Question+4

=Questions 4=

What 21st century skills are you thinking to be critical for your students today?
Karen - Question 4 Response

Misha- I was tutoring a 4th grader today. The student and I read about e-mail etiquette from her reading workbook. One of the etiquette was not to use all capital letters. The student was surprised to find out that all capital letters was equivalent to screaming. It made me think about the new skills students have to acquire in this century. I think more people will apply jobs on-line, communicate via e-mail, and take on-line classes as time goes on. Computers can automatically correct spelling and generate letter templates, but cannot write the letters for students. Students need to become effective e-mail writers. It is important to capture someone's attention in the midst of junk e-mails.

Vanessa Rivas - I think that students in today’s society have a lot of weight on their shoulders because technology is constantly changing and new gadgets are constantly being added to the market. Thus, I think that emailing, texting, and instant messaging are 21st century skills that all students should have. Emailing, texting, and instant messaging have their own language, therefore, students need to have an awareness of the language and how to use it appropriately in each context.

There are many 21st century skills that I think are critical for students today including the need for creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving skills. In such a fast-paced changing world, students need to be able to analyze, evaluate, and manipulate the enviornments around them and need to be shown in school how to take wise risks and explore different options. They should be taught how to be "learners" instead of always worrying about if they're doing things "right" because the world they will inherit and create will require them to be people who know how to think in different ways and be creative. I know that I have lost the sense of creativity in a lot of ways and I realized it when I struggled to know how to do the CBL in our class and felt the feeling of "Am I doing this right?" instead of embracing the creative freedom Karen was giving as a means to push us to make our projects the best they could be. It's very important that they are able to be critical of the information they are coming across on the internet, social networks, podcasts, etc. because there are probably lots of people out there who don't deliver accuarate information. Students need to be able to distinguish between fact and fiction, fact and opinion, and be able to articulate the reasons for accepting a source as valid. This may be the most critical skill they need as a 21st century student.
 * Abi Marlowe- Middle School Group 6-8**

My students should be adept at searching the internet in the 21st century for VALID sources for research they are currently investigating. They should also be aware of social networking, including it's benefits and drawbacks. They should be knowledgeable of the text message and they should know how to distinguish "text language" from "real language". My students should also be familiar with blogs, wikis and nings. Through this extensive use of the internet, through which many colleges and jobs now have their applications, my students will be successful in society. They will also have a great deal of knowledge for how to search for different pieces of information.
 * Brad Reid - High School group**


 * Bany Marlowe - Primary K-2 group**

In order for our students to thrive in a digital economy and diverse world we need to prepared them with the skills that are necessary to succeed locally and globally. Students need to be trained and taught good communication, collaborative, critical thinking, problem solving skills in addition to learning media literacy and global awareness. As teachers we should combined teaching content and values with the 21st century skills that are already lay out in the technology standards and literacy standards to guide us. I think that by creating lessons that incorporate media tools gives the students the opportunity to learn information in a different mode. When learning is pleasurable students learn. Using the problem –based learning approach for teaching is great because it enables the students to use the 21st century skills and prepares them better for future learning. It is also our responsibility to teach students the responsibility that goes with the appropriate use of technology in reference to copyright and others issues that are important to discuss in class.

I second exactly what Vanessa and Brad say. I hear kids "text talking" all the time and they need to learn that it is not okay to do in certain situations. Text talk is the new "valley girl" and it is one of those things that will stick if students are not careful. I know that I sometimes use joke words, and they actually become part of my vocabulary when I use them too much. Students need to learn proper communication skills in this age of digital everything. They need to know how to handle themselves on the phone and in person, because they are most likely doing most things via text, email, and messenger. People are more liberal with what they say over the computer, and students need to know that certain things are not okay in professional situations. Students also need to be aware of the way they project themselves over social networks because these things can hurt them in the long run. Inappropriate pictures do not just go away. They can be found online. They also need to be taught that they cannot just put anything up on youtube because it seems cool at the time. **
 * Anya Zaremba -

**Miguel Parra - High School 9-12** Without a doubt not only students, but the population in general needs to be up to date with all of the technological advances. Before taking this class I considered by self pretty technologically savvy, but as I have come to learn, that is indeed not the case. Technology is constantly changing and I feel that it is my responsibility as an educator to keep track of these changes and share them with my students. It will almost be impossible to succeed without technology in any field or area of work. I hope that this class becomes an undergraduate requirement because I felt that somehow I was cheated because I should have known this already. We are all very busy individuals so adding more technology based classes will be beneficial to everyone. We share this knowledge with each other and with our students and if we are all technologically proficient we can learn from our students as well.

Alexandra Pineda- the skills students have are that they are great texters already, but they also need keyboard skills. I think that before students start writing on the computer, students should practice good old-fashioned keyboard skills. Not only basic typing, but also the functions of all the keys on a typical computer keyboard. By doing this it will facilitate their use of the keyboard. I also agree with Brad as to the need for students to research valid and reputable sources. There are times that students use wikipedia as an scholarly source however, as a teacher, we have to show them the correct way.


 * Ammara Ali**- I think students in this 21st century need to learn how to use the resources they find on the internet. There are is so much information on the internet these days, but very few students know how to distinguish between accurate and inaccurate information. From my experience with my older nephew and niece, I know the importance of teaching children the basics of the internet, which is: 'not everything you read or see is true.' Then, once a foundation is built, students need to be guided towards gaining a better understanding on what types of sources are valid and reliable and which ones aren't. I also think it's important for students to get involved in projects like challenge-based learning and project-based learning because students need to learn how to work in groups, take responsibility for their own learning, and engage in a task that is relevant and meaningful to their lives.

Two of the three articles I reviewed are on project-based learning. Article number 7 is well written and makes a very good case for incorporating this into the classroom and how students benefit from this type of work. Students learn to collaborate with others, critcally think, present material in public, develop better writing skills, use technology, develop as a citizen of their communities and of the world, learn about careers, and learn to research. All these skills are critical now and will be in the future, and all can be developed through project-based, as well as challenge-based learning groups.
 * Lliane Blons- High School 9-12**