Podcast - Student Technology Use

I recently had the opportunity to interview some of my high school students to try to gain a better understanding of their technology usage and preferences.  This survey was a result of an assignment for a class I am taking through Walden University, but I was also inspired by the information presented in my course materials for this week.  Through the survey, I found that my students are immersed in media, but they often do not make use of the same technology at school.  I believe that my school will need to provide better access to technology, and change their personal electronic device for students, in order to prepare students for the society they will be entering.

In the podcast I quote the following sources:

Dretzin, R., & Maggio, J. (Producers), & Dretzin, R. (Writer). (2008, January 22). Growing up online [Television series episode]. In Frontline. Boston: WGBH. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/ 

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010a). Today's students. [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010b). Millenial learning styles. [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills - A Review

Through my current course at Walden University, titled, Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society, I have had the opportunity to evaluate a variety of technologies and resources, examining their possible benefits to my own practice of teaching middle and high school students.  This week, we focused on what have come to be known as "21st-century skills."  Although most of the skills really aren't new, they have gained importance in our current, and future, world due to the changes brought on by new technology.  Identifying the need for these skills, Bates and Phelan write, "it is clear that our success in building a globally competitive workforce is dependent on the ability of our workforce development systems to provide the employability skills, both the basic academic skills (the three Rs, listening, speaking) as well as the higher order competencies required for success in today’s workplace."  In the same year that their article, "Characteristics of a Globally Competitive Workforce," was published, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) was formed.  It is this organization's website which I will review for the remainder of this post.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is made up of business, education, and government leaders.  Among their members are companies like Apple, Adobe, and Cisco, a member of the Kentucky Department of Education, and educational organizations such as the National Education Association and Education Network of America.  The mission of this organization is "To serve as a catalyst to position 21st century readiness at the center of US K12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education, business, community and government leaders" (P21, 2011).  So far, they seem to be successful in their mission because they have formed many partnerships with very influential, and active, organizations.

At first glance, the P21 website is colorful and well-organized, with enough pictures and colored text boxes to keep things interesting.  For a "casual web-surfer" there is probably a bit too much text to keep their attention, but for an educator looking for resources, it is just about right.  It was lucky for me that the first announcement on the site's homepage pointed me to the new math skills map, which is probably the best resource on the site for a math educator.

Many times I feel like I need an interpreter to walk me through a set of state standards, but the 21st Century Math Skills Map takes away much of the mystery.  For each 21st century skills outcome, the map provides an example of students completing a task that demonstrates the outcome and shows how the outcome aligns with the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS).  Not only does this make the goals of the P21 Framework easy to understand, it also eliminates much of the legwork that a teacher would need to do in aligning their curriculum with both the CCSS and the 21st Century Framework.

There are many other useful tools on the site as well.  The P21 Blog contains many great articles from leaders in the realm of education.  There are also guides for implementing 21st century skills in various settings, such as in the classroom and through professional development.  Parents can even find information about 21st century skills, although I believe that the partnership should reword these resources to be easier for parents without an educational background to understand.

After scouring the site for something I didn't agree with, I finally found an article called "Virtual Schools and 21st Century Skills."  As an educator, I naturally bristle at the thought of virtual schools for K-12 students because they seem like a threat to my job.  However, the real problem that I have with the concept of virtual schools is not the threat to my job or the quality of education it provides, but what I perceive as a lack of accountability, motivational tools, and the ability to teach the informal life lessons that "normal" teachers teach through the situations which arise in their classrooms.  The article says "Online learning through virtual schools is one of the most important advancements in attempting to rethink the effectiveness of education in the United States," and "skills like problem solving are practically meaningless if students cannot manage their time efficiently and productively" (The North American Council for Online Learning and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2006).  I don't disagree with either of these statements, but the article never explains how students would be held accountable, how they develop time management, or how they would learn the important life lessons that students get in a physical classroom.  One of the positive sides that I see with online schools is that parents would have to play an active role in holding their child accountable and in teaching life lessons, which I don't always see happening in today's classroom.


Overall, The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has a great website with good organization and quality resources for parents, educators, administrators, and community leadership.  I would recommend the site to anyone seeking a better understanding of 21st century skills and their impact in today's society.

Resources:


Bates, R., & Phelan, K. (2002). Characteristics of a globally competitive workforce. Advances in 

Developing Human Resources, 4(2), 121.

The North American Council for Online Learning and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2006). Virtual schools and 21st century skills. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/VSand21stCenturySkillsFINALPaper.pdf 

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2011). The partnership for 21st century skills [Website]. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org

Blog Introduction in a Middle or High School Band

I've often thought of how I can integrate technology into my band classes. Frequently I run into issues of cost and practical application. Cost is obvious – some things are just too expensive to purchase them for the band to use. Practicality is an issue for other reasons. Having classes of 30 or more students makes it difficult to do some computer-based projects, and, when combined with the pressures of a performance schedule, it is hard to commit more than a couple of days (at a time) to a project. However, a Weblog, or 'blog,' may be just what I need to get students thinking about the practice of music, and using technology, within my time, size, and cost restraints.

Since some great blog sites are free, like this one, cost is not a problem.  Blogs also lend themselves to collaboration, so students in my larger classes can work in small groups to do posts.  Additionally, blogs can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection, so students can work on their posts at home, while those who don't have Internet connections can have first priority on the school's computers.
As an introduction to to blogging, I think I will begin with one of Will Richardson's scaffolding suggestions.  In the book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, Will writes, "to start, we could provide, or ask students to find, interesting and relevant sites of information and teach them how to write about what they find useful at those sites" (Richardson, 2010).  I would have students seek out websites and blog posts that offer suggestions for playing or maintaining instruments, counting music, writing music, and other sites that could help them become better musicians.  I would then have them write a review of the site, or an article found on the site, including why it was helpful to them and how it could be useful to someone else.  To start, this would probably be a single blog site where I write a prompt and students respond using comments.

Looking into the future, I could see my band classes using a blog, or blogs, to create a clearinghouse for music related questions and suggestions, helpful links, and more.  One idea I have had is to have all of the trumpets work together, each having their own login, on a trumpet blog, where they can ask each other questions, write how-to and help articles, and post links to helpful sites.  Other instrument groups would each have their own blog, with one student serving as an editor.  Of course, I would continue to monitor the content of each site using an RSS aggregator, and have the ability to modify content as needed.

A blog, or blogs, of this type would help students to become better musicians by providing them with helpful suggestions, and by getting them to think about their musicianship.  If a student were having trouble with a fingering on a clarinet, they could check the blog to see if another student has posted a fingering chart, and if not, they could locate one and post it to the blog for others to use.  Younger students could post questions, and older ones could mentor them.  Students wishing to hear how a song from class is supposed to sound might locate a YouTube video and post it to the blog for others to use.  Essentially, students could use the blog to find helpful information, or share helpful information.  I think the best part would be that students would probably begin working to find the information on their own rather than asking me when help is just a click away.


Resources:

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.