We Are All Teachers Of Literacy. "If we talk about literacy we have to talk about how to enhance our children's mastery over the tools needed to live intelligent, creative, and involved lives. " -Danny Glover At ISTE 2016 I had the pleasure of sitting on a panel, sponsored by Samsung Education, with other educators and industry experts, spending an hour talking about literacy in the age of technology. It was an engaging discussion that looked at how one district in Tennessee leveraged technology to improve reading in the middle grades and also how literacy instruction is being impacted by the use of technology. My role in the discussion was that of a former District Technology Leader and what I’ve seen when implementing district technology programs centered around literacy.
For me this discussion really hit home. As a Father of a 2 daughters I see on an almost daily basis how computers, tablets and apps are impacting their literacy skills. Each content area has it’s own special language that kids need to understand. How Teacher-Created Free Online Resources Are Changing the Classroom. When Eric Langhorst teaches the Civil War to his eighth-graders at Discovery Middle School in Liberty, Missouri, he likes to give his students a taste of what Missouri was like in that era. In addition to teaching about the big events found in any Civil War curriculum, like the battles of Gettysburg and Antietam, Langhorst incorporates materials he has created about the guerrilla-style warfare more common in his region at that time. He wouldn’t be able to localize his curriculum that way if he taught only out of a textbook.
“Some of the limitations of textbooks are they tend to be very non-interactive, kind of impersonal, and they’re not very flexible in terms of regional differences,” Langhorst said. For all these reasons, he doesn’t use them anymore. Instead, he creates his own curriculum, in collaboration with the other eighth-grade social studies teacher at his school, out of materials he has found on the internet and adapted to the needs of his classroom. For Students 2016. 2b Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including social interactions online or when using networked devices.
Positive behaviors Interactions that convey a portrait of the way you want to be perceived and healthy interactions with technology itself, for example, moderating the time online or gaming, ergonomic issues and balancing use of media with daily physical activity. Safe behaviors Interactions that keep you out of harm’s way, for example, knowing the identity of who you are interacting with; how much and what kind information you release online; protecting oneself from scams, phishing schemes and poor purchasing practices (e-commerce theft). Legal behaviors Interactions that are mindful of the law, for example, abiding by copyright and fair use, respecting network protections by not hacking them and not using another’s identity.
What Disruption Looks Like — The Corporate Startup. What Disruption Looks Like The Case of the Education Industry Much has been written about the changing landscape in the business of education. Christensen’s Disrupting Class is a great book, so is Kevin Carey’s The End of College: Creating the Future of Learning and the University of Everywhere. There are also several articles highlighting the increasing investments in the EdTech space which have grown over 503% in the last five years; and the rising startups that are disrupting education as shown in the image above.
There is some debate as to whether the coming disruption of education is greatly exaggerated. The Top 50 Fastest Growing Education Companies Recently, Inc. But these growth rates are not where we will find the hidden gems of disruption. These small revenue numbers is where the danger lies for large companies. This takes us to Christensen’s second principle of disruption: Small (emerging) markets don’t solve the growth needs of large companies. This is why disruption happens. What 'digital' really means. Companies today are rushing headlong to become more digital. But what does digital really mean? For some executives, it’s about technology. For others, digital is a new way of engaging with customers. And for others still, it represents an entirely new way of doing business. None of these definitions is necessarily incorrect. But such diverse perspectives often trip up leadership teams because they reflect a lack of alignment and common vision about where the business needs to go.
Even as CEOs push forward with their digital agendas, it’s worth pausing to clarify vocabulary and sharpen language. It’s tempting to look for simple definitions, but to be meaningful and sustainable, we believe that digital should be seen less as a thing and more a way of doing things. Creating value at new frontiers Being digital requires being open to reexamining your entire way of doing business and understanding where the new frontiers of value are.
Creating value in core businesses Real-time automation. 21st Century Citizenship. A Vision for 21st Century Citizenship The ways in which Americans, as citizens, engage in their communities, their country and the world are changing and expanding. The challenges of being a responsible, effective citizen are more diverse, nuanced and complex than in the past. Sustaining our democracy, strengthening economic competitiveness and meeting local, state, national and global challenges demands a broader vision of citizenship for the 21st century. P21 has embarked on a year long project to redefine and reimagine 21st century citizenship, working in partnership with the leading civic learning, global awareness, and digital literacy experts. This project is being sponsored by a generous grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Education for a Changing World - Parents Guide for 21st Century Learning and Citizenship Part of a three-part toolkit aimed at parents and families, this new offering from P21 is a collaboration between P21 members and National PTA. Digital Citizenship. Digital Citizenship is a concept which helps teachers, technology leaders and parents to understand what students/children/technology users should know to use technology appropriately. Digital Citizenship is more than just a teaching tool; it is a way to prepare students/technology users for a society full of technology.
Digital citizenship is the norms of appropriate, responsible technology use. Too often we are seeing students as well as adults misusing and abusing technology but not sure what to do. The issue is more than what the users do not know but what is considered appropriate technology usage. The topic of digital citizenship is certainly gaining momentum not only in the United States but around the world.
Whether it is called digital citizenship, digital wellness or digital ethics the issues are the same; how should we act when we are online, and what should be taught to the next generation. How To Tackle Digital Citizenship During The First 5 Days Of School. Digital citizenship is not a one time discussion. It is an ongoing process that needs to be taught to all grade levels and to all stakeholders. The problem is that things are changing so rapidly that it is difficult for everyone to keep up to date with the trends.
Everyone has to be educated and develop an understanding of the role digital citizenship plays in our everyday lives. There is so much that goes into being a digital citizen; from taking photos of others to knowing when it is appropriate to share something online. Our students are like cowboys living in the wild wild west. Without any guidelines or structure they can get in a lot of trouble. Armed with a concrete plan for teaching about appropriate use you can guide your students to become better digital citizens, who will learn how to build their digital presence in a positive and productive way. Day One: Create An Acceptable Use Policy WITH Your Students – Give Them a Voice Day Two:Discuss “Online Privacy”