Partnership for 21st century Skills

I found the website to be very interesting with so much information to read and view.  I liked the videos I viewed and the webinar titles were of interest to me. The website has a lot of valuable free infomation and a lot of information to be purchased.  The P21 newsletter seemed interesting.  The common core toolkit is available to down load and I believe that is a good resource for teachers to have in their library. This website appears to be a collaborative effort from many sources with information to assist  every teacher in every discipline. there was so much information on the site talking about assessment, curriculum and instruction that I did not know where to begin reading.  My mind was racing trying to keep up with all I was looking at and wanting to read about. One of the things I am going to do with this information is share it with all teachers I come in contact with and I am going to take a look at the manner in which I assess my students as well as my lesson plans to incorporate more of the things this website talks about.  I want to be one of the teachers involved with preparing my students for the 21st century and beyond. I did not find anything I did  not like about the site, I just did not like the fact that I would have to pay to read some of the articles I wanted to read right then and before I could read them I had to purchase them. I know that it takes money to keep this site updated and this is probably one of the ways they are able to fund it so it is not really a dislike but an observation.  The reality of this is that we as teachers and educators must find a way, despite the limited funds and all of the other obstacles to help our students understand how important it is to develop problem solving skills, creativity, decision making skills, communication skills and all of the other skills they will need to be prepared for the type of jobs available in this global economy.  We must teach and design our lessons in manner that the student will want to take ownership in their learning.  The students have to see the value in the lesson for it to mean something to them.  We as educators must make these lessons real world lessons and have the students work in groups to find out the answers/solutions they need. This website is a wonderful resource for educators and parents in particular and anyone who is interested in helping students be successful.

Classroom blogging

In my classroom, I plan to have my students blog instead of journaling. My students have been making journaal entries in a notebook and I would take them up, read them, make comments and give them their journals back.  Now I can respond and so can the entire class to each others post.  I have some students in the class that are very quiet and I am hoping this will help them to express themselves better, also. this will help them interact about content.  Not sure if I will showcase their work there, but it will be a place to share learning with the larger community since we discuss real world applications just about everyday in this particular class. The blog will involve more students and they will be able to give their views. there will be no right or wrong answers as well as the students will need to do their research in order to make intelligent appropriate comments. Grade level-10-12
Business Law class. The students will be talking about real world applications that will help them as they transition into society.  I am excited to start this adventure.

Technology at its best

Technology is a wonderful tool and it must be used just as it is intended.  There is so much out there and so much we can take advantge of.  We as teachers must be able to guide our students in all of the areas available to them without fear of the technology.  They must be able to think outside of the box.  I want to never stop learning in order that I may be better able to help my students. Technology can help us find ways to bring an old lesson to life and make it appear new.  It is that added touch that makes someone want to know more.

The beginning

Hello to all of my fellow class mates,
I have set up my blog set and I am working on making sure I have done things correctly.  I look forward to your comments.