As part of my master’s degree at Walden University in Instructional Technology, one of the courses I needed to take was “Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society.” One of the bases of this course is to explore the outcomes of technology use on today’s students and future workforce. An emphasis of the course is to help ourselves become more acquainted with 21st century technology and how to implement it into our classrooms in order to produce students who are ready to get a job in the 21st century workplace.
We have been asked to explore an organization called the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. They are an organization that promotes the use of 21st century skills in America’s schools. One of the places that you can find out more about this organization is their website. Here, they provide resources, tools, and useful links to help educators incorporate 21st century skills into their classrooms.
We were asked to preview their website and share what we thought about it. After looking through their website, I was surprised to find so many neat resources and tools that they had available. I honestly remember thinking, “How did I not know about this site?” After looking more closely into the organization itself under their “About Us” section, I was pleasantly amazed at how many national business and corporations support this organization. Some of the leading technology companies in the business were mentioned: Intel, Adobe, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Oracle, etc. were invested in this organization to help promote 21st century skills in our nation’s classrooms. I did wonder how much money that these companies have used then to show their support and help districts afford the capital necessary to provide their students with these new technologies.
After viewing the website, I was wondering why Pennsylvania wasn’t on the list of states that have taken the initiative to partner with this organization. Actually, I was somewhat shocked that only 14 states were on that list (that’s only 28% of our nation!). As our students enter the 21st century workplace, they need the necessary skills that ready them for this endeavor. If an organization like the Partnership for 21st Century Skills is capable of influencing government (as is part of their mission), our students would see a change in the way that they are taught and tested. I myself, a high school teacher, would see a change in what I would be required to teach. (Yes, the mention of standards was included in their website). In reality, if the Partnership for 21st Century Skills is successful in their mission, the United States could see a dramatic shift in how our nation’s schoolchildren are educated and subsequently how they are assessed.
On a side note, I did find one absolutely great website after exploring the Partnership for 21st Century Skills website. It was created by Michael J. Gorman and it’s called 21st Century Educational Technology and Learning. This site has invaluable information on how to use, create, and apply the newest and latest technologies in our classrooms. He has a blog that you can view, as well as links to other technology. Be sure to check it out!
References:
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2010). Our Mission. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=188&Itemid=110.
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ReplyDeleteHi Casey,
ReplyDeleteAs I examined the web site I was so pleased to read their mission statement. I felt I found a group which reflects my point of view. As a third grade teacher, I feel that by becoming involved with the partnership, I could actually make a major positive change for the betterment of my own students, and perhaps a small change in education in the United States as well. The web site states that the mission of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is, “to serve as a catalyst to position 21st century readiness at the center of US K12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education, business, community and government leaders.”(TP21CS; 2010) I wish you well in representing Pennsylvania on the site. You go!
Chris Dede’s statement that, "Teachers who use interactive media professionally will find they rapidly develop learning styles and strengths similar to those of their students" (Richardson, 2009) is a perfect example of how teachers can move forward and embrace the infusion of technology in the classrooms. The Partnership for 21st Century skills webs site provides such a wide array of resources, that I will take some time to become familiar with it. I plan to use this summer to familiarize myself with its resources and employ them in the fall.
Thank you for the link to the First Century Educational Technology and Learning website. I am enjoying the resource available there
Casey,
ReplyDeleteI too was shocked that only 14 states had partnered with P21. It seems to me that getting our students ready for the 21st century is what this organization is tailor-made for.
I suspect that many of the decision makers in the unaffiliated states are part of the 'old guard' who are somewhat wary of the nearly complete overhaul of the system that P21 and Thornburg call for.
Casey,
ReplyDeleteI teach in Pennsylvania and was astonished too that they were not on the list of states implementing such a program. This is such a valuable resource for us as teachers to encourage our students to be functional adults in the workforce. I was surprised that so many states were not a part of this initiative! I can understand that it can seem like a daunting task for states to undertake such a complete change to the education system but I believe that this change will have to take place in the future anyways, so why not change now? Our educational system must change in the future in order to keep up with the changes in society and the needs of the future workforce. It seems to me that it would make the most sense for the educational system to change now and not later.
With access to so much technology and resources, the face of the United States education system as we know it would be dramatically altered! I think a shift is definitely needed in order to help our students explore their culture effectively and also maintain successful careers as adults. I have been implementing blogs and other forms of technology in my classroom to begin to introduce my students to resources they will use later in life. How are you helping to implement change in your classroom?