Tech & Learning magazine is currently publishing a series of articles focused on “What’s Essential for Today’s Technology Program“. Most of the articles are geared toward technology and curriculum directors, but the sixth article in the series focuses on 21st century learning and how it is assessed. While the article lacks depth (what can you include in a document that is just four pages long), it presents an excellent overview of 21st century learning and the role of technology.

The basic premise of the article is that 21st century learning is about more than ‘content’. It also includes learning how to think, lead, collaborate, and use the tools now available thanks to technology. I would imagine this premise comes as dismay to educators already overwhelmed about the amount of content that needs to be delivered. Yet, here is the reality, as pointed out by the authors: “Schools can either capitalize on young people’s affinity for technology or fail to engage them in learning and be perceived as more and more irrelevant.”

Consider with the authors the three primary components of 21st century learning – (1) the tools – includes hardware such as a laptops and digital cameras, but also online resources, (2) strategies, primarily the use of differentiated instruction and project-based learning, and (3) assessments (such as formative, performance and e-portfolios) that are seen as impetus for evaluating and then improving instruction (less focus on individual scores and more focus on how we can improve delivery). 

The article is an excellent overview of 21st century learning, and can stir up the “possibility thinking” within you. What can we do in our classrooms to mirror what is described in this article? It is certainly a daunting task.

Pam Shoemaker from Walled Lake Schools presented a session on “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works”. Some, but not all, of her content was based on this book. She has found many online resources that would engage students, and these resources can be found on her wiki at http://pamshoemaker.wikispaces.com. A lot of great resources. Please take the time to check it out.

I have a confession to make. I have spent a ton of time thinking about how technology ties in with the nine instructional strategies that Robert Marzano and friends presented in Classroom Instruction That Works, so I can’t say I learned a ton in this session. Again, that is not a knock on the presenter. When Mona Shores was developing the Smart Classroom initiative, we used Marzano’s book in some initial training with our pilot teachers and the overview training with all district teachers. So, in short, I have lived and breathed this stuff for quite some time.

I am also developing – on my own time – an online workshop focusing on how technology can be used to enhance Marzano’s strategies. In future posts on this blog, I will share some ideas on how technology can help you deliver instruction. I will likely include some of the ideas Pam shared, but again, if you want a sneak preview, go to her wiki.

Think for a moment about the Mona Lisa painting. When I mention the name, a mental image immediately comes to find. But imagine how difficult it would be to imagine what she looked like if I could only use words to describe her. That’s the power of visual literacy.

Lynell Burmark of the Thornburg Center shared some great insights on research that has been conducted about the impact of images. For example, there are 1,000,000 fibers from each eye to the brain, but only 30,000 fibers from the ear. She likened it to 1,000,000 highway lanes compared to only 30,000 lanes. Yet, it is a common practice to rely more on “hearing” than “seeing” when we teach. We process images 60,000 times faster than we process words. What could happen if we display a picture on the screen and use it to open a class session with discussion?

I also found it interesting that, according to one estimate, there are approximately 30,000 PowerPoint presentations shown daily. However, if most of those presentations are dominated by text and the text is read by the presenter, studies show that retention decreases (we tend to mentally turn off either the slide or the speaker).

The greatest challenge for me personally, based on additional research conducted by Richard Mayer, is to develop PowerPoint slides with full-size pictures. Then, I should use either words displayed after the initial picture is already seen or a voice-over embedded after the initial display. The research indicates an 89% likelihood that the content in the slide will be retained aand applied using this strategy.

One last thought before lunch – there are now projectors that can simultaneously display two different pictures. Set up two screens and let them slides work together. The advantage here is that a student can still linger on the previous slide if they need more time to process a thought. I know the costs of projectors are high, but that certainly makes sense.

Greetings from Grand Rapids!

Wow! What a start to MACUL! Mary Cullinane of Microsoft challenged us to think differently. It was one of those sessions where you walk out thinking “let’s do it” but at the same time, creating conflict within because it is a process that takes time and lots of difficult (yet fulfulling) thinking. One of the most challenging thoughts she shared is actually a quote by David Warlick, who in paraphrased terms said that we are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, for using technology that has not yet been invented in order to solve problems that we don’t even know are problems yet. Isn’t that a challenging thought.

I wondered if the focus would be a rah-rah session on what Microsoft did with its School of the Future in West Philadelphia, PA, but that was not the case. All throughout the session, Mary downplayed the role of Microsoft and stressed the process of people in West Philadelphia making the decisions. It wasn’t about the technology, but the learner and the needs they bring to the classroom. Do we really understand our students? Do we really understand the world they live in?

Mary shared this quote and while it rings true, what challenges me is how we solve this dilemma: “There is a prevailing culture of fear in education today, and because of it, we hesitate to innovate. When people are afraid of failure, they retreat back to the norm. We have to remove the culture of fear, or we will continue in the culture of the status quo.”

It is not everyday that I intend to post back-to-back “food for thought” type of messages. However, this whole idea of reaching our digital students weighs heavily on my heart. I know there are several teachers who are creating new, meaningful technological means to engage students, and I only wish there were more. So, if you will let me stand on my soapbox for one more day, please consider viewing this seven-minute video clip from Teacher Tube. This clip was originally posted by the technology specialists at Jordan (Utah) School District. Here it is – Pay Attention!

Lane White, the technology director at Mona Shores, shared several video clips with me today related to the future of technology in the classroom. This video clip – A Vision of K12 Students Today - is featured on Teacher Tube. It approaches the whole idea of using technology in the classroom from the students’ point of view. The four-minute video will make you think.

I tend to be a neat freak and don’t keep a lot of magazines. However, one article published four years ago that remains in my collection asks some penetrating questions. The article, titled The New Literacy: The 3 Rs Evolve into the 4 Es, was published in Technology and Learning magazine. The authors basically ask “what do students need to be learning today in order to be ready for an unpredictable future?”  Michael Cox, a chief economist for the Federal Reserve Bank, was quoted by the authors as saying that most students will have at least five jobs following graduation, and four of those haven’t even been invented yet. The burning question becomes, do we need to change the way we deliver instruction?

The authors do not suggest that we eliminate the three Rs of education – reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic. Instead, they imply that we need to go a step beyond what has traditionally been taught.

Take, for example, the first ‘r (reading). Instead of just teaching students how to read, they need to learn how to “expose knowledge” (the first “e”). Our goal is to challenge students to find information, decode the information, evaluate the information and finally, organize the information into personal digital libraries. Instead of just teaching students the basic mathematical skills, we face the daunting task of helping them process numbers using various forms of technology, and then utilizing multimedia to explain the interpretation of what the process revealed. Instead of simply writing, the challenge will be teaching students how to write ideas compellingly. This means writing effectively, and communicating with multimedia resources.

The authors suggest the fourth E of ethics. Students need to learn how to discern if information is reliable, how to respect information as the property of others, and the proper use of Internet resources.

The tough question is “How?” How do we find the time to teach these concepts? How do we structure our lessons to deliver the basic components, and at the same time, teach students how to think about these evolving literacies? How do we deliver instruction that is authentic to real-world experiences. These are not an easy questions to answer.

 How do we prepare students for a future that cannot be predicted? What do you think?

Will Richardson, best-known for expertise in educational technology and his blog www.weblog-ged.com, shared some great thoughts about the use of technology in an article titled The Secrets of their Success written by Victor Rivero (T.H.E. Journal, June 2006, p. 44). His argument that we may be asking the wrong question makes sense: “We should stop thinking and talking about technology and instead think and talk about curriculum. Always start with the question, ‘So what do you want to do?’ not ‘What do you want to do with this technology?’ At some point, the whole concept of educational technology will go away, and we’ll move to just plain-old education. I mean, do you ever hear the phrase business technology? Political technology? Journalism technology? It’s always struck me as strange that we separate the two things, when the reality is that if we’re using it well, the technology should be as seamless as chalk and pencils. We try to always start with a conversation about what teachers want to have happen, and then work from there to incorporate whatever tool might be most effective.” He has a valid point that we can all strive to achieve.