As times change, it is the responsibility of education to change with it. We embrace new teaching practices, new technology, and especially new curriculum. One of the topics brought up in "Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment," (Drake, Reid, & Kolohan, 2014) is the concept of 21st-Century Skills and how they are to be woven into the classroom. The picture on the right shows the Stratford High School rubric expectations in regards to 21st-century learning. This shows how these concept can be adapted to meet different requirements in the school. Among the list of competencies discussed in the text were creativity, cultural and ethical citizenship, and computer and digital technologies, (Drake, Reid, & Kolohan, 2014). Specifically these three skills stand out to me because I think they really embody our evolving world of education.
Firstly, creativity can be discussed in regards to design thinking or problem solving, as mentioned in the text. One of the challenges students of the 21st Century will face is that of originality. We as university students are already coming up against this, not only for plagiarism’s sake, but simply being able to make our work stand out. When we all have access to the same information, how do we make ourselves unique? If we’re now being measured against not only our immediate peers, but being compared to students from around the world, we truly need to stress to students the importance of creativity in work. Uniformity may have been the educational trend in the past, even looking at standardized assessments, but with a world of information at our finger tips, we need to show students how to make their own unique impression on that world. Take this blog assignment for example, we are each given the same guide lines, the same access to information, however, how we design our page and how we write are going to be what make us stand out. We need to start instilling this drive to be unique to students at a younger age, because they are the ones who will be growing up in the technological world.
Also listed in needed competencies was cultural and ethical citizenship, as well as computer and digital technologies. I am going to focus on these two topics together as I find they intertwine. As I mentioned before, with our technological advances we have an entire world of information on a screen right in front of us. As technology develops, I feel that we as educators have a responsibility to use it. Not only does this tie to the idea of digital literacy and making sure students can safely and effectively maneuver through an online world, but it also gives students pictures of the world they could never have seen before. The internet has given us the ability to see through the looking glass, so to speak, at the other side of the globe. By expanding our educational resources we can actually connect to people and issues on the other side of the world! We can use this information to teach students on issues anywhere in the world, whether it be Asia, Africa, or even in our own backyard. We can use this new information to really teach children what it means to be a cultural and ethical citizen, in our community and our world.
This video was created by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership discuses the benefits of integrating technology and 21st-century learning into the classroom.
Although this video is designed for the Australian curriculum system it brings up some important points, such as how opening ourselves up to these advancements will create life-long learners in students. This blog also outlines how Ontario school boards are adapting to meet 21st Century Learning Expectations. Mentioning how one of the key aspects is to prepare students for an ever changing, technology-based world.
When I was in eighth grade, my classroom was lucky enough to be the first in our school board to receive a Smart Board. I personally believe that having this resource benefitted me as a student as we were able to use technology to enhance our learning. Not only were we able to to easily connect to the internet and keep up to date on many news stories, but we were able to be given information in a new and creative way. Whether it was having visual aids in math to being able to access interactive maps for social studies, I believe this technological advancement really impacted my school. By embracing skills of the 21st-century we have the ability to open students minds to a whole new landscape of education. We can give them the opportunity to grow and advance into a new technological world that did not exist in years prior. By teaching 21st-century skills students can have the chance to succeed in making a unique, global impact.
References
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2012, May 7). 21st Century Education (Video File). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA1Aqp0sPQo.
Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment: Engaging the 21st Century Learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
EduGAINs. (2014). About 21st Century Learning in Ontario. http://www.edugains.ca/newsite/21stCenturyLearning/about_learning_in_ontario.html
Stratford Board of Education. (2015). Stratford High School 21st Century Learning Expectations. http://stratfordhigh.stratfordk12.org/Content/21st_Century_Skills_1.asp
