21st+Century+Education


 * Adoption of technology ways to accelerate the adoption of technology-infused teaching practices that address 21st Century skills**
 * Create time during the school day for teachers to collaborate around 21st Century curriculum and instruction. Partner reluctant teachers with trailblazers. Make technology integration a priority in the professional development budget.
 * Help teachers make the connections between best-practice teaching (including project- and problem-based learning) and the potential for web tools and other digital technologies to magnify the effects of teaching strategies that emphasis 21st Century skills and “learning by doing.”
 * Develop strategies, based on district and school size, that ensure every teacher has engaged in a deep conversation about the need to prepare students for life and work in the 21st Century.
 * Ask each teacher to complete at least one highly engaging technology-infused project with his or her students during a specified time period.
 * Sponsor a substantive day-long technology conference for teachers at least once a year. Include a blend of thoughtful conversation about the rationale behind 21st Century learning, presentations by real teachers of successful 21st Century projects, and opportunities for hands-on experimentation with at least one collaborative web tool (blog, wiki, social network, podcast, etc.). Build a follow-up plan that helps ensure teachers will go back to their own classrooms and try some of what they’ve learned.
 * Kids also must learn to think across disciplines, since that's where most new breakthroughs are made. It's interdisciplinary combinations--design and technology, mathematics and art--"that produce YouTube and Google," says Thomas Friedman, the best-selling author of The World Is Flat.
 * Without mastering the fundamental building blocks of math, science or history, complex concepts are impossible.
 * Teachers need not fear that they will be made obsolete. They will, however, feel increasing pressure to bring their methods--along with the curriculum--into line with the way the modern world works. That means putting a greater emphasis on teaching kids to collaborate and solve problems in small groups and apply what they've learned in the real world. Besides, research shows that kids learn better that way than with the old chalk-and-talk approach.
 * Teach 21st century skills discretely in the context of core subjects and 21st century interdisciplinary themes
 * Focus on providing opportunities for applying 21st century skills across content areas and for a competency-based approach to learning
 * Enable innovative learning methods that integrate the use of supportive technologies, inquiry- and problem-based approaches and higher order thinking skills
 * Encourage the integration of community resources beyond school walls
 * How do we do this when so many of our colleagues are so resistant to change? Is it fair to our students to have one teacher that allows natural and authentic use of technology in their classroom and 7 others that do not? How do we implement this change when we are so entrenched in our system of standards and standardized assessments. It’s just so much easier to keep doing things the way we’ve always done them.


 * For technology integration to be a success:**
 * A clearly articulated, documented mandate for teacher expectations.
 * **Understanding** what IT integration is (and isn’t) and how the Facilitator can be utilized to enhance the teaching and learning experience.
 * Ability to **flexibly** utilize technology tools and infrastructure to meet the needs of global 21st Century teaching strategies.
 * **Transparent** curriculum infrastructure (wiki) - clear, easy to access documentation for the entire school curriculum.
 * Clearly articulated Year at a Glance maps from teachers and the establishment of **static** units, building on experiences from past years.
 * Understanding that **collaboratively planned** units with authentic learning experiences that embed the backward design process result in higher achievement of the Standards & Benchmarks.
 * **Flexibility** with the classroom dynamic and teaching is an essential component of 21st Century teaching and learning.
 * Creating, documenting and sharing **common** assessment practices.
 * **Sharing** successes with technology, both internally and through external visionaries on site
 * **Common** planning time with IT Facilitator - grade level teams (framework requires grade level planning time)
 * **Classroom** technology support
 * **Revision** of curriculum map format to embed IT integration.
 * **Equitable** access to technology resources.
 * **Professional Development** to increase teacher comfort level with technology
 * Purchase of peripherals and software to **enhance** the teaching and learning experience.