solid implementation plans. That's great that we're developing
curriculum and assessment, but where are the tools? What exactly are we
testing? I fear this is becoming very similar to the Internet Safety
issue where so many have resorted to lecture & video rather than
teaching. We wouldn't teach Science without the lab or Literature
without the novel, so why are we attempting to teach Internet Safety
without the Internet or educational technology without the tools?
One of the key phrases I've appreciated in their "Report and Mile Guide
for 21st Century Skills"
http://www.rzonz.com/file/source/frosty/21stCenturySkill.pdf pertained
to the need for 21st Century Tools. On page ten they state that "skilled
people in the 21st century need to understand how to use technology
tools." =20
Sure there are plenty of tools available out there in the public sector,
but today's public tools will always carry with them today's societal
issues. Do we really want to teach kids how to use the public tools and
lead them right into the problems we're attempting to teach them to
avoid? Is there a better way to safely prepare today's students so that
upon completion of the class we can be assured they'll be able to deal
with the issues instead of being contributors to the statistics?
I know there is, I built one for my school and I'd love to share it with
you: rzonz.com
Thanks,=20
*******=20
Joe Frost=20
Director of Technology=20
Department Chair Technology=20
Phoenix Christian Unified Schools=20
1751 W. Indian School Road=20
602-265-4707 ext. 273=20
-----Original Message-----
From: Earl Oremus [mailto:eoremus@mac.com]=20
Sent: Saturday, August 08, 2009 10:58 AM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: 21st century skills curriculum integration
Hello Ally -
We have begun the same process and are interested in communicating with
others who have a similar focus. Several years ago we began the work of
reshaping our curriculum and instruction to focus more on thinking than
on remembering. We have also worked hard to increase student engagement
through collaborative project-based learning, and through learning
activities that connect students' thinking to =20
important real world problems. We have invested a lot of hard work =20
in this area but I think we still have substantially more 20th than 21st
century teaching going on here. At any rate, please count me in on the
collaboration project idea.
Earl Oremus
Headmaster
Marburn Academy
Columbus, OH
On Aug 7, 2009, at 12:50 PM, Ally Wenzel wrote:
> Hello All -
>
> We are beginning explicit integration and assessment of 21st century=20
> skills in our curriculum at Stevenson. We are hoping to begin=20
> networking with other schools who are involved in this process to=20
> share information and experiences in order to help each other.
>
> Any schools that are about to begin this process, are currently doing=20
> it, or have already done it - please let us know. Perhaps we could set
> up a Ning community, Wiki or blog to collaborate and share while we=20
> all go through this process.
>
> Please contact me directly or reply to the listserv if you know of=20
> something already specifically setup for independent schools. We are=20
> tuned in with 21stcenturyskills.org, ISTE NETS and a variety of other=20
> organizations setup such as novemberlearning.com.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Ally Wenzel
> Director of Technology
> Stevenson School
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