This website is attractive and professional looking and has some great information and materials to offer. It also provides a kind of vision for what everyone in the field of education should be working towards; and that is a vision for preparing our students to succeed in the world of work which has changed so very much in the last decade (or three).
Honestly I did not like the site at first and I think it had more to do with my own learning preferences. I did not see an obvious purpose or mission that told me "this is what you will find here" at first glance. There was a lot to read and I am a slow reader. My opinion warmed up, however, after I saw the video clips available under the tools and resources tab. Some of the wonderful results of what they are doing was great to see. I especially loved the kindergarten video, a must see, called "Data Collection." If I were asked for advice on how to format their home page I would say to make this one of the links and label it "21st Century Learning in Action." Also I would say to put the mission on the home page and boil everything else down into three to five points or areas that unfold further information if I click on it. Leave the drop down tabs at the top. Those are great.
I think the site has nicely outlined what education should look like. The site details everything that is necessary to educate our young people. I agree with the mission and am sad to say that my state is not one of the affiliates. Because of this the implications for my students are non-existent at this point.
I am finally and fully won over by the fact that teacher training and development is included in the overall plan. So many times that part is neglected (or omitted) in any new plan and teachers are left to sink or swim. More often than not they swim but can be so much more effective when given the tools beforehand.
I wholeheartedly agree with you on the training and development sentiment. I think districts need to get on board with across the board training on initiatives or instructional aspects for which they plan to focus. This is especially true for the 21st Century skill sets that we need to be teaching to our students.
ReplyDeleteMy state is not one of the affiliates, either. I think I might just subtly send just a "Look at this Website Found" email to a few "powers that be." Maybe it could plant a seed! Make it a grassroot campaign starting with teachers. Whatcha think?
I agree with your statement that the site is attractive and professional. I also, think that at first glance it is a bit overwhelming! I was struggling a bit trying to navigate the page. I see why we instructed to spend some time on the site because it took me a while to sort through!
ReplyDeleteI also agree that "it provides a vision," like you said for all educators, so that they know what they need to be working towards. Like I said before, it's time to jump right in and start using what most of our students are working with every single day so that we can prepare them for the workforce.
That is a good idea! And for all that it appears a lot of work and valuable material and objectives have been put into P21 this is the first I have heard about it. I have sent a link to the my vice principal!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think of this plan? I am going to try to get the my building to get iPads. They are less expensive, have tons of capabilities but don't multitask so it's easier to keep track of the students and what site they are on at any given time. You can get a keyboard dock that is relatively inexpensive so documents, blogs, email and wikis are all viable. Space and set-up is not as much of an issue. Put them in the locked cupboard when they are not using them! The students who can't afford an iPod touch will be able to catch up with those who can. Theft of the iPad is an issue because I know it is for the laptops but I think that should can easily be overcome with "lo-jack" (is that how you spell that?) when they finally offer it. Now we just need to find a way to raise 15,000 dollars per classroom as opposed to 27,000! I would like to start with my classroom!
I agree with you, the site was not laid out terrible well. I too had a hard time navigating and tyring to figure out what the purpose of the site was. I also agree the mission should be more visible and on the first page. What I did find extremely helpful with the FAQ section of the site. I was able to catch up on the main focus of the site just by seeing what it said in that area of the site. Then I was able to view some of the videos and know exactly what the purpose was.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the professional development idea. Teachers need to know what to do and how to do it! My state is actually one of the states listed on the site and I haven't seen any of the training. I hope that it is something that will be coming my way in the future.
I am also in agreeance that schools need to be on board with more technology training. I am lucky to be involved with the gifted and talented program in my district, so that does afford me some extra opportunities to do some tech training, but most other teachers are left to sink or swim. If we really want to prepare our kids, don't you think districts would absolutely jumpo on board and help us all to swim?
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I could not have agreed more with the second paragraph of your post. I could not have said it better. There was such an abundance of information; I was not sure what the purpose was at first. The drop down tabs were useful and made the site a lot easier to navigate. I think their homepage should be a little bit less confusing. There were so many links and ideas all jumbled into one place. My state is unfortunately not on there as well, so what does that mean for us? Is there another way for us? I also think that it was not completely clear what services they were offering. Do you agree?
ReplyDeleteJennifer,
ReplyDeleteI found the site to be very professional looking and once I got the hang of it, it was relatively easy to navigate. I saw its useful purpose in my own classroom in that I would be able to pull the website up for my students to view. I would like them to be able to see how technology is relevant to their future success in today's society.
I also found the call for teacher development in the area of technology but was not surprised to find my state not on the list of those on board as of yet. As I have said more often than not, Georgia seems to lag behind other states in their quest to increase the quality of education. Continual cuts to our states education budget does not bode well for any training in these necessary areas any time soon. I can only hope this will change, and I liked Debb's idea of sending a "look what I found" to certain people who might have some influence.
Trina
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI took a look at the Video 21 section and the Data Collection video you recommended. It was great to see how comfortable those kindergartner were with technology and how the teacher used an interactive whiteboard so seamlessly in her instruction. It wasn't a gimmick in her room, but rather a way to make the data collection worthwhile for her students. As I looked through the other videos I was kind of dissapointed. For example, there was only one video in the professional development section. However, I am aware that this is a new section and it will take time to build a collection of quality videos. I hope that I can check back in the future and see more examples of great classroom instrution. Thank you for recommending that I take a second look at some of the teacher resources at the site and not be daunted by its set-up.