Please read before next Friday's session

[Reggie Ryan]

When 21st Century Skills are brought up, I often hear a refrain that goes something like "So what, it's just a passing fad...".

This was recently a topic of an article in the Washington Post titled "The Latest Doomed Pedagogical Fad: 21st-Century Skills."

Please read Will Richardson's response to the article here. In his response, Richardson argues that we should be "teaching our kids to navigate the world as they are experiencing it, not the world we experienced."

We'll be discussing the article in our session, but if you've got a response and want to post it, please do.

[Dina Bovis]

I agree with Richardson's response. I think that the shift that is going on in education today is inevitable, and that we all have to jump on the bandwagon. It's my goal to have my students go out into the real world and be able to function. So, yes, it is important that we give our students the tools to be able to navigate through that world. I also believe, however, that teachers feel comfortable with what they are familiar with. It is easy to say that we have to shift our classrooms to based around 21st century skills, but it is not always easy to execute that goal when you're not sure how. I am the kind of learner who learns from observation. I want to physically see and become aware of what a 21st century looks like, and how it is run.

[Kathy Heyl]

I think we have so much to learn to be able to teach our students. When we are uncomfortable, we won't use the new technology. I also think teachers don't have the time it takes during a regular school year to really investigate new tools. I like Dina's idea of seeing and doing. It would be great to talk with teachers using this technology successful and to observe them and talk with the students about how it changes learning for them.

I like the quote Richardson gave, " You can call it a “fad” if you like, but the reality is that these skills are sorely lacking in our teachers who are suffocating in paper, policies and processes that prevent them from exploring the potential of online networked learning spaces. It’s imperative, I think, that we change that."