Serendipity35

No one would be surprised if I included in my keynote that today every organization, including education, must incorporate technology into all of its activities. There might be some raised eyebrows on slide two when I say that considering all the major cultural and societal organizations, education would come in dead last in accomplishing that goal.

"That needs to change for schools to meet the challenges of 21st century learning," I would then say as I changed slides.

Except I didn't say it. It came from a paper from the State Education Technology Directors Association (SETDA), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. It's called "Maximizing the Impact: the Pivotal Role of Technology in a 21st Century Education System." (Download a PDF of the entire paper)

It begins:

"How will we create the schools America needs to remain competitive?
For more than a generation, the nation has engaged in a monumental effort to improve student achievement. We've made progress, but we're not even close to where we need to be. It's time to focus on what students need to learn, and on how to create a 21st century education system that delivers results. In a digital world, no organization can achieve results without incorporating technology into every aspect of its everyday practices. It's time for schools to maximize the impact of technology as well."

According to the report, there are 2 major conceptual obstacles preventing schools from taking full advantage of technology to improve teaching and learning. First, the approach of schools to technology use is too narrow. Second, schools mistakenly perceive that they already using technology widely, comprehensively and effectively.

21st Century learning is currently a hot phrase to use for a workshop, presentation, or conference - 252,000 hits in a Google search; 87,700 if you add conference to the search. At one time it was the banner slogan for the Intel Education Initiative (some good K12 and higher ed tools on their site). But it's like Web 2.0 - no one seems very clear on exactly what those 21st century skills actually turn out to be.

Yes, I know you can find skill lists online, (like here and here) but there's not total agreement on the list and especially not on the implementation. If you're making a list yourself, stick to the big things: Adaptability, managing complexity, creativity, risk taking, higher-order thinking, collaboration, technological, visual and information literacies and so on. Everyone will nod their heads in agreement like in a Dilbert cartoon. Then set the committee the task of creating lessons & activities to accomplish those. Uh oh. Now it gets tough. The committee needs all those skills just to come up with the lessons.

The paper doesn't have all the answers (after all it's only about 20 pages) but it reasonably concludes that there are three areas where improvement can be made in using technology comprehensively.

1. to develop proficiency in 21st century skills. Knowledge of core content is necessary, but no longer sufficient, for success in a competitive world. Even if all students mastered core academic subjects, they still would be woefully underprepared to succeed in postsecondary institutions and workplaces, which increasingly value people who can use their knowledge to communicate, collaborate, analyze, create, innovate, and solve problems. Used comprehensively, technology helps students develop 21st century skills.

2. to support innovative teaching and learning. To keep pace with a changing world, schools need to offer more rigorous, relevant and engaging opportunities for students to learn--and to apply their knowledge and skills in meaningful ways. Used comprehensively, technology supports new, research-based approaches and promising practices in teaching and learning.

3. to create robust education support systems. To be effective in schools and classrooms, teachers and administrators need training, tools and proficiency in 21st century skills themselves. Used comprehensively, technology transforms standards and assessments, curriculum and instruction, professional development, learning environments, and administration.

Hat tip to Dave Nagel writing in THE Journal for alerting me to this report.