Jeff Zoul's List: 21st Century Learning

Nice article about skills/characteristics of 21st century schools/learning

We often get asked to show folks what 21st century skills can look like in the classroom. Before the 4Cs can be embedded in the classroom, they need to be incorporated into curriculum and assessment.

The start of a series on the topic of becoming a 21st Century school or district

Step 1 in a series from Edutopia on becoming a 21st Century School/District

Step 2 in a series from Edutopia on becoming a 21st Century School/District

Step 3 in a series from edutopia about becoming a 21st Century school/district

The Assessment and Teaching of 21st-Century Skills (ATC21S) is a research project that proposes ways of assessing 21st-century skills and encourages teaching and adopting those skills in the classroom.

Using best practices exclusively as a mode for innovation contradicts what schools really should be doing.

In Step 7, we challenge you to create an organization that is constantly improving. Good series of posts.

Ten steps that will transform those awesome lessons that you have used for years, and bring them into the 21st century

Good list of what school leaders must do to encourage 21st C teaching and learning in schools

Suggestions for parents and educators for preparing our kids for the future. Includes interview w/ author Cathy Davidson

A checklist to monitor use of 21st C skills in your classroom

Lots of good ideas and resources for families and schools related to 4 C's ideas

Electronic devices are becoming cheaper, easier to use, and more intuitive. Much of the world’s knowledge is literally at our fingertips, accessible from any networked gadget. Yet, sustained learning does not always follow. It is often noted that developing digital skills/literacy is fundamental to 21st century learning but, is that all that’s missing? I suspect not. In this post I take a look at university courses available to anyone with an internet connection (a.k.a. massive open on-line courses or MOOCs) and ask: What attributes or skills make some people (but not others) better equipped to take advantage of this and similar educational opportunities brought about by advances in technology?

Learning can occur at any time and anywhere. It doesn’t necessarily depend on technology, but a larger realization is that the world around us — the tangible and social world — is a living, breathing “classroom” without boundaries. While there is much debate about online schooling and socialization of children, it is clear that even with a “traditional” education, more students will be introduced to virtual classes and are likely to participate in an ever-increasing number of meaningful learning experiences outside the classroom.

The modern workplace and lifestyle demand that students balance cognitive, personal, and interpersonal abilities, but current education policy discussions have not defined those abilities well, according to a special report released this afternoon by the National Research Council of the National Academies of Science in Washington.

Article walks through the life of a student in and out of school. An example: Santos participates in school as if it were a giant check-off list. He’s not necessarily always learning at school, but he is always doing something. When he finishes one task, he moves on to another. He does OK, though. His grades are better when he’s interested in what he is doing at school, and marginal when he’s disinterested. Unfortunately, that happens increasingly more often as he gets older.

A veteran educator and consultant shares five lessons that can help school districts ease their transition to 21st century learning.

Nice list of 10 things to try to stay current as an educator