21st Century Skills

Evaluating 21st Century Skills

As a business teacher for the past 5 years, it has been my goal to prepare all of my students for their future careers in the 21st century. The website http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ is a great tool that can help all educators understand the importance of technology integration and our daunting task of preparing our students with the skills needed to be successful.
I was surprised to see the states that currently have P21 initiatives.
After reviewing the Framework for 21st Century Learning I was better able to understand the overall concept.
At my current school, we are organized in Small Learning Communities. I often see some of my students more than their core area teachers. In our Academy Learning Team meetings it is my goal to help the core teachers understand that my role is not just an elective but it is to help prepare their future.
Every student can benefit from learning skills that they will need to gain employment.
As educators, we must change the way that we teach. As a contemporary educator, it is my goal to have my students prepared for the 21st Century.
P21 serves as a great guide for students and teachers to help prepare solid programs that will benefit students that will enter the 21st Century worforce.

Classroom Blogs

Blogging - A new way to discuss...

For the past year I have been wanting to use blogs in my classroom. The county that I work for provides all teachers with space to create a class website. One of the pages that can be created is a Blog page. I decided to play around with creating a blog because I wanted to see how my students would react. To my surprise, they were not as excited as I expected but they did like the ability to read the comments of their peers.

I require all students to respond to my classroom blog. They have more freedom when posting to a blog (as long as it is school appropriate). Traditional writing usually requires students to write in essay/report format. Blogs allow students to get their opinions and thoughts out without having a classroom discussion. The students don't realize that it is a form of writing and can be very educational. Blogs allow deeper thought on subjects. When I post blogs for my students their response must be detailed, much more than a yes or no response is required.

I currently teach Business classes (Banking, Intro to Business, and Insurance) to high school students in grades 9-12. In dealing with the many world issues that arise in the world of business, blogs are practical because students can write reflectively and communicate with their peers.

...New & Exciting

I have created my very first blog and I am excited to learn more about blogging. I have played around with blogging in the past but I do not consider myself to be a blogger.

I teach Business & Technology in Atlanta, GA.
I feel that it is my responsibility to prepare students for the realities of life. I tell my students that they are expected to be computer savvy. It is my responsibility to continue my learning so that I can share with them the latest and greatest technology available.