Student Skills for the 21st Century (Dede, Chris)

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Permalink Reply by Chris Dede on March 2, 2008 at 10:38am

Attached is a draft Powerpoint for this session. The actual Powerpoint may be slightly different. I hope that you like the ideas and decide to attend...

Attachments:

• Dede_Student_Skills_21stC.pdf, 631 KB

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Permalink Reply by Linda Foote on March 21, 2008 at 1:22pm

Thanks for all your efforts to overcome all the weather/flight challenges. I'm so disappointed we missed you this time, but I want to thank you for posting this PowerPoint.

I'm currently chairing a committee in my district that is wrestling with these very issues. We are trying to identify the first steps involved in "transforming" our thinking and practice as k-12 educators based on new technologies and web 2.0 resources.

Your PowerPoint provides significant insights, resources, and an additional frame of reference. However, the more I reflect on the implications and possibilities, the harder it seems to be to try to "capture" it to a "traditional" strategic plan with first steps.

Any time I try to move from these ever-expanding, overarching ideas to first steps, my mind seems to generate a spiderweb of implications that impact nearly every area of our thinking and work in education. Those first steps keep moving! Then there's the need to differentiate those steps...

Sometimes I think I get locked in "expanding" mode. I think I'd better start collaborating with more comrades who are stronger on the "narrowing" side of thinking if we're going to actually "nail down" those first steps!

Thanks for all your work,
Linda

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Permalink Reply by Chris Dede on March 21, 2008 at 1:46pm

Linda, I agree that it is hard to know where to start on such a sweeping transformation. A book that I have found helpful in thinking about this is The Self-Organizing School, by Alan Bain. It seems a good set of ideas for how to initiate a change process. Hope this is helpful.

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Permalink Reply by Linda Foote on March 21, 2008 at 10:04pm

I just ordered it! Thank you so much for the recommendation. I also read more of the links on your website and especially appreciated the Ubiquitous Computing article.

I found it interesting that some of the core principles of best practices we've discovered through our students' interactions with technology, computer adaptive assessments, and personal ownership of their learning and progress seem to fit the "skill sets" that would be necessary for them to navigate the world of Ubiquitous Computing successfully.

The last two paragraphs you wrote in the afterword especially resonate with the challenges we're experiencing. Moving from: "Current, widely used instructional technology applications have less variety in approach than a low-end fast-food restaurant." to ""What we need to succeed with all students is very interactive, individualized pedagogical strategies under some loose umbrella that allows sudents to navigate to what they need and helps teachers to guide learners to reach the next level of educational performance." requires a monumental pedagogical shift. Then when you add in the technological skills that will be needed as well it seems a bit daunting.

It was good to reflect on the methodologies that have precipitated the current changes in our work and I hope after reading Alan Bain's work we'll have additional strategies to make truly significant progress.

I am so grateful for your work and insights.
Linda

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Permalink Reply by Chris Dede on March 22, 2008 at 2:16am

Glad the ideas are helpful! Hope your district planning goes well...

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Permalink Reply by Glen Warren on March 5, 2008 at 9:19pm

Dr. Dede,
your identification of "Ubiquitous Learning" helped form some of the aspects of our school's technology plan. I look forward to your seminar at CUE.
Glen Warren
gwarren@orangeusd.k12.ca.us

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Permalink Reply by Chris Dede on March 6, 2008 at 2:19am

Glad the idea was helpful. Looking forward to meeting you!

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Permalink Reply by Chris Dede on March 8, 2008 at 4:05am

I'm very disappointed I could not get to CUE to present this and other sessions. I was trapped at DFW by bad weather; hundreds of canceled flights stranded thousands of people, almost all for at least two days. I did my best, including looking for flights to LA or San Diego from which I could drive to Palm Springs, but most were canceled and everything remaining was booked solid. When the flight I finally found was belatedly canceled, I was unable to get to the conference.

Sorry -- hopefully next year!

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Permalink Reply by Glen Warren on March 8, 2008 at 9:16pm

Dr. Dede,
I too am disappointed, but grateful that you tried to come in such nasty weather. Thank you.

BTW: Do you have a way to videoconference using IP back in Boston?

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Permalink Reply by Chris Dede on March 9, 2008 at 1:42am

Hopefully I will get invited to another CUE and this time won't encounter travel problems.

Yes, I have IP videoconferrncing at Harvard.

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Permalink Reply by Glen Warren on March 23, 2008 at 9:17pm

Dr. Dede,
do you think you might be interested... check it out:
http://www.cilc.org/search/collaboration.aspx?id=521
it would be a blessing to have your input at some point in our development. Thanks

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Permalink Reply by Chris Dede on March 24, 2008 at 2:14am

Glen, thanks for thinking of me. I am really swamped the next couple months and cannot participate in the network - sorry...

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