The Anatomy of a 21st Century Classroom

We have talked about the differences between 20th and 21st century classrooms, but here is a chart that describes the anatomy of a 21st century classroom.  You will see that it is divided into the 4 C's of the Partnership for a 21st Century work suggests plus Research.

You will also notice that this chart separates the roles of teachers versus students.

What do you think?  Does this do an admirable job of describing the anatomy or do you have something to add?

http://gahs-math.wikispaces.com/page/diff/21st+Century+Skills/158840901

Zooming with Amy Kangas about SAMR & TIM

DrZReflects.com

I am privileged to be Zooming with Amy Kangas and her wonderful class of educators who are spending the next week exploring what it means to be a 21st Century Teacher.  

While I will just be there to answer questions and share some experiences, here are a few resources that might be useful for our discussion.

Video Conferencing:

• Zoom.us             tinyurl.com/z-zoomroom

Technology Integration

• Building Learning Through the Technology Integration

SAMR

• Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything - SAMR

Technology Integration Matrix:

• Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally
• Florida's Technology Integration Matrix 
• Arizona's Technology Integration Matrix

UNI Instructional Technology Masters Program

• Instructional Technology Program
• Master of Arts: Instructional Technology
• 2014 Instructional Technology Cohort (2-year program)  

How to Fake a 21st Century Classroom

I was just browsing the web when I found this wonderful posting by Terry Heick on Teach Thought entitled "10 Ways to Fake a 21st Century Classroom." Terry does a wonderful job of identifying some indicators that are often seen as landmarks for 21st Century Learning. Once they have been listed, he explains how even these activities could be hollow hosts when it comes to actually providing a transformative environment where students are truly engaged in learning.

I am going to list the 10 ways but you will have to go to Terry's posting to see how they are fake.  This way I am not taking credit for something that he has done.

1. "Do Projects"
2. Create a class twitter account
3. Force Collaboration
4. Video Conference with Strangers
5. Be Dramatic
6. Buy iPads
7. Make Students Blog
8. Apps on Apps on Apps
9. Blend, Blend, Blend
10. Add a column for creativity on every rubric. 

I must admit that I do every one of these. I have students do projects but it is usually to solve problems. All of my classes have twitter hashtags. We work in Collaborative groups. We video conference with experts in the field when it pertains to our topic or we have been following their blogs. I am NEVER dramatic!!!! We are trying to get folks to get ipads. I make students blog but I hope that we are doing it for more than just going through the motions. We use apps. Fortunately we all have access to the resources needed to watch YouTube videos for flipped classrooms. And I have added creativity to my rubric.

Am I faking a 21st Century Classroom?  I hope not.  I believe that my students are involved in the learning process to a level that they are creating and learning materials that are relevant to their real-world classrooms and everyday lives.

What do you think?  Are you faking it?  If so, how and why?  If not, how do you know?

BTW, I just did a search on Terry Heick's postings on TeachThought and he has a number of postings that I have found interesting. You might enjoy them too - Heick's postings.

Please leave comments with your feedback.

8 Biggest Challenges that Teachers Face Today

The folks over at Emerging Ed Tech recently did a survey of their readers to find out what they wanted to know about education and Instructional technology. They had 160 replies which is a good response.  

This table is a list of their results.  Some of the issues are standard issues, but it looks like they are feeling the challenges of integrating 21st Century Learning strategies in their classrooms.  Admittedly, this is not a cross-section of all teachers, because there is a specific group of teachers who read their website.  These teachers are forward looking.  They are the ones who are trying to improve their leaching/learning environments. They are the ones who go to conferences and are continually reading and watching and connecting. 

I look at the list and and all of them are concerns of mine.   How does this fit what challenges you in your teaching?

Moving Away from "Teaching" Toward Empowering Students

Vicki Davis is a Cool Cat Teacher.  Actually she is THE Cool Cat Teacher.  You may have heard of her blog, CoolCatTeacher.com  It is the most visited education blog followed on the planet. 

Fortunately I had the opportunity to meet Vicki a few years ago and become good friends over the year. I am in absolute awe of her as a teacher, blogger, educator, motivator and organizer (do you know that she has over 100 people come to her house for Thanksgiving and she LOVES it!!!)

One of Vicki's latest projects is her Every Classroom Matters Podcast through the BAM!RadioNetwork. Vicki uses this podcast to interview a variety of educators from around the world about their areas of passion. These 10-minute interviews range from 21st Century Learning to Financial Literacy to Empowering Students.  Fascinating stuff.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of being interviewed by Mrs. Davis.  She asked me some interesting questions about my teaching philosophies and practices. She wanted to know about how I interact with students and what happens in my classes. In listening to the interview, it turns out that she didn't have to ask me too many questions at all because I just kept talking . . .

Anyway, here is the link to the interview.  I would suggest that you click on the iTunes link to listen to it.

Listen to the podcast by clicking below: 

It is #6 in the iTunes list. They named it "Steps away from Teaching . . . "

Moving Away from "Teaching" 
Toward Empowering Students
Audio Interview with Dr. Z

21st Century Learning is ALL ABOUT Moving Beyond Uncomfortable Beginnings

I was just reading through my email when I found a link to a PBL article about Moving Beyond Uncomfortable Beginnings by Theresa Chimenti

This article rang a bell for me because the author talked about a student who "was really frustrated because I was making her think."  I know that this is true because I have experienced this myself. I teach courses in an unconventional manner where I want to see the students explore the world and then make decisions on their own. I have had students in tears saying "Why can't you just tell me what I need to know and then ask me on a test on Friday?"  

The key to creating successful 21st Century Learning Environments is to pose difficult questions that require learners to make decisions and explore the world. Read the article to see if anything rings true.   Do you have additional resources or ideas you want to share?

Z

Related articles

• What is PBL ?
• Feeling Better About PBL
• The real 21st-century problem in public education
• 21st Century
• 21st Century Education
• The 21st Century Classroom

Making Learning Meaningful for New Gens with Readings, Watchings, Listenings, and Doings @ ISTE '13

Making Learning Meaningful means more than "getting the point across." Meaningful Learning is a transformative experience where learners are building a Relation with what they are learning. Instead of memorizing information that can be recited on a test on Friday morning, Meaningful Learning involves students:

• Connecting to content because of interest.
• Finding relevance because it relates to what they already know.
• Having a great deal of freedom in how they involve themselves with the content. 

Building a Relation with what you are learning involves making decisions about what you are learning and how you will learn it. It doesn't mean that the teacher is not leading the learning process. It means that the teacher is not the center of all content and the purveyor of knowledge to the learner. The teacher learns along with the learner.

Today I am sharing my ideas with educators from around the world at the ISTE '13 conference in San Antonio. This is a huge international event where 20,000 educators from 70 different countries convene to share how they have been teaching and learn new ideas for how technology can be used to support learning.  It is an INCREDIBLE event.

I am presenting on Wednesday, June 26 from 11:45 - 12:45 in Room  217 D. I don't know how many people will be at the conference but you will be able to follow along through a couple of pathways from anywhere in the world.

Twitter
For all of you twitterers, we will use the hashtag #MLMiste When you tweet, include this hashtag in your message so that others can follow along with your ideas. If you want to see what was posted, click on the hashtag above and it will show you what has been said.

Collaborative Notes
We will also use collaborative note taking. This is a Google Doc that I created and then laid open to the world for anyone to edit. (tinyurl.com/MLMiste) This means that you just need to click on the link and it will take you to the Google Doc. You don't have to sign-in but you will be known as Anonymous???? when you are entering your ideas.  Go ahead and add the info that you find interesting.  Go out on the web during the session to find relevant information and add the link to the document.

The Slideshow

Making learning meaningful iste 13 from Leigh Zeitz

I have posted this slideshow on SlideShare.  You are welcome to follow along or use the content later with your colleagues or students.  Just remember to provide attribution for where you found it. =-)







(Will be posted before the presentation on Wednesday.  Never know what else we will add.)

Generations
I will begin our discussion with talking about Generations. The world is changing and so are the learners we encounter in out classrooms. We MUST consider that if we are going to Make Learning Meaningful. Here is a small chart that distinguishes the generations.  The rest of the content on this can be found in the slideshow above. 

Readings, Watchings, Listenings and Doings (RWLD)
Readings, Watchings, Listenings, and Doings (RWLDs) are online pages that hold digital  content for topics that you are studying in class. Instead of relying on a textbook, you are providing your learners with Multimedia Opportunities to prepare for the work you will be doing in class.

Check THESE Out!!
Here are some examples of RWLDs that I use in my classes. They are designed for University classes at the University of Northern Iowa, but you could use this same format for 3rd graders. It's just a matter of making a blog posting. 

• Selection and Integration of Instructional Technologies
• Educational Technology and Design
• Coordinating Technology in an Educational Setting
• Seminar: Writing a Graduate Paper
• Classroom Computer Applications (Students helped create some of the postings.)

This is the Flipped Classroom LONG BEFORE there was a Flipped Classroom

You will can learn more about RWLDs at my posting Textbooks are NOT Enough Anymore!

Thank You!!
I hope that this session has been useful for you. I am interested in knowing if and how this material has been useful to you. I hope that this is just the beginning of our connection.

• Subscribe to this blog using the link in the right column.
• Send me an email at zeitz@uni.edu
• Follow me on Twitter:  @zeitz
• Let's visit on Skype:  leighzeitz

 How else can I help you?  Respond in the comments below.

Z

MY GAWD! It's Saturn thru Google Hangout!!!

There's Saturn. I can't believe it!

Fraser Cain in Courtenay, British Columbia, is SHARING THE UNIVERSE!
He is using Google Hangout to share this image on his telescope with other astronomers from all over the world.

English: Auroras on Saturn. Français : Des aurores polaires sur Saturne. Русский: Полярное сияние на Сатурне. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I know that the technology is here and I have connected with people all over the world, but this video brought me to tears.  I don't know why, but the idea of connecting people from all over the world to through Google Hangout to see Saturn through a personal telescope in British Columbia, Canada, was incredibly moving for me, the teacher.

Sure, we have seen telescopic images on our televisions or even our computers, but this experience is not being directed by "The Establishment." It isn't something on PBS that someone in New York decided would be good for us to see. It is about a Canadian amateur astronomer connecting through Google Hangouts with individuals in Pakistan, Australia, U.S., Mexico, South America, South Africa and ??. It is an example of people sharing/learning/teaching with one another in a way that wasn't possible even 5 years ago.

This is what 21st Century Learning is all about. It is about connecting and collaborating and exploring on a global basis. It is about using our daily resources to constantly expand our opportunities with others. 

What are you doing in your classrooms to encourage such collaboration?

Z

Happy Father's Day

Related articles

• 3 Creative Ways to Use Google Hangouts
• 27 Ways to Be a Better 21st Century Educator
• Learning Tools Every 21st Century Teacher Should Be Able To Use
• 21st Century Teachers
• Think You're a 21st Century Educator?
• What Does Teaching in The 21st Century Mean ?

What IS the Difference Between 20th and 21st Century Classrooms

What ARE the differences between the 20th and 21st Century Classrooms?  We have heard a great deal about how the 21st Century Classroom's characteristics but I found that the 21st Century Schools website has a comprehensive comparison.

How should we use this? I have introduced this in my classes and my students have found it to be a valuable tool fool as they evaluated their own classes as to their level of 21st Century qualities.

Look these over and use them to review your own classes.  How can you improve your teaching?

• 20th Century Education is teacher-centered with a fragmented curriculum and students working in isolation memorizing facts.
• 21st Century Education is student-centered with real-life, relevant, collaborative project-based learning.

• 
  

20th Century Classroom Qualities	21th Century Classroom Qualities
Time-based	Outcome-based
Focus:  memorization of discrete facts	Focus:  What students Know, Can Do and Are Like after all the details are forgotten.
Lessons focus on the lower level of Bloom’s Taxonomy – knowledge, comprehension and application.	Learning is designed on upper levels of Blooms’ – synthesis, analysis and evaluation (and include lower levels as curriculum is designed down from the top.)
Textbook-driven (content comes from textbooks)	Research-driven (content comes from student research)
Passive learning	Active Learning
Learners work in isolation – classroom within 4 walls	Learners work collaboratively with classmates and others around the world – the Global Classroom
Teacher-centered:  teacher is center of attention and provider of information	Student-centered:  teacher is facilitator/coach
Little to no student freedom	Great deal of student freedom
“Discipline problems" – educators do not trust students and vice versa.  No student motivation.	No “discipline problems” – students and teachers have mutually respectful relationship as co-learners; students are highly motivated.
Fragmented curriculum	Integrated and Interdisciplinary curriculum
Grades averaged	Grades based on what was learned
Low expectations	High expectations – “If it isn’t good it isn’t done.”  We expect, and ensure, that all students succeed in learning at high levels.  Some may go higher – we get out of their way to let them do that.
Teacher is judge.  No one else sees student work.	Self, Peer, and Other assessments.  public audience, authentic assessments.
Curriculum/School is irrelevant and meaningless to the students.	Curriculum is connected to students’ interests, experiences, talents, and the real world.
Print is the primary vehicle of learning and assessment.	Performances, projects, and multiple forms of media are used for learning and assessment
Diversity in students is ignored.	Curriculum and instruction address student diversity
Literacy is the 3 R’s – reading, writing and math	Multiple literacies of the 21st century – aligned to living and working in a globalized new millennium.
Factory model, based upon the needs of employers for the Industrial Age of the 19th century.  Scientific management.	Global model, based upon the needs of a globalized, high-tech society.
Driven by the NCLB and standardized testing mania.	Standardized testing has its place.  Education is not driven by the NCLB and standardized testing mania.

Student-Centered Online Learning?

Student-Centered Online Learning?     Is it possible?

This is one thing that I have been having problems with in my online learning classes.  Years ago, I was teaching online though Adobe Connect and some other video conferencing tools but I was unsatisfied.  I wanted all of us to be able to see each other online, but we just didn't have the bandwidth. I would complain to our technical gurus but they just reminded me of the laws of physics that limited the amount of data that could be shoved through a digital hose at one time.

So, I began to teach online like the rest of the professors where the students watched me and then responded by typing their comments in the chat box (see lower left box above.)  The problem was that it was too ME-centered. Yes, some of you may have just dropped your gum hearing me say that, but learning isn't about the teacher talking. It is about the students interacting in the process of discovering new ideas.

Anyway, this is the way that I have been using video conferencing as a teaching tool for the past couple of years and it has been less than rewarding. I would talk and students would type.  I was proud of my ability to read the scrolling written discussion as I spoke and incorporating it into my talk without a stutter.  It just didn't have the interaction that I typically have in a face-to-face classroom.

Last semester I was teaching my Selection and Integration of Instructional Technologies course to our Instructional Technology Masters students. One of the assignments involves small groups of students finding journal articles that relate to our study module. They lead online written discussions about the articles but then they also have to lead a video-conferenced discussion as well. This process involves these students using their webcams to show their likenesses and then leading the discussion. Please note, I (Dr. Z) turn off my webcam AND mute my microphone so that I have no input into the discussion except for an occasional text message telling them that we need to "move on."

I LOVED this!!!!  This is the way it SHOULD be!!!!  Students are sharing their ideas and leading the discussion. They are taking control of their own learning and I am sitting at the side guiding the process in a forwardly direction - whatever that may mean.

SOOOOOOOO, I am teaching my Selection and Integration class again this semester. I have been talking and the students have been typing in the notes section. We haven't begun the Articles assignment yet, but I wanted to get the students more involved tonight. The question was - How?

I begin each class (before we begin recording) by verbally greeting each student. I expect them to respond verbally. I even ask them to use their webcam when available, but they seem a little shy for that. Tonight, we were discussing the definition of Literacy and New Literacies.  I began the discussion but asked students to use their webcams when they responded. It was slow at first, but most of them allowed us to see them as they spoke. I shared the screen with them for while, but eventually turned it off and the light "only shone on them." I spoke to provide some direction occasionally, but found that just sitting quietly when students weren't talking was quite successful because teachers can't stand "Dead Air" and they rush to fill the void.

As class proceeded, the students took over. See the screenshot ↑↑↑↑↑ UP THERE ↑↑↑↑↑ The students are in charge and Dr. Z is no where to be seen.    HOOORAY!!!

It was a successful evening and I look forward to our future discussions.  Many of the students mentioned that they enjoyed the process and looked forward to doing it next week and in the future.

I believe that this is a significant step in my journey to make my online courses more student-centered.  Online learning is not necessarily 21st century learning.  It can be just as 19th century as boring lectures in the flesh only they can do more damage across a larger stretch of land.   =-)

The key is in the pedagogical design that places students at the center of their learning experiences.

What do you do to help your students take control of their learning in your online courses?

Z

Related articles

• Online Learning: a Manifesto
• Your Class Might be Learner-Centric If . . . (a work in progress)
• The 60-Second Guide To Online vs Classroom Learning