (2011).  Accessed at http://www.p21.org