Archives: December 2006

How to Bring Schools Into the 21st Century (Time Magazine)

Have you read the cover story for this month’s Time magazine?  If you haven’t, check out a summary here.  It discusses the skills needed for our students to be successful in the 21st century.  Here’s a paragrah…. 

For the past five years, the national conversation on education has focused on reading scores, math tests and closing the “achievement gap” between social classes. This is not a story about that conversation. This is a story about the big public conversation the nation is not having about education, the one that will ultimately determine not merely whether some fraction of our children get “left behind” but also whether an entire generation of kids will fail to make the grade in the global economy because they can’t think their way through abstract problems, work in teams, distinguish good information from bad or speak a language other than English.

This conversation is being resonated in many of the blogs and podcasts I follow from some of the current great minds in technology and other fields.  It’s great food for thought!  Check it out! 

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The Quick List of Technology Ideas!

Here is a quick list of 5 ideas to help you get started thinking about how we can work together.  Consider trying something that may take you out of your comfort zone, since you can rest assured that I will be there to help!! 

  1. Give me a unit you are studying, and I will help you think of things to do to support it with technology!  Make sure to give me at least a week–it’s best to contact me about the unit before you start teaching it. 
  2. Consider having your class, or a small group from your class, work on a podcast with me.  I will provide the planning worksheets and do the technical aspects of recording and editing–all you have to do is set aside a time for your students to write.  A podcast can be about any topic!  
  3. Set up the computers in your classroom as technology “stations.”  Allow students to record book reviews, collect data, or answer blog questions whenever they are finished with an assignment.  I’ll be happy to help you come up with ideas that go with your current unit of study, and teach your kids how to work in a station independently (grades 2-5).
  4. Attend a technology inservice.  Work with me to implement the ideas/ skills you learned in your classroom. 
  5. After studying a unit, have students create a project using technology (or with the option to use technology) as a cumulative activity.  You might also consider combining units across subject areas for the project.  I can assist with ideas, but here are few to get you thinking–Photostory or Movie Maker movie (pictures, sounds, words), Slide show presentations, desktop publications (brochures, newspapers, etc.), simple webpages, or a commercials.  This is a great way to “spice up” a unit.

All of these ideas will take time for me to put together, so please plan ahead.  As always, I’ll be more than happy to help you brainstorm through email or face to face in a meeting, whatever your schedule allows.  Just contact me! 

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