CTE and the 21st Century Student

No Child Left Behind

I thought it might be interesting to start a blog entry about how President-elect Barack Obama's education plan will affect students in the 21st century.  According to his website, one objective of his education plan is:

"Barack Obama will reform No Child Left Behind:

Obama and Biden believe teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests and he will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college."

According to the goals of the 21st century, assessment need improvement.  I think it will interesting to see if and how No Child Left Behind will be reformed and if it will incorporate the 21st century skills framework.  I totally agree that No Child Left Behind has taken away a lot of the freedom teachers need.  It has taken away a lot of the creativity of teachers.  Has anyone heard any more specifics as to the president-elect's education plan?  If so, I would love to hear them. 

Posted at 01:47PM Nov 07, 2008 by Jennifer Cable in 21st Century Skills and Barack Obama  |  Comments[5]

The Use of New Technology in the Classroom

Being a computer teacher, I am lucky enough to have many kinds of technology available to me.  I currently use AB Tutor to monitor my students while they are on their computers.  All computers are networked and each student has storage space on the network drive.  Our county has broadband Internet access for teachers and students to use.  I have an overhead projector and Mimio board which is similar to a Smartboard.  Each student has their own desktop computer to use.  I have a DVD/VCR combo hooked up to my projector with a surround sound system.  I have a television with many cable channels available.  I have a color laser printer for the classroom.  I have an Airwriter which I still have not learned how to use.  As you can see, technology abounds in my classroom.  I know that I am lucky to have all of these items available to help me teach my students.  At times I feel bad that I have so much and others have so little.  Of all the technology I have in my classroom, I think the one I would hate to give up is my overhead projector.  I use it daily from starting to students on daily bellwork to giving notes to demonstrating how to do something on their computer.  I would like to hear from other teachers what is their favorite technology they are currently using and would had to lose. 

Posted at 04:41PM Oct 26, 2008 by Jennifer Cable in Emerging Technologies  |  Comments[8]

Helping Students Adapt to the New Flat World

After reading Thomas Friedman's "The World Is Flat" I have more questions than answers.  We are living in a society where things are changing daily and we are aware of these changes.  I think in the past, thing were changing but we didn't realize it until some time later.  I believe that since things are changing so quickly, we are able to see them faster.  This creates problems for educators as we try to help our student prepare for entering the workforce in this 21st Century.  I would like to hear suggestions from other educators strategies you are using to help students adapt to the ever changing world.  What are you telling them about these changes?  Global awareness in part of the 21st Century skill framework.  How are you educating your students to become more aware of their world and not just the community they are living in?  Just a few questions for thought. 

Posted at 11:31AM Oct 16, 2008 by Jennifer Cable in Is The World Truly Flat?  |  Comments[2]

How Games are Used in the Classroom

Gaming can be an effective learning tool when used in the classroom.  I use a variety of games for test review  and also to deepen my students understanding of concepts.  Some of my favorite computer games to use are Battleship, Concentration, Hangman, and Rags to Riches.  These games are found on Quia.com.  I purchase a subscription to this website each year at a cost of $49.00.  The benefits my students receive more than outweigh the cost.  I also use cooperative learning activities which I tell my students these are games.  The one I use often is called "Four Corners".  Using my overhead projector, I place a question on the board with four possible answers. Each corner in my room has been label A, B, C, or D.  Students move to the corner which contains the answer they think is correct.  We then discuss the question, what makes each answer wrong, and why a certain answer is correct.  I also have Concentration games I have made up where students work in groups but by far the easiest games are those on the computer.  Technology can open so many doors for teachers.  We just need to embrace the changes and being searching for new and innovative ways to teach our students.  Games can be the first step for teachers who are not comfortable or familiar with technology.  Happy surfing.  

Posted at 11:18AM Oct 09, 2008 by Jennifer Cable in Gaming  |  Comments[2]

Critical Thinking Skills

I would like to start a blog about critical thinking skills.  Critical thinking skills can help student develop new ideas, creative new products, make sensible decisions, etc.  These skills are very important to students but are also very hard to teach.  What are some of your best teaching practices for teaching critical thinking skills?

Posted at 09:01PM Sep 21, 2008 by Jennifer Cable in Critical Thinking Skills  |  Comments[4]

CTE Curriculum and RBT

Several years ago, a decision was made by North Carolina?s Department of Public Instruction to implement Bloom?s Revised Taxonomy in the updating of curriculum.  The Revised Bloom?s believes that students should have fewer objectives to learn in a course.  This decision has had a profound effect on CTE courses.  As updated curriculum as been released, teachers have found that many objectives and topics have been deleted from the curriculum.  For example, in Middle Grades Keyboarding, workplace citizenship and ethics has been eliminated from the curriculum.  In Computer Applications I, web cameras, PDA?s, and tablet computers have been eliminated from the curriculum.  Has the implementation of RBT helped or hurt the 21^st Century student?  Are we preparing our students to succeed in the 21^st century with the deletion of these technology devices from the current curriculum?  Are we ?dumbing down? the curriculum to help more students "pass the class" or are we truly preparing them for the workplace?  Course blueprints and curriculum can be found at:  http://www.ncpublicschools.org/cte/

Posted at 11:02PM Sep 16, 2008 by Jennifer Cable in CTE and RBT  |  Comments[6]