What is 21st century curriculum?As they always have students need to learn and understand the core subjects and be able to apply them to the current world that they live in today by taking assessment tests to validate that they know and understand the topics.As well as knowing the information the students need to be able to think interactively and discuss the topics to show a deeper understanding of what was learned.Technology has made leaps and bounds over the past couple decades. Students and teachers alike need to learn to keep up to date and even ahead of schedule in regards to online communication and how information can be found and used within the internet.Things have changed and teachers need to adjust their teachings to present life skills for the 21st century, like cyber bullying and even fraud.
Why learn 21st Century skills?If you want to succeed in today’s world you have to be technology savvy, because EVERYTHING is done online. 7 P’s to life…Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance…can be applied to learning 21st century skills because everybody needs to prepare themselves for some form of a career and the way technology is going, it will be a HUGE factor in almost any career.
Background InfoIn light of the current recession many employers are looking to hire employees that are not only proficient but above and beyond the standards of what is expected for people to know in regards to technology being applied to their job/career.Assessments are becoming more interactive and thorough
Professional development in schools can have a large range; learning to type, organization of info, online communication, and even industry specific programs and websites
Learning environments are starting to change and add technology such as computers, iclickers, smart boards, email, and wiki’s to the everyday agenda because that is what is happening in the real world and students need to be prepared for making that jump to a career in a competitive field.
Impact on K-12 EducationTo stay up to date with 21st century skills schools need to become more reliant upon the technology that is available. That is if their school districts can afford it. Keeping up to date technologically will make a K-12 classroom more flexible in terms of how things can be taught. The use of this technology will show how well the students and teachers alike are adapting to the change and help predict how good they can adjust in the future
Students will need to be able to adjust to this technological way of learning and use self direction and a want to accomplish and learn these new tasks and stay on the top of the learning curve, putting them in a better position for the future.Technology can help bring many different perspectives to a classroom. For example a video chat can be set up across the world and have students interact with a group of Chinese students to hear and see how they interact inside a classroom and what they are learning.With the use of 21st century skills many technological advances have been made to increase productivity and a perfect example of that is the use of Excel spreadsheets in accounting. Also instead of having to use a house phone or library computer people can be reached at any point in time with new smart phones with internet and email capabilities built in. Learning new concepts and technology helps students become responsible on many different levels. Instead of using the old, dog ate my homework line, many teachers have students upload their homework online or complete quizzes and tests online.
What’s being done…?Due to the recent recession and lack of government funding many private organizations and people have had to step up and offer/bring in new ways to incorporate skills and technology of the 21st century into the classrooms. Groups like Partnership for 21st Century Skills have been great activists for the cause and offer many helpful thoughts and links.
eSchoolNews.com offers many great ideas and free tools for teachers to help integrate 21st century skills into their classrooms even if the latest technology is in the classroom.