The Web site Partnership for 21st Century Skills is well worth the visit. It is a forward thinking initiative that addresses our students’ needs for future success. A great deal of collaboration has taken place between businesses, education leaders, policymakers, and colleges to create a “list” of essential skills for the 21st century. Their belief is that this change can only happen if different sectors work together to support 21st Century skills. It is not just adding technology to preexisting programs or starting an isolated program. The intention, according to the state of Wisconsin, is for government to align sectors from pre-k- 16 and even include employee training programs. The change will happen from the ground up. Children will be supported in these skills before, during and after schooling.

The Web site offers several resources. Take a trip on Route 21 and you will find more information about 21st century skills such as: life/career skills, learning/innovation, information/media and technology, and core sujects. Links to recently published articles and responses to common core initiative for English and math are easily accessible. You can also access different states that have joined and view their implementation plan. If you are interested in an elaborate, comprehensive plan, visit the link to Wisconsin. In particular, I was impressed with their ideas about global literacy and their youth apprenticeship program.

As I was curious about the contents of the Common Core Initiative for English, I spent time investigating. Although I believe it is on the right track, refinement and simplification is needed. For example, when it stated that students should collaborate while using technology, they missed the mark. Instead, collaborating in a variety of contexts is essential, whether or not technology is incorporated. Bates and Phelan (2002) recognize that the work force needs workers that can work together to problem solve beyond basic skills and include expert thinking and complex communication. In this case, students need to use their expert thinking to decide when technology can increase effectiveness, and if so, select the best interface to do so (Dede, 2008).

Overall, I agree with the intention and mission statement of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. However, if there was one area I would like to see revised, it would be adding Health as a core subject. Although it does say that health would be woven into the core subjects, I have doubts about that taking a priority. I strongly believe that if we do not have our health (physical, mental, spiritual) we don’t have much. With an increase on devices that make our lives more comfortable and convenient, I have concerns about mental and physical wellness. While technology can connect us, it cannot replace interpersonal communication skills. As Levy and Murnane (2006) stated, a salesman has to be able to interpret and modify their sales pitch based on facial cues and must listen to customers’ tone of voice (58). Students need to understand motivation and emotion to effectively collaborate with others.

One of the expectations stated in the initiative is for students to have the skills to “listen carefully to decipher meaning, knowledge, values and attitudes, and intentions.” For many students, collaboration and communication will not naturally happen if it hasn’t already. Many students will need explicit instruction. Students would benefit from understanding how to effectively interact with others and have a better understanding of themselves and their values, beliefs, and behaviors. If students are expected to reflect, respond, and contribute to a diverse set of other peoples’ ideas and core beliefs, it is imperative that students are given time to increase their communication and self-awareness skills. People’s view on the world is contingent on the way they view themselves. A course such as Health, Communication, or Psychology could easily address these needs.

The implications for educators and students abound. As an educator, I am behind. I need to incorporate twenty-first century skills into my curriculum. First, there will be a shift from individual outcomes to collaborative outcomes. Students will work on “wicked” problems that require complex communication and expert thinking, as Dede (2008) stated. Second, there will be a shift in the assessment models. Practical application such as project based learning, service learning, and creation/invention will replace paper/ pencil assessment. Third, technology will be an expectation. The target skills extend beyond how to use technology, but when. All in all, I hope that more states will get on board and partner with this vital movement. Students need these skills and we, as a society, need to deliver them weather we “feel” ready or qualified.
Resources:
Bates, R., & Phelan, K. (2002). Characteristics of a globally competitive workforce. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 4(2), 121.
Database: Management and Organization Studies: A SAGE Full-text collection database
Levy, F., & Murnane, R. (2006). Why the changing American economy calls for twenty-first century learning: Answers to educators' questions. New Directions for Youth Development, 2006(110), 53–62.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Program 11 (Dede). Technology Interfaces. [Motion Picture]. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work and Society. Baltimore: Author.

Benefits of Classroom Blogs

Since my eighth grade language arts students are beginning book clubs this quarter, it would be appropriate to use blogs to communicate responses to literature. Students would interact with their book club members about the content and interact with their classmates in other book clubs to evaluate common themes. Because time is always a limiting factor, all students would be able to participate in the discussion and all voices would be heard. As Richardson (2009) discussed, it provides opportunities for students to communicate in a different mode. It may allow shy students a way to express ideas that may otherwise be silenced.

Implementing a classroom blog is advantageous for many reasons. It provides students an authentic purpose and audience, which aligns with language arts state standards. Using a class blog may be incentive for students to “step it up.” When students know that the whole world can view their writing, it brings them to another level of consciousness. Close attention is paid to word choice, accuracy, and publishing. Blog comments force the author to reflect on their ideas, increasing critical thinking and meta-cognition (Richardson, 2009). Along with this, students’ need to read accurately will increase as they dialogue with others about content and themes. Essentially, students will learn that what they write is a snap shot of who they are to others. Blogs will foster continual personal growth. It has the capability of tearing down the walls of the classroom to the world of endless ideas and possibilities.

Resources
Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikkis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Entering a new world

As Thornburg (2004) stated in Technology and Education: Expectations, not Options, "Today we are all like Alice who stepped through the looking glass into a new world” (5). I am a newcomer to the world of blogging. Today, I am taking the first step of changing my status of a timid technology gal. I welcome the change. I want to be a part of a larger community. To learn from multitudes of others with similar passions is hard to pass by. Although this "new world" will take some getting used to, the potential is evident. Opportunities await.