Journal #4 Create, Collaborate, Communicate: Empowering Students with 21st Century Skills

Riedel, Chris (2009, January). Create, Collaborate, Communicate: Empowering Students with 21st Century Skills. T.H.E. Journal, Retrieved March 10,2009, from
http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23872_2


Apparently education is riding a horse and buggy into the 21st Century. This the article by Chris Riedel, which covers a speech given by Howie DiBlasi, recently at FETC 2009 has some sobering information,. According to the United States Department of Commerce the education sector ranks 55 in IT savvy--below coal mining (ouch!).


Diblasi is a retired district CIO on an evangelical mission. He would like to see the students more “at the center of the stage.” Educators should be developing students into editors and collaborators, not only readers and writers of content. This is what employers want, according to DiBlasi. He refers to a survey of 50 corporations, organizations, and small businesses that revealed the three most important things employers look for when recruiting: creative problem solving, critical and analytical thinking, and information gathering and evaluation. He warns against a system that lets students check their “robust” computer skills at the door when they enter the classroom.

He outlines 16 ways educators can better prepare students:

1.Hug a geek. Get help from those who thrive in the digital world.
2.Create a social network
3.Challenge students to develop problem solving skills
4.Collaborate on GoogleDocs
5.Use project-based learning
6.Teach them to evaluate sources
7. Encourage them to collaborate with other students globally
8. Discover RSS as a way to collect and publish information in a standardized format
9. Improve critical thinking skills
10. Teach them to be self-directed
11. Get a variety of disciplines collaborating together, as in a school blog.
12. Social bookmarking
13. Interactive video conferencing
14. Integrate Web 2.0 tools
15. Promote 1:1 computing
16. Staff development

Questions:

What does he mean by hug a geek?
Get help from those people who thrive in the digital world. If you’re struggling, find a mentor.

How can teaching kids to be “Self-directed” help them succeed?
It teaches them to push projects through to completion. They get the work done regardless of the tools of production. They are more dedicated to get things done when they are excited about the final product.