What are 21st century skills? | Thoughtful Learning: Curriculum for 21st Century Skills, Inquiry, Project-Based Learning, and Problem-Based Learning The 21st century skills are a set of abilities that students need to develop in order to succeed in the information age. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills lists three types: Learning Skills Critical Thinking Creative Thinking Collaborating Communicating Literacy Skills Information Literacy Media Literacy Technology Literacy Life Skills Flexibility Initiative Social Skills Productivity Leadership New Skills for New Jobs These skills have always been important for students, though they are particularly important in our information-based economy. To hold information-age jobs, though, students also need to think deeply about issues, solve problems creatively, work in teams, communicate clearly in many media, learn ever-changing technologies, and deal with a flood of information. Demand in the Workplace These are not just anecdotal observations.
A Helpful Resource to Support Close Reading in the Classroom via Snap!Learning Taking a Closer Look at Close Reading- click here to take a look - I've had the pleasure of speaking across the country on a variety of literacy topics, mostly focused on reading and writing workshop. Recently I've been asked to consult with several districts and speak at many conferences on close reading. Last year was the first time I presented on the topic of close reading in Las Vegas. What is Close Reading? The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) describes close reading in light of the Common Core State Standards. How Should I Implement Close Reading? Over the past few years, I've been collecting resources to support the implementation of close reading in our classroom. What Resources Are Available? I had been familiar with Snap! With the resources from Snap! One of my favorite components of Snap! What About Resources for Teachers? How Can I Try Snap! Be sure to check out the Snap! This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.
Texting Teen Driver Goes on Trial for Homicide The trial of a teenage driver who crashed into a truck while allegedly texting and driving is underway — and it could have major implications for future texting-while-driving crimes. On Feb. 20, 2011, Aaron Deveau, then 17, from Haverhill, Mass., collided head on with 55-year-old Donald Bowley. Bowley died 18 days after the accident. Deveau sent or received 193 text messages on Feb. 20 — and allegedly got two of them minutes before his Chevy Malibu hit Bowley's Toyota Corolla head on at 2:36 p.m. Other charges include "negligent operation of a motor vehicle, being an operator under 18 using a mobile phone, being an operator reading or sending an electronic message, a marked lanes violation, and two counts of negligent operation and injury from mobile phone use," according to an ABC report. Massachusetts banned texting while driving in September 2010. Deveau's lawyers say there's no evidence supporting the negligent motor vehicle homicide charge.
5 of the best social media Apps for your Android smartphone Ever since the explosion of Facebook and Twitter, social apps have become one of the most hotly sought after and downloaded categories for apps. From helping you to find new places in town to just chatting, this group of apps has it all for you and your friends. Despite the recent purchases of startup app companies (Instagram, Beluga, Meebo) by Google, Facebook and more, there are still plenty of notable social apps left in the market. For the sake of introducing new apps, we have decided to exclude the most popular social apps (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google+, and Spotify). LinkedIn LinkedIn, the professional network, is home to over 160 million professionals from all over the world. ooVoo With the recent integration of Skype video call to Facebook, ooVoo has taken a back-seat in terms of popularity. Voxer Contrary to that of ooVoo, Voxer didn’t make its way onto this list with video calling. Foursquare Check-in and check it out. Tumblr Which app is your favorite?
What are literacy skills? | Thoughtful Learning: Curriculum for 21st Century Skills, Inquiry, Project-Based Learning, and Problem-Based Learning Literacy skills help students gain knowledge through reading as well as using media and technology. These skills also help students create knowledge through writing as well as developing media and technology. Information Literacy Students need to be able to work effectively with information, using it at all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy (remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating). Information literacy involves traditional skills such as reading, researching, and writing; but new ways to read and write have also introduced new skills: Consuming information: The current excess of information requires students to gain new skills in handling it. Inquire: A Guide to 21st Century Learning provides chapters on reading to learn, study skills, vocabulary, and basic and advanced research. Media Literacy Media literacy involves understanding the many ways that information is produced and distributed. Technology Literacy
The near and far future of libraries — Hopes&Fears — flow "Technology" My background is in linguistics, and my graduate research involveddocumenting some of the most endangered languages in the world. I alsoworked in a small language archive where we had been given field notesby people who’d researched languages with few speakers left. In somecases, archival materials are the only materials that remain forspoken languages. If you’ve ever had that experience of holding something in your hands that is the only one of its kind, you begin to realize how precious and perishable this information is. If you’re making an archival relic for future generations, it’s veryimportant to have “signposts” directing people to know that it exists,how to find it, and how to access the information on it. The Long Now Foundation takes the span of human civilization as itsscope: 10,000 years in the past from the dawn of human civilization,and projecting that 10,000 years into future.
Parents and Grads: Here's the Social Media Conversation You Need to Have More and more recruiters and employers are using social networks to screen job candidates. There are plenty of stories about companies rejecting applicants based on their social media profiles. If you’re the parent of a recent college grad, you may have read these stories and thought of trying to have a chat about reputation with your kid. But what would you say? How would you put it in the language of social media? Investigate Yourself Take inventory of what can be found online about you. Bury the Bad
Digital Royalty Says Every Employee Need Social Media Training [EXCLUSIVE] Has social media become so omnipresent that companies can no longer afford to train just marketers, sales and public relations people in Twitter, Facebook and other networks? That's the premise behind an expansion in service for the social media strategy firm Digital Royalty and its founder Amy Jo Martin. The company is preparing to roll out a new set of online courses meant to train entire corporate workforces — not just people whose primary tasks are interfacing with customers. "There's yet to be a comprehensive offering online in this customizable yet automated way," she told Mashable. Viewing the move with a wider lens, Digital Royalty's expansion seems to a signify social media's continued emergence and legitimacy in the business world. Digital Royalty was among the earlier and most recognized organizations to identify and exploit the market of social media strategy. Digital Royalty is also taking on a pair of big-name investors in Zappos CEO and NBA star Baron Davis.
Nine Elements Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship Digital citizenship can be defined as the norms of appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology use. 1. Digital Access: full electronic participation in society. Technology users need to be aware that not everyone has the same opportunities when it comes to technology. Working toward equal digital rights and supporting electronic access is the starting point of Digital Citizenship. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Respect, Educate and Protect (REPs) These elements have also been organized under the principles of respect, educate and protect. Respect Your Self/Respect Others - Etiquette - Access - Law Educate Your Self/Connect with Others - Literacy - Communication - Commerce Protect Your Self/Protect Others -Rights and Responsibility - Safety (Security) - Health and Welfare If this was to be taught beginning at the kindergarten level it would follow this pattern: Repetition 1 (kindergarten to second grade) Respect Your Self/Respect Others Digital Etiquette
7 Ways to Hack Your Classroom to Include Student Choice For a long time, when educators discussed differentiating instruction and meeting students’ individual needs, they did so through the framework of Learning Styles. However, in the last few years the idea of student achievement being impacted by lessons taught to their particular learning style has been debunked. No scientific, educational research has proven the validity of teaching for student learning styles; in fact, this blog post collected 10 statements from educational researchers that actually disprove the use of such approaches. We covered the same topic in The Myth of Learning Styles, where we made the point that, “Instructors should not just take into consideration a learner’s style, but also their background and interests.” This suggestion is based in solid research, which documents the positive relationship between student interest and academic success. Teachers do a lot to maintain student interest. Image via Flickr by US Department of Education In Short