21st Century . . . Stuff

An Attempt to Talk the Talk that We are

Going to Walk

• Th e area of learn ing (i.e. Math )

Subject

• Th e co nce ptu al ca tego rie s of a su bje ct (i.e . “N umb er an d Op erat ion ” )

Strands

• Th e a gre ed up on ma jor lea rni ng go als un der wh ich the cu rric ulu m is art icu late d

Standards

• Wh at a s tu den t is sup po sed to k no w a nd be abl e to do at a poi nt i n tim e, o fte n org ani zed by gra de ban ds

Benchmarks

• Th e lea rni ng go al f or a sp eci fic gra de lev el an d/o r co urs e . . . Th ese are pla ce d in to ins tru ctio nal u nits

Learning Targets

ISB’s Articulation Structure

In the end, each course has this . . .

Understanding by Design

Learning21 @ ISB

Where did this come from?

New Media Literacies (Jenkins)Play

Performance

Simulation

Appropriation

Multitasking

Distributed Cognition

Collective Intelligence

Judgment

Transmedia Navigation

Networking

Negotiation

Visualization

You’ve got to start with some stuff . . .

Learning21@ISB

L21 Approaches, singularly, are vehicles to L21 Skills. Combined, they create an environment that best replicates the way we work and learn.

L21 Approaches

L21 Skills

OK, that’s a lot of talking . . . Where’s the walking?

And what role does technology play?

A few heretical thoughts . . .

The 21st Century movement is a learning one, not a tech one.In other words, technology does not simply always equal “21st Century”.

Creating a “pull” culture as opposed to a push culture when it comes to getting technology into the game. Technology needs a stronger and more organic rationale.

We try to do this by creating system-wide structures and explorations and avoiding the “all that glitters is not gold” debate.

IT as Parallel Process

We just keep bouncing . . .School

IT

Strategic Planning and Future Visioning, not IT Plans

A public debate about learning . . . Creating a Pull Culture

Building it into curriculum design processes

Building it into professional standards

Technology in support of a compelling rationale, not in support of itself . . . It’s all about CONTEXT for everything.

Framing the exploration

L21 Explorations . . .Starting from authentic dialogue

• Exploration of L21 Skills: September 9 and 16• Project-Based Learning: October 28• Integrated Learning: Nov 4 - Dec 2• Social & Emotional Learning: Dec 9 - Jan 27• Assessment and L21 Skills: Feb 3 - Mar 10• Entry Point Articulation: Mar 17 - Apr 21• Plan and Resource: Apr 28 - May 26

End Goal

By April, groups (i.e. departments, grade levels, etc.) will have identified: the L21 element that will serve as their entry point aspects in units of their existing program that could be relatively easily adapted to

good L21 practice units that have the potential to be redesigned to include new instances of the L21

practice the capacities members of this group will need to develop in order to be successful support needed by this group in order to be successful.

In Summary . . .Creating pull cultures . . . A culture where technology is expected to be used in the service of something other than itself and will be drawn in, not forced.

Avoiding polarizing debates and focus on a big premise

The rationale is the changed context, not the tool

Avoid “gaping” at the technology

Create a broad base of support for the premise and then bring in the appropriate tools

Create broad systemic goals and processes based in curriculum and learning, not stand-alone IT plans

None of this is new, nor is it rocket science, but the subtle differences can, we believe, make the difference.