Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a great organization that provides a platform of information on introducing and including skills necessary for our students to learn. The framework for Learning in the 21st Century is setup nicely. The focus is on core subjects, 21st Century Content, Learning and Thinking Skills, ICT Literacy, Life Skills,and 21st Century Assessments. I am happy to say that my state, Ohio, has this implemented into the curriculum. I am a strong advocate for eTech as well as ITSCO. These are funded programs through the state to help advocate 21st Century Skills in education.

I agree with the majority of what Partnership for 21st Century Skills represents. I have an issue when it comes to the 21st Century Assessments. I wholeheartedly believe that students should be tested, but not by standardized tests or even state/national mandated tests. I think students should be assessed by their performance and in class assignments - projects, papers, portfolio, notebook, etc. I think that students feel pressured by standardized test or the mandated tests because if they do not do well, there are consequences like not graduating. Now I am not saying school should be a breeze and students should get passed through the system. There are lots of factors that can cause a student not to do well on a standardized test.

My students have a better understanding of the 21st Century Skills because my state is involved with this organization. However, I do feel that there should be brought to the attention of educators. In some schools this does not seem to be a priority and the resources are being wasted away. As an educator, I need to do a better job of staying up to date on the 21st Century Skills and making sure that I implement them in my classroom.

Video on Human Capital

This video leaves with conflicting thoughts on what should be taking place at work; what is/should be acceptable and what is not. After viewing this video, what are you thinking. Is there a way to connect the workplace and the classroom? As educators, what can we do to bridge the gap?

The Use of a Blog in the Classroom

According to Dictionary.com, "blog" means 'an online diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page; also called Weblog, Web log; Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author.' A blog is an important tool that can be used inside the classroom for various things. For example, similar to this class, a class I took during my undergrad required us to keep a blog. In this blog we wrote what we learned in class, experience with the material, what we could work on, what we wanted to know more of, and to show examples of our work. It was great because we got feedback from the instructor and our peers. For my students, I encourage them to have blogs for our class, it is not currently required, but more then likely will be next year. As I am writing this, I must apologize, we are getting drenched with a major downpour which is stirring up tornadoes. So I may ramble from time to time. I do have a blog specifically for my classes. This blog is designed to inform the students and parents of what is going on in the classroom. I write about what is being learned each day, what students are required to do for classwork, and from time to time I post, with permission, student's work. I do make pod casts of my lectures, and I would eventually like to add those to the blog along with materials presented or given in class. This would allow the students who were not in class to get the material, but also give students another way of getting the material if they forgot it at school or cannot find it. I found a great site that offered reasons on why to use a blog in the classroom, and I agree with the reasons they listed. I think that a blog is a good tool to use in the classroom because it provides a connection for students, but also for the parents to take a peek into the classroom without actually being in the classroom.


Content Area: Business Education & Technology
Grade Level: 9-12 (certified 4-12)

YouTube Sensation

YouTube has become quite a phenomenon. The above video is of my Alma Mater, The Ohio State University. The student union had just been rebuilt and opened. Some students, with the permission of administrators, created a dance that was filmed during the middle of the school day. Students who were there using the facility had no idea what was going on, but enjoyed the show anyway. This video was posted on YouTube as a way to show the Pride of the Buckeyes. This is just one example of how YouTube can be used in your school or classroom. Some educators are not comfortable with the openness of YouTube, so a sister site was created, TeacherTube. This is a great site for educators and students, it is a way to ensure the material is safe to use inside the classroom. Both of these sites offer great resources to educators and students. Just simply search for a topic of interest, click and play. I have used several videos off both of these sites, of course previewing them before showing students. So what are you waiting for, go look at these sites and see if there is anything that you can use.

Welcome

Welcome to the EDTECH Underground Revolution. This is a blog to help revolutionize the use of technology in the classroom. Feel free to comment on the different posts and add your own thoughts. I hope together we can learn a great deal about what education and technology can do together.