21st Century Skills

I recently spent some time perusing a website that focuses on 21^st Century Skill readiness for students. (The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.) This site aims to help the U.S. education system produce students who are ready for the world they will enter once there are finished with school. Some of its main focal points are thinking critically, problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity and innovation.

One of the first things that I came across while looking over this website was a tab devoted to providing tools and resources for educators and districts. While exploring this tab, I came across a MILE Guide (Milestones for Innovative Learning and Education), which will look at a school district and tell them basically how they are doing with regard to teach their students the necessary 21^st Century Skills. I also was surprised to see which organizations participate in this cause, among them, Apple Computer, Inc., Microsoft, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Upon reviewing the information provided on this website, including their mission statement and goals, it is evident that their ultimate goal is to encourage the education system to produce valuable citizens who will ultimately become our workers and leaders of tomorrow. I did notice that my state, Pennsylvania, is not included among the list of state initiatives and I plan to look into the reasoning behind this.

I believe that this resource is worth further exploration. As a teacher who aims to ultimately promote students who will become effective citizens, I think that the goals of this particular organization reflect many of my own goals. Take some time to check out this website when you can!

Oh so many possibilities...

As a 4th grade teacher in a regular education classroom, I am always looking for ways to make my lessons more exciting and engaging for my students. The real question is, how can I begin to use a blog in my classroom? Initially, to help students develop a sense of pride and ownership of this new aspect of their classroom, I think that using it as a place to publish their work would be an excellent starting point. I believe that the students would feel a sense pride knowing that their work was being shared with peers in their school, their parents, and possibly students from other schools. What a unique alternative to solely posting work in classrooms and hallways!
Another option that I would like to try in my classroom is using our blog as a place for class discussions. After posting a question that relates to our current studies in math, language arts, or other content subjects, students would be asked to post feedback answering the discussion question and then would also have the opportunity to comment on each other's feedback. This would be an excellent tool that could be used to assess student learning in particular content areas as well as to encourage their writing skills. 
These are just a few ideas of ways that I would like to initially begin to implement my blog into my classroom. What about you? I'd love to hear your thoughts, feedback, or suggestions for things that have worked for you!