The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

I found the website http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ to be a quality website with great resources. One of the things that surprised me was that the state in which I teach, Wisconsin, is one of 13 states currently involved in the initiative. The information presented on this site is consistent with that which we have learned in Walden University's "Integrating Technology in the Classroom" program. It shares many of the goals that we are trying to accomplish at the high school where I teach. I am excited that all of these things include emphasizing deep understanding rather than shallow knowledge and actively engaging students in solving meaningful problems. As a science teacher I am also excited that they support the STEM movement. The world that we live in is rapidly changing as technology advances and I think it is a bit overwhelming but also very exciting. I was surprised to see that the website promotes the government's plan of No Child Left Behind. While I agree that we should do everything possible so that every student receives a quality education, I think there are serious flaws with the plan. Simply mandating that students reach a certain level of proficiency on standardized tests does not improve education. Funding and modification of schools is what is needed. I agree with the ideas of NCLB and the push to add 21st century skills to schools and hope to see funding support these initiatives so that they can become reality. Students and our society will benefit from the goals of learning 21st century skills.

Thank you for the ideas!

Thank you to everyone who has given suggestions and ideas about the article review and blogging. I really like the idea of kids posting an online article that they find, giving a summary, and then having disscussions through the blog.

Using Blogs in the Science Classroom

I have been trying to come up with a way that I could use a blog effectively in my science classes. I frequently have students find articles in newspapers that deal with science. The kids are then required to write a short review of the article and relate it to things that we have or will do in class. Instead of having the kids do their article reviews on paper and follow it with a classroom discussion, the kids could do their review as a posting and then the other students in the class could comment.

Learning to use blogs can be confusing

Last year I helped a colleague find the power button on his new Dell computer and found the situation hilarious. As I attempt to create a blog, I feel like I am the guy trying to find the power button. It is my goal that I can create a blog that will help me to become a better science teacher by learning about different technologies that can help me teach.