TEACHING IN THE 21st CENTURY.......

 In this blog,  Teaching in the 21st Century, a teacher discusses a question that was posed at a conference that she attended at the University of San Diego. The question was, " What is the most important 21st century skill?". There were six choices to choose from 1) collaboration 2) communication 3) global empathy 4) problem solving 5) multi-tasking 6) technical know-how.......The author of this blog chose "collaboration". Her argument was that "In a world that has become more complex, sophisticated, and globally integrated, there must be collaboration in order to solve increasingly difficult problems that confront our world".  

The presenter at the conference argued that the most critical skill was global empathy. Global empathy is actively seeking to understand different points of view and perspectives. The presenter suggests utilizing authentic methods to connect with other cultures through Skyping, tweeting or creating YouTube documentary.

 In my opinion, all of the choices that were given go hand in hand in teaching our children in the 21st century skill. One point that stood out to me in this blog was "We must be the lead learners in our classroom, modeling what we are asking of our students". I think that this is a great and true statement. We all learn from each other in society. No one person can learn and live independently without the influence of others.  As I end this blog, I would like to pose this question, "How can we connect and learn from others, in terms of global empathy, if we first do not possess the skill of collaboration or the desire to collaborate?"

In your opinion, what is the most important 21st century skill?
Here are some others links that you can read on the topic:
21st Century Schools and Education
Defining 21st Century Education

INFOGRAPHICS

I thought that this interactive infographic would be a good tool to use in teaching an elementary science class. It goes through the life of pandas and discusses concepts such as habitats and extinction.

This is an infographic that can be used in any Social Studies or History class. In addition to being used as a tool to help students become familiar with reading maps, this infographic gives great detail about what each of the 50 states have to offer. The map highlights natural resources, animal life and attractions that can be found in each state!

Web 2.0 Tools

http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx

Take a look at my example:

This Web 2.0 tool, Create A Graph, is a great tool that can be used in any classroom. I would use Create A Graph as a tool to teach elementary students how to read graphs and also incorporate data to create their own graphs to help solve problems. The graph I created shows how I would graph the students' responses about the favorite pet.

Bullying MUST Go!!

After reviewing several websites about the issue of bullying, I found (2) websites that I would definitely use to teach my students about the dangers and consequences of bullying. A bully is a person who frightens, intimidates or hurts another person. Bullying is very common among school age children and has become one of the biggest problems in today's society. Bullying can lead to students not wanting to attend school, becoming depressed and even committing suicide. As educators or future educators, I feel that this issue is one that we must take seriously. It is our responsibility to empower the students that are being bullied and help them to deal with the emotional trauma they may experience as a result of being bullied. It's My Life, a website through PBSKids (http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/friends/bullies/), is a great tool that can be used to explain bullying to younger students. The language of the site is clear and understandable. The site also includes games that shares ways on how to beat bullying as well as messages from young celebrities that the students may know and can relate to. The other site that I would use to teach bullying is Stop Bullying Now. This website is sponsored by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/kids/). The site includes information on what kids and adults can do to help stop incidences of bullying. You can find games as well as animations and webisodes that could possibly help kids understand what bullying is and the dangers that it entails. I hope that you find these websites useful in teaching your students about bullying! Blessings............

Introducing Marian.......

Hello! My name is Marian Stanton.  I work at Aliceville Elementary School as a Save the Children Literacy Tutor/Special Needs Assistant. I work with students in grades K through 4. I am attending the University of West Alabama seeking a degree/certification in Elementary Education. I have also completed a Bachelors and Masters degree in Social Work. In the field of social work, I previously worked as a Foster Care Therapeutic Child and Family Counselor. I have been working in the education for field for the last two years. I am very excited about obtaining my certification in education, and sharing my knowledge with young minds!