Evaluating 21st Century Skills

I liked this website and found it very informative. The graphics that were used made it easy to see the concepts that they support. Also it was very simple to navigate the site the way it is set up. The categories listed help you find what they believe is important to teach the students so that they will be competitive in the 21st century workplace. They have many resources available to help teachers explore new ways to use technology in the classroom as well as videos to watch.

One of the categories that surprised me was the one on health. I know that health is very important in the lives of students but did not expect to see it on a web site for 21st century workplace skills. As I read through the items listed, I understood why they would list this category. I had not thought of the need to continue to encourage my students to be well-rounded in every area including their health.

This site will be very helpful to me as I seek to incorporate more of the 21st century skills into my classroom. It would be helpful if they would give more information on the resources other than the name. A brief description would help decide whether the resource is what you are looking for. The ideas that are presented in this website will help me be able to implement new technologies into my classroom to prepare my students for the 21st century workplace.

Web logs can be an exciting addition to the classroom. They can encourage creative thinking and writing. As a Spanish teacher, I have been trying to think or creative ways to use a blog in my classroom. One way is to have the 7th grade students respond to culture questions such as what are the differences between "El Dia de los Muertos" and Halloween? In doing this I would provide several links where they could find information and also encourage them to look for information in different sites. Another way would be to have the 8th grade students who are studying the weather and seasons write a paragraph about their favorite season in Spanish describing the weather and the reasons they like it. Then have students respond to at least two other student's paragraph. This would allow the students to write and read Spanish as well as encourage them to learn new vocabulary. In using a blog situation, the students would be able to evaluate each other's work as well as learn from each other and share opinions.

Integrating Technology in Foreign Language Classes

This year I am taking courses on integrating technology in the classroom. I am astounded many times by what is available. Recently in one of the courses I am taking, Dr. Thornberg stated that there is a difference between using technology to do something differently and doing different things. In my classsroom I use powerpoint to introduce new vocabulary and new grammar concepts. I also post these powerpoints on my website that my students will be able to look at them later. I also use powerpoint to have my students make presentations such as family trees, telling about themselves, and using maps. On my website I also post links to other websites where students may practice their Spanish skills and hear pronunciation of their vocabulary words when at home. After realizing that I am simply using technology to do the same thing I would normally do differently, I am looking for ways to use technology in my classroom to enhance the learning environment. Most students in current times are very familiar with blogging and podcasts. How do we use these in the classroom and still maintain the safety of the students? How do we open up our classroom to the vast amounts of information and experience available on the internet and still protect our students from harm?