What Does It Mean
To Teach
In the 21st Century?
In the 21st 
             Century?
Cell Phones
Google
Wikipedia
Blogs
You Tube
Facebook
Twitter
I Pods
If teachers can only provide:
Content
Facts
Dates
Formulas
Research
Theories
Stories
Information
Then our role in the
   lives of students
is obsolete......
Students can find information on 

Anything
Anytime 
Anywhere
Virtually Limitless Information
Whatever

Whenever

Wherever
Teachers are no longer the 
main source of knowledge
We are the filter
How do we teach 
students to handle
 these resources?
G         GLE
Sure, they can use
But has anyone shown them how to:
VALIDATE information? 

SYNTHESIZE information? 

LEVERAGE information? 

COMMUNICATE information? 

COLLABORATE with information? 

PROBLEM SOLVE with information?
With all of this information available, 

            Should our curriculum be focused on

                                          facts and content

                                                                 or    
                                                       skills
Think of the 
skills you use 
when you ask:
How do I fix my car?
What's the best credit 
   card deal for me?
What's the fastest route home to avoid traffic?
Should I rent or buy?
Who should I vote for?
How should 
I invest 
my savings?
My connecting 
flight was just
cancelled. What 
do I do now?
How can I get my image 
out there so companies 
will hire me?
What are the newest ideas and innovations I need to keep up with?
Where can I get
 reliable news?
What is the most 
efficient tool for
this project?
Have you
asked
them?
Remember
Understand
Apply
Analyze
Evaluate
Create
Think about what you ask students to do. 

When is the last time you had them
Create?
And what does Creation mean today?
blogging 
podcasting 
animating 
planning
recording 
designing 
programming
And what about all the other tech skills?
networking
reflecting
posting
experimenting
attributing
integrating
mashing
linking
uploading
sharing
editing
tagging
paraphrasing
subscribing
commenting
searching
twittering
bookmarking
locating
Where do these fit into Bloom's Taxonomy?
And what about 

Responsibility?
Reliability?
Integrity?
Where are they learning this? 

Friends?
Strangers?
Themselves?
Where do we expect them to learn about
Copyright
Pirating
Crowdsourcing
Plagarism
Slander
Confidentiality
Professionalism?
So what does this mean for the classroom?
How could you gather and discuss data via

Cellphone
Twitter
Facebook
Crowdsourcing
Online Surveys
RSS Feeds
?
How could you talk about reliable sources using

Google
Delicious
Wikipedia
Blogs
Podcasts
?
How could students publish and evaluate work using

Wikis
Nings
Website Creators
Video
Audio
Graphics
Programming
?
How could students collaborate using

Chat
Skype
Google Wave
Google Docs
Twitter
Facebook
?
How could struggling students benefit from

Wordles
Virtual Manipulatives
Audacity
Video Lessons
Dynamic Graphic Organizers
?
It means we need to rethink 

the tools we use 

and the types of problems 

we ask students to solve
How could students be challenged to solve problems online?
Tonight's Homework: 

Answer the following question using any resources you wish. 

You must explain, justify, and evaluate your opinion and resources.
How many grains of sand are on an average beach?
What is the current relationship between India and Pakistan?
You have $1000 to donate toward hunger relief.  
Which organization in which country would you give it to?
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? 
Use data in your justification.
What are the top rated jobs in your country?

 What required skills do these jobs have in common?
If you were trying to lose weight, would you 
choose a popularized diet program? 

(Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers, etc.)

Why or why not?
Find an online presentation program. 

Use it to create a 2 minute presentation describing 
the pros and cons of the program.
What are the 3 most popular areas of research in physics today?
Read the terms and conditions of YouTube and summarize the key ideas.
What skills could students gain 

through this process?
What kinds of discussions could

this create in the classroom?
How could students 

share
collaborate
compare
publish

these ideas?
Think of the possibilities
But how do we manage

laptops
cellphones
ipods

                      at school?
The same way you manage students using

paper
pencils
textbooks
notecards
The tools provide temptation, 

but they are not the source of 

negative behavior
Any lesson you create, 

no matter what tools are used...
Has to be
Relevant
Challenging
Engaging
But why does every lesson have to

entertain students with these new toys?
Entertainment is not the same as engagement
How could students in 

Art
Drama
Social Sciences
Music
Language Arts
Math
Science 
Foreign Language

Create an e-portfolio to store work and reflect on their progress?
?
Entertainment is passive
Engagement is active
Engagement can and should be fun and exciting
Our charge is to provide

      meaningful          and

                    powerful

engagement
Students do not need to be entertained

They need to be engaged.
These tools are no longer about pure entertainment
So where does it start?
With 
YOU
1.  See what's out there

Find some sites
Try some software
Do some research
2. Start small

What is one thing you 
could do in the next unit
to better engage with 
21st century skills?
3. Collaborate

Don't do it all alone.
Plan carefully and ask
what others have
found successful
4.  Take a risk

Change cannot 
occur without 
conflict. Try it 
and see what 
happens.
And remember the big picture....
No matter what content you teach....

No matter what skills you teach...

No matter what subject you teach...


The question to ask is...
Entertainment is for enjoyment
Entertainment is short-lived
Entertainment doesn't 
require relevance
Entertainment allows escape 
from problems
Entertainment is using 
the creativity of others
Engagement is for learning
Engagement has long-term results
Engagement is meaningful 
and applicable
Engagement is solving problems
Engagement is using the 
creativity of the participant
How would 

      your students
answer these questions?