What is 21st century education? What does 21st century learning look like in an elementary school? Image from Technically Invisible That’s the question that was posed to me this week by the faculty at a wonderful school on Manhattan’s upper east side in preparation for some upcoming PD work. I think it’s an outstanding question that’s worth reflecting on in-depth as we all start to think about what our goals and direction are for the next school year. What does 21st century learning look like? Is an essential question and overarching topic that I hope to come back to again and again as I think about what works in real classrooms. It’s an especially important consideration at the elementary level, because so many of the tech trends in education are tested out and geared toward middle and high schools.
To me, 21st century learning in an elementary school has the same overall goals as a secondary school: it’s only the implementation that differs. You don’t have to use every program that’s out there, or introduce a new one with every unit. So that’s my thinking on this topic right now. §. What is all the buzz about 21st Century educating? I think it is more than just using technology in your classroom- though that is lots of fun. In 1995, I was a part of a research team that was integrating technology in the classroom to teach energy in the human body.
We had video cameras, simulation programs, and a whole host of other instructional technology. The teachers were scared back then, as they are now. The school district was the worst in Massachusetts and educators were giving up on these “at-risk-students.” BUT, Being a 21st century educator is more than simply using technology in the classroom. So, here are some more ideas on morphing… This work by Mia MacMeekin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Like this: Like Loading...