What Does 21st Century Learning Look Like in an Elementary School?

Posted by Ian Jukes on June 18, 2013 (Posted from his Sardine Blog)

“One of the points stressed by former teacher Angela Watson in this Cornerstone article is that the majority of ed tech trends in education today are oriented towards the higher grades. Thus was born her journalistic quest to illustrate what learning in the 21st century looks like for the elementary school classroom. Read on for some great insights and resources to help you envision this. ”

via Cornerstone for Teachers

That’s the question that was posed to me this week by the faculty at a wonderful school on Manhattan’s upper east side in preparation for some upcoming PD work. I think it’s an outstanding question that’s worth reflecting on in-depth as we all start to think about what our goals and direction are for the next school year.What does 21st century learning look like? is an essential question and overarching topic that I hope to come back to again and again as I think about what works in real classrooms.

It’s an especially important consideration at the elementary level, because so many of the tech trends in education are tested out and geared toward middle and high schools. One-to-one computer initiatives, for example, usually start at sixth grade or higher. Google Apps for Education is fabulous, but to what extent can seven- and eight-year-olds use it? It takes a bit more reflection to figure out what the trickle-down effect of tech trends really means for the the youngest learners.

Learn more from: http://fluency21.com/blog/2013/06/18/what-does-21st-century-learning-look-like-in-an-elementary-school/?utm_source=Committed+Sardines&utm_campaign=deaddffec8-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f244ccc9d2-deaddffec8-188997161

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Technology and the New Common Core

Exactly What The Common Core Standards Say About Technology

Posted by Ryan Schaaf on June 11, 2013

“The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are here, and with them justification for using today's teaching approaches and methods of learning. Teachers can spend less time convincing parents, administrators, and politicians to embrace technology use in the classroom and spend their valuable time preparing instruction using the tools and approaches mapped out in the standards. This article from TeachThought identifies key standards taken from the CCSS that specifically identify the use of technology during instruction, and key takeaways for teachers.”

via TeachThought

The Common Core Standards, the national academic standards for K-12 schools in the United States, have now been adopted by 47 of the 50 states in the U.S. This makes them the pre-eminent source of what is being taught in the vast majority of public schools in America.

Much has been made in the blogosphere and across social media of the changes compared to former academic standards that were dictated at a state level. Reactions usually involve the added demand these standards place on text complexity and general rigor. Since they’re only available for English-Language Arts and Math, it’s difficult to get a full picture for how they will impact public education, but some inferences can be made based on the set of ELA standards.

Edudemic’s focus is on the intersection of education and technology, and the Common Core certainly takes aim at in-depth student technology use. Four sample standards from elementary, middle, and high school English-Language Arts appear below.

From: http://fluency21.com/blog/2013/06/11/exactly-what-the-common-core-standards-say-about-technology/