Partnership for 21st Century Learning

I continue to be amazed at the wealth of resources available at our fingertips. The website provided by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills is impressive. The partnership seems to be gaining momentum as more states and organizations join forces to promote its mission. I find it interesting that some experts are so critical of the ideas of adjusting our strategies in education. If a business operated on the same slow evolution that education has taken it would completely fail. It is clear that our system in the U.S. is not creating the population that we need to thrive and politicians and media outlets are quick to cast aspersions on the teachers and districts. I think the P21 movement just might be an important influence to improving education nationally. It will be fascinating to keep up with the ideas and information from this organization.

I was surprised by how well organized and focused the P21 movement is. They have a clearly defined mission and well qualified advocates. The corporate partners speak volumes - well respected businesses that are looking for up and coming employees turned out by our schools.

The implications for me as an educator are that I need to be mindful of incorporating 21st century content into my instructions for my students to become individuals who can be successful in their future. I must constantly improve myself and stay abreast of trends and technology to put my students in a position to compete globally.

Using Blogs in the Classroom

I'm new to blogging and excited about discovering ways to incorporate their use into my lessons and classroom. My first intention is to start a blog as a class portal. I will post class information, content, links to enriching sites on topics, and a calendar. I think it will be beneficial to students who are absent who can visit the site and retrieve ppt. notes or assignments they missed as well as parents and administrators who can follow what we are studying and how. In addition, students who have questions or ideas can post them and possibly get an answer from another student or myself without waiting until the next class period.

I am very interested in using blogs as a learning tool. I teach 9th grade Physical Science in the Cleveland School District. I keep getting hung up on the idea that my students will be hesitant to participate in an "academic" conversation regarding our topics. Again... that anxiety about the unknown!