21 is a very important number for lots of reasons. In education today, it's all about students learning 21st century skills.
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is the initiative that is giving students the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in our constantly changing digital society. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills advocates for integration of core subjects with the interdisciplinary themes of: global awareness; financial, economic, business, and entrepreneurial literacy; civic literacy; health literacy; and environmental literacy. It also includes the learning and innovation skills of: creativity and innovation; critical thinking and problem solving; communication and collaboration. Through the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, students increase their skills with information, media, and technology along with the life and career skills they will use long after completing their K-12 education.
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| picture from: www.tpack.org |
This idea of 21st century skills is seen in other education models and standards, such as
TPACK and
NETS.
First, let's talk about TPACK. This acronym stands for Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge and is about what knowledge teachers need to have to teach with technology effectively. The model shows that a teacher's technological, content, and pedagogical knowledge have to come together to successfully prepare students for the 21st century. Basically, if we want students to have 21st century skills, teachers need to have them too.
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| picture from www.iste.org |
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| picture from www.iste.org |
Now onto NETS or National Educational Technology Standards. For teachers (left), the standards are similar to TPACK but more about evaluating the skills and knowledge educators need to teach, work, and learn. For students (right), some of the standards are familiar because they are seen in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
The bottom line: the world is changing to be more technological. As teachers, we have to do all we can to prepare students for what they will encounter in their lives and careers when they leave the classroom.
I love your title and your blog is beautiful! Very clearly laid out TPACK and NETS. I think you hit it on the head with a teacher's obligation to keep up with technology to help construct life and career skills.
ReplyDeleteLove your creative blog title and the title of your post. I also found many connections and similarities between The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, TPACK, and NETS. As you mentioned, the world is becoming more technological and we as future teachers must recognize that and adapt our teaching methods to best prepare our students for the future.
ReplyDeleteSharon, I really love your blog title and 'the bottom line'--both are very you. Your blog is divided and labeled clearly which makes it easy to read and navigate through your post. I really like the emphasis you put on how teachers must also adapt to this changing digital world. I am hopeful that soon all teachers will have this mindset.
ReplyDelete