The P21 website is fairly interesting in the way that it clearly lays out a plan and policy for learning 21st century technology skills. The importance of students knowing these skills is clearly emphasized. There are a lot of different tools and standards to explore. In particular the tools and resources link contains everything from online tools, to relevant articles, to information on professional development.
The part of the website that surprised me the most was the backing this organization has received from many big businesses. Apple, Adobe, Dell, and many others are companies that are signing up to back this program. I guess it goes shows that those companies are trying to help train their future workforce and realize the importance of students gaining the new skills that they need.
I agree with the organizations goal of students gaining a deep understanding of material rather than shallow knowledge. There is too much emphasis on students knowing the bare facts necessary to pass achievement tests and little time left over for teaching skills like critical thinking, or maybe even some art or music.
The implications for educators and students are that there seems to be a growing sentiment out there that achievement tests are not the be all and end all of student learning. There has to be a balance between skills and knowledge. This organization and these companies seem to think that and are trying to help educators learn to help their students survive in the rapidly changing digital world.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Thanks for the plug for art and music. Looking over the site and the skills that the Partnership is promoting, you may notice how many of them pertain directly to using audio and visual skills to communicate. Do a search on the web, play a video game, use your cell phone, and you will find a musical and visual art component. Quite often they are more important than the written word in communicating very complex ideas. I found the media literacy section of the site to be very relevant to my expertise. Understanding and interpreting all the visual images that we are bombarded with every hour of the day is a skill I feel our children need to master. I have always tried to integrate this into my units during the school year and it is encouraging to see it highlighted within this website. Did you find any particular items directly relevant or better yet immediately applicable to your teaching situation?
ReplyDelete