The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills are the critical systems necessary to ensure 21st century readiness for every student. Twenty-first century standards, assessments, curriculum, instruction, professional development and learning environments must be aligned to produce a support system that produces 21st century outcomes for today’s students.


The graphic representation for the framework is helpful, but I found it necessary to take the time to read through the definitions documents to fully understand and appreciate the elements.  Although only 15 states have had legislation commit to alignment and writing state plans, many districts use the Partnership for 21st Century Skills framework as a guide to align their curriculum. On each state's page, there are countless tools and resources for teachers and administrators – each organized by support system, skill or knowledge. I consider the Iowa Route 21 website to be a valuable resource, and look forward to exploring the other 14 states' pages. 
  
The state of Iowa has chosen to become a P21 Leadership State and began working on a common core curriculum in 2005. I have become very familiar with the Iowa Route 21 website and the Iowa Core Curriculum as a part of a district committee that I am on to rewrite district technology curriculum. We are aligning the standards, benchmarks and objectives in our curriculum to be in alignment with the Iowa Core. I also hope to see our district develop professional development for teachers, specifically in the area of Information, Media and Technology skills, as a support system to help produce 21st century learners.

Sketchfu

I came across an online drawing tool that records each brushstroke and then allows you to save and play back as a movie of it being created.  Sketchfu is an online community of artists which allows users to browse and rate other users' drawings.  Although I don't consider myself to be artistic, this application really inspired me to draw!  Having students use Sketchfu to illustrate an idea or concept - such as an insect with all 3 body parts and 6 legs would be a fun way for them to create an illustration of what they have learned. The movies can be saved, downloaded, emailed or embedded.  Here is a drawing of my puppy Daisy.  Fun!

Learn how to draw cartoons, comics, and anime at Sketchfu!

Blogging Buddies

This week I'll be starting a new blogging project with third graders.  I currently blog with 4th and 5th grade students, but have been considering introducing the third graders to blogging for quite some time now.  I decided to put a spin on a class activity that I did with second graders a number of years ago.  We had a class teddy bear that would travel to each student's house.  "Buddy Bear" would go home in a tote bag along with a spiral notebook.  Students and family members could journal about Buddy's adventures.  It was a great way for students to be able to share more about their family activities and traditions.  I was always so impressed with how even my most reluctant writers would be motivated about reading and writing in Buddy's journal.

I'll be modifying this so that students will be able to create a blog for our stuffed animal friend.  Students will be able to blog and upload digital pictures to tell about our friends' adventures.  I teach 4 third grade classes, so I've put together 4 tote bags - each with a stuffed friend, spiral notebook, pen and digital camera.  I posted a request on Facebook to anyone who would be willing to donate a digital camera for this project.  Within an hour I had more than enough volunteers who were willing to donate - thank you Facebook friends!  

Becoming a Blogger - 30 Day Challenge for Teachers

The stars must be in line.  As I am beginning my first blog post for and wondering where to begin, I stumbled across a 30 day Blogging Challenge for Teachers sponsored by Edublogs.  The challenge begins on Monday, January 10, 2011 and the topic is "30 Days to Kick Start your Blogging".  The challenge is targeted toward teachers who haven't blogged before or are looking to improve their blogging skills.  Although I have blogged a lot with my students using Kidblog (which is fantastic!), I find it more challenging to create a professional blog.  I think the hardest part is just knowing where to start, so the Edublog Challenge seemed like the perfect first topic.  As I begin my blogging journey - so can you by signing up here.  What do you find most challenging about blogging?  Any advice for a newbie?