Module 1 - 21st Century Skills

[Linda Lang]

I do think the ISTE standards capture the essence of 21st Century
skills and are broad enough (or non-specific to particular
technologies) to act as a guide for current and future instruction.
Implementation is another story. The implications for schools are
huge, as every student, faculty member, administrator, support staff,
facilites personnel, etc. will be impacted by the introduction,
training, and utilization of new technologies. This is very evident
in our school where we have moved from cobbling together Immigration
cast-offs (desktops and printers) to embracing and supporting current
AND future devices and programs.

Friedman's address laid an excellent historical foundation while
taking the listener on an emotional roller-coaster. Should we feel
hope? Despair? Defeat? How can we prepare ourselves for this new
flattened world, and what DO we tell the children? In the end, I did
feel hopeful and took away the points which will impact my teaching in
the coming year:

No one learns better than a curious kid.
Liberal arts really matter.
First you have to learn how to learn
Learn from a great teacher.
CQ + PQ is always greater than IQ. (In regard to an earlier post re:
not covering GEs, but teaching to one's passion: absolutely!)
Imagination matters most of all.

One of the weaknesses in the standards is that the P-2 skills seem way
beyond our students' abilities. As a high-poverty high-needs school,
I see that age group really focused on the "learning how to learn"
piece. Perhaps seeing/hearing some examples would give me better
insight as to how appropriate the expectations are.