Thursday, July 21, 2011

21st Century Skills

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills website (http://www.p21.org/) is a great site to explore. However, I did feel that it was a bit overwhelming at first. So I looked at some things and then revisited it a couple more times, just because there was so much useful and interesting information. I didn't realize just how important and big these Skills have become, but it definitely makes sense. We need to be preparing out students for their future in the 21st Century. P21 has created a great framework and their mission is to be a catalyst for putting 21st Century Skills at the center of the US education system by teaming up with businesses, communities, and government officials. They want to fuse together the 3R's (reading, writing, and arithmetic) and the 4C's (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation). This site offers many great publications, on-line tools, and resources, along with events, news, and state initiatives. Also, for educators, they have a P21 MILE Guide Self-Assessment Tool, an interactive resource library called Route 21, and a video site where you can see teachers using these skills in the classroom. So as you can see, there are many great things to check out when you visit the P21 website.   

THINGS I REALLY LIKED ABOUT P21!!!

One of the things I really liked the most was that there was a 21st Century Skills Map for Social Studies, which is what I teach, that gives you the 21st Century Skill, the Skill definition, an outcome for the skill, and examples of activities that students can do that go along with that skill. The site also offered an ICT Literacy Map for Social Studies, which are 21st Century Tools for Learning and Thinking. I also really liked the fact that Ohio is committed to being one of the P21 Leadership States. Actually, there wasn't really anything, so far, that I didn't like about this website. In fact, I added it to my Favorites (bookmarked it) and will be following them on Twitter. P21 is a great resource for information regarding 21st Century Skills and will aid me in, creating and maintaining a 21st Century Skills classroom and preparing my students for their future!

P.S. I will continue to explore this website and discover more great things it has to offer.

Crystal Moyer

3 comments:

  1. Hi Crystal-

    I also found many parts of this website interesting. I liked the idea of the 4 Cs and the fact there is a large collaborative effort among some states and corporations to implement these 21st century skills. Like you, I also found the website overwhelming and it took some time to look through this site.

    My biggest complaint about this program is that not all states are involved (my state of Washington is not). It is frustrating for me that state politics are potentially limiting my access to information that could really help my students. The other complaint is that there was very limited "bring to the classroom" type of information. There is a lot of theory information in this site, but I found limited practical ideas to bring into my classroom.

    I intend to explore the site more and see if I can find more information available. This site is filled loaded with so much information that I feel as if I barely scratched the surface. In my search, I hope to find more tools and ways I can use this site and ideas to help my students learn more 21st century skills.

    -Jill Morris

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  2. Hey Crystal!

    Great response to the P21 website! I have to agree with you that I originally felt very overwhelmed too, but after exploring felt more comfortable. I also enjoyed the video site where you could see teachers using the skills. I also look forward to using/exploring this site for future reference. I was a little disapointed that my state was not on the website, but will probably take a look at NC to get some ideas because I used to live there.

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  3. Hi Crystal,

    I agree that this is a great website and is helping us take a step in the right direction towards enhanced student learning. I feel like I could view this site every day for months and always learn something new. It seems to have the right amount of businesses and community members involved to assist our educational system with the learning of the 21st century skills. a variety of resources and tools are available to assist different types of learners. I am looking forward to NYS joining the website in the near future.

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