WEB FOCUS
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The Internet provides a buffet of web 2.0 resources that can be integrated into the curriculum to engage, motivate and empower students with the skills to become 21st Century learners. Organizing the tools and aligning them with curriculum goals and objectives helps the teacher to better facilitate the learning process and create a collaborative global environment.
The goal for this site is to provide in one central location web resources that can be used in the classroom to assess, engage, motivate and promote 21st century learning.
Nortel supports the Kenan Fellows Program to promote teacher leadership in technology to extend technology integration in grades K-12. Address: Campus Box 7006, Raleigh, NC 27695 Telephone: 919.515.5118 FAX: 919.515.5831 Email: KenanFellows_NCSU.edu
Digital Citizenship
Use technology to understand human, cultural and societal issues while practicing legal and ethical behavior.
Research and Information Fluency
Gather and evaluate information using digital tools
Communicate and Collaborate
Use digital media to contribute to the learning process by communicating and colloaborating.
21st Century Skills
Technology Operations and Concepts
Demonstrate technology concepts, systems and operations.
Create and Innovate
Use technology tools to demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge and develop innovative projects.
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making
Use digital tools to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems and make informed decisions.
21st Century Learning
The wheel, printing press, cotton gin, computer, the chip and other inventions have revolutionized the way people work, learn and play. These and other technologies have been used to build pyramids, bridges, and tunnels instrumental in changing and forming cultures. Technology has enhanced communication, sent man to the moon, removed barriers to human interactions, created global networks, cultivated subcultures and cyber cultures, facilitated political oppression, war and death. So what is technology? According to Dugger, technology is all the modification humans have made in the natural environment for their own purposes including inventions, innovations, and changes intended to meet our wants and needs, to live longer, more productive lives. It includes the age old flint tools, wheel, and levers to high tech computers, multimedia, biotechnologies. In essence, if humans thought of it and made it, it's technology.(1) Technology involves mechanical devices and techniques used to negatively or positively transform societies. It is the diverse collection of processes and knowledge that people use to extend human abilities and to satisfy human needs and wants.(2) The question becomes then how can technology be used to create the best possible student, motivated to learn and compete in a global society?
Today's students are living in a world immersed in high tech. They already see their teachers as technology illiterate. Teachers are teaching to their past instead of student's future or present for that matter. Marc Prensky believes that literacy is no longer reading and writing, but the new literacy is programming computers. Prensky stated that students should be taught programming including html, flash and other languages to command control of the technology and the ability to compete in a global society. Mr. Prensky believes that 30 years from today, this will make the United States more competitive and provide students the abillity to make complex machines of the era to do their bidding.(3) Many school districts from many states are teaching out of the 20th century. Like Rip Van Winkle, they have been caught up in a long sleep and have awakened to work as usual, ignoring the changes that have occurred over time. All American schools are not stagnant, however according to Claudia Wallis and Sonja Steptoe, considering the pace of change, public schools are like throwbacks. Children spend much of the school day as their parents did; sitting in rows listening to teachers lecture, writing notes by hand, and reading from textbooks that are out dated.(4) Teachers need to take a dose of reality and understand that it is okay if students are more familiar with the technology than they are. After all, these students are digital natives. It is so important that the curriculum be brought in line with the technology by placing more emphasis on collaboration, interacting in groups, making real world applications and using the technology to make global connections.
An administrator in the Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township in northeastern Indianapolis set out to transform education by integrating 21st century skills and technology into the curriculum. The goal was to educate teachers on using 21st century technology to create student centered classrooms, to promote problem-solving skills and encourage hands on learning. The district received a $5.9 million grant from the Lilly Endowment and began the task of creating a web site designed to foster a professional learning community in which teachers exchanged ideas, collaborated and provided encouragement. According to Leona Jamison,, professional development director of the district, she wanted to create a website to help educators teach in ways students who grew up with digital gadgets were wired to learn.(5) The result was motivated learners excited about learning and willing to achieve by problem solving, researching and experimenting.
Why is it important to implement 21st century learning? You call the help desk for most companies and you are almost guaranteed to receive an accent on the other end indicating that you are likely talking to someone other than an American citizen. Companies through outsourcing are transforming industries, communities and changing how and where we work. Technology opens doors that were berfore closed. Using technology, people can view the halls of a building, talk simultaneously to people around the world, collaborate on a document from txtreme ends of the world without ever leaving home. Technology has advanced us the opportunities to not only reach out and touch member of our family, but our neihbors locally and abroad. We must use the mmodications nt only to meet out personal wants and needs but those children we have been blessed to teach. We are teaching 21st century students. They ave never known a time without the cell phhone, the laptop computer,, hand-held games and many other electronic devices. It is imperative that we use the technology to teach students how to stay abreast of worldly events and effectively compete with their peers in a global society.
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1 Dugger, W. E., Jr., "Standards for Technological Literacy. "Phi Delta Kappan, no. 82, v. 7 (March 2001): 513-517.
2 "International Technology Education Association, Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology, Reston, Va: ITEA, 2000." Available from http://www.iteawww.org/TAA/STLstd.htm.I Internet, accessed 23 March 2008.
3 Prensky, Marc. "Programming: The New Literacy. "Edutopia, no. Vol 4, Issue 1 (Feb/March 2008): 48-52.
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creating a voicethread
9. Multimedia
Glogster,can be used to create an online poster that integrates text, music and video. Glogs can be reviewed by peers and or teachers to assess student understanding of concepts. A Voicethreadis a web-based digital-storytelling toolused to share stories through audio, images and video and receive comments from other users. Other similar sites include animoto, prezi, onetruemedia, xtranormal and music shake.
10. Online hosting
There are a number of sites that can be used to share files over the internet. Users can upload powerpoints to slideshare. Files can be shared with individuals using YourFileLink.
5. Comics
Teachers can use comics in the classroom to introduce concepts, define plots, etc. Students can also use comics to create tutorials or complete projects. Popular sites include Make Beliefsand ToonDoons.
6. Classroom Web
Poupular sites include edmodo built with students privacy in mind. Teachers send alerts, events and assigemens to students. Yammer is a way to create a private environment with students, teachers and staff. Web Pages can be created using wix. Pageflakes can be used to house lesson resources for teachers and provide future access for student review.
1. Research
There are many sites that can be used to assist students in analyzing and searching for information. Visual learners can use Search Cubeto search the internet using a 3-dimensional cube interface. Books on various topics can be located withPDF Geni Jog the web allows the user to create a synchronous, annotated web site guide with questions to a series of web sites. Visual Dictionary provide a visual with each definition.
2. Online Suites
These tools offer web applications geared towards increading productivity and easy collaboration. The popular sites include zoho and google.
11. Word Clouds
A visual graphic representation of information arranged in collage fashion. Teachers can create a vocabulary, comparison, matching cloud, etc. Words clouds can range from simple to complex. Some poular sites include word it out,wordle and tagul.
12. Mind Mapping
A visual diagram used to represent words, concepts, steps, etc. organized around a main idea. Some popular sites include mindomo, mindmeister andbubbl.us
7. Wiki
A tool that allow users to create, collaborate, upload and download documents, share and edit information from a community of users. PBworks and Wikispaces are tools that are used often in educational evironments.
8. Blog
A blog is an online journal that allow users to read, write and edit text. Participants can comment on posts, share documents and other resources. Teachers can use the tool in the classroom to have students discuss a book read, provide steps for solving a math problem, etc. Some popular blogs include edublogand wordpress.
3. Social Book Marks
A social bookmarking website that allow users to share, highlight, comment and tag web sites.Teacheers can create a list of resources for research, tutorial, provide assistance on class lessons. Popular sites include diigoand delicioous.
4. Survey
Surveys and polls can be taken to access student knowledge and provide students with a tool to gather data. Some popular tools are survey monkey, zoomerang, and survey.com
Voki
Users can create personalized speaking avartars and use them on blogs, profiles, email and embed them in web pages. Students can use the voki to present reports, provide summaries, share answers to questions, etc. A voki can also be use to represent a child and keep the identity of the student anonymous. Avtars can be fun and easy to create.
Bookbuilder.cast.org
Create, collaborate, share, publish and read digital books that engage and support diverse learners according to their individual needs, interests and skills. Bookbuildercan be used to teach elements of a story and the importance of editing and copyright. Creating a story from personal experiences whether it is fictional or non-fictional can be an exciting educational experience for elementary students as well as students in high school. Bookris an option for creative writing for elementary students.
Timer
Use a timer to assess student knowlege by keeping a running total of the amount of time taken to complete a task. For example how many problems can a student solve in a minute. Start with basic math and work up to word problems.
Audacity
An audio editor that can be used to record, slice and mix audio.Audacity can be used to provide students with audio assessments, improve oral skills, record how to instructions, editorials, etc. Text can be overlayed with music to create podcast for radio programs and or class announcements. Podcasts can be fun and entertaining.
Screencast-o-Matic
A free web-based screen recorder that captures screen activity in real time. Users can create instructional tutorials for using software or hardware. Jing is an alternative program that can be used to capture the computer screen in real time. Software download is required for Jing.
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Technology, Knowledge and Society
Pageflakes
GlobalTech
Common Core
Digital Dozen
21st Century Learners
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NCDPI: gholmes_dpi.state.nc.us
GCS: holmesg_guilford.k12.nc.us
GMail: ghholmes_gmail.com
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© Kenan Fellow Production produced by Gail Holloman Holmes.
