Darmanin,+Brian


 * Use the course materials to help you respond to these questions for each Module.**


 * 1) What skills you think today's students will need to be able to live and work in the 21st Century? iTo me, it's all about real world application. If it's not real, it's not worth teaching. Truthfully, how often do we hear "When will I ever use this!?!??" and frankly, I ask myself the same question sometimes. I want my students to believe everything they learn is useful, purposeful in some way. To be truly 21st century, it must apply to the real world in some way and it must be "adaptable" to an ever changing world.
 * 2) How you are preparing your students to gain these skills? If you are not currently teaching: How are educators preparing students to gain these skills? O I start all of my lessons with a question or a story, sometimes completely unrelated to the curriculum, but always truthful. These examples often tie what we learn (eventually) from a real situation. I ask my students to share what they know, what has happened to them. If we're going to discuss "self-esteem", what good does it do me for students to memorize the definition. When I can show real people performing, acting, sharing, talking, living, I have given purpose to what we are about to discuss and do. fter doing the reading, I can safely say that there are things I did not consider and I don't always take full advantage of the wonderful school district granted tech we are given. I always worry about access and equity, so I am sometimes tempted to keep it "old school".
 * 3) What is the difference between ’Foundation Skills" and "Functional Skills"? As we discussed in the forum, functional skills are skills that someone may have that directly helps them perform tasks successfully to a specific job. These skills are specific to a trade, such as repairing specific television parts, or computer gaming language. Foundational skills are basic, essential skills that everyone should have before they start a job. Reading, writing, oral communication, problem-solving, working in groups, and even basic math skills.
 * 4) How well your curriculum and current instructional strategies are helping your students acquire these skill? If your are not currently teaching how well do you think our schools are using instructional strategies to help students acquire these skills? Extremely strong at times and extremely weak at other. Yes, this confuses me too! At times, I feel I can help develop these strengths clearly with focused projects and inquiry. However, my students know my leadership class is an elective and opt not to take it seriously sometimes since their GPA is unaffected. Moreover, I only have students for 12 weeks. Collaboration is king in my classroom and we are connected digitally 24/7 with our blog. Still, to acquire these skills, it's going to take a cohort of teachers and bit of professional collaboration.
 * 5) Think about today's students and the potential professions they might go into. Which of these skills might each student need? How can we make sure that all students are prepared with the skills necessary to enter the 21st Century Job Market? I think Sisyphus comes to mind here. We as teachers are rolling that boulder up the hill only to watch it come tumbling back down. Even our students feel this way. For every step we take, government mandates and state testing often send that boulder right back down the hill. Creativity takes a backseat to standards much of the time. If their careers are unknown (many of them do not even exist yet), we must be teaching critical thinking and creativity first and foremost so they can adapt to an unknown and globally competitive world. Instead, we care about bubbling in the right answer. How do we mak sure students are prepared? Policy change starting at the top and philosophical change starting at the bottom. Meet in the middle.
 * 6) What patterns are beginning to emerge between the various resources you’ve been exploring? How do these skills compare with the list you made in question 1? I think my ideas have changed a bit because I tend to get caught up in 21st century meaning cool technology when that's simply not true. 21st century means free ideas, adaptable minds, and critical thinkers more than anything. You don't necessarily NEED tech for these things. They are tools, not miracles. I also want to make sure our students have access to these same resources, teaching them how to be responsible digital citizens and preparing them for a resource filled world. These resources taught me it's more about the questions we ask than the answers we find.
 * Module 2 Notes**
 * 1) How can we make personalized learning a part of our schools and classrooms? I think it's important we teach goal setting. Personalized goals not only help the teacher, but it helps our students conceptualize and visualize their purpose in the class. It gives them some ownership. A voice is essential and an active learner is nothing more than an engaged voice in the discussion. Asking, answering, responding, and inquiring. I also believe in getting to know the whole student from day one. Team buliding games may seem silly, but they are important to the classroom culture. We can get to know our students to provide instruction that meets their needs. The Khan Academy is a good example and using a flipped model as a technique (not a pedagogy) opens up new doors to learning.
 * 2) How do we help our students become real learners? R Direct instruction is still king. However, what we sometimes forget is that we first have to open the door for direct instruction to take place. Before we can reach them, there must be inquiry, interest, engagement. There must be questions asked before we can provide answers. Showing up and saying "learn this" is simply not enough for purpose, retention, or value. Learners must have buy-in to be "real learners" otherwise they are just puppets or robots mimicking and regurgiating information. "Plug and chug" is a dated model and quite ineffective.
 * 3) What is/should be the role of assessment in student learning? How can we improve upon our assessment practices in order to really help all students be engaged, life-long learners? The role of asssessment is to DRIVE instruction. We focus so much on summative asssessments in this country that we only care about the OUTCOME. WRONG WRONG WRONG! It is not about the outcome. It's about the process. It's about what happens in between the instruction and the outcome. That special place is reserved for US as educators. It gives us an opportunity to evaluate ourselves as teachers, so we can adjust our instruction to meet the needs of our students. Assessment is nothing else but a guidebook for our instruction. To improve it, we must make sure are formative assessments are valid, purposeful, and analyzed. Then, and only then, are summative assessments worthwhile as a measure. The best educators even use their summative assessments to build on their next unit, their next year of teaching, and even their own professional development.
 * 4) What is the role of e-learning, and how will/isl this change(ing) the educational paradigm? I think the role of e-learning is to allow students to pace their learning. It allows students to visit an revisit as necessary. It allows students to hear a concept visualized in multiple ways and even hear from each other from different backgrounds and learning levels. There is an element of "play" and "creativity" to e-learning that makes it adaptable to each learner. It very much has a role in shifting the educational paradigm because information and instruction is not confined to 52 minutes in a classroom the same way that surgery is not confined by a room (or even time and space....have you seen digital surgery performed thousands of miles away?). It supplements what we do and sets up opportunities for individualized plans to teach and re-teach.
 * 5) How do your students compare with the 21st Century learners described in Mark Prensky"s article on "The 21st Century Digital Learner"? I would respond that my students are looking for the chance to share their voice in the learning process. Students HAVE a voice even if it comes in the form of 3900 text messages per month. Education moves at a snail's pace and our students world moves at a cheetahs. Sadly, this analogy is also applicable to policy. Our thinking and models are dated and we view technology as a way to "buy" our way into the 21st century. Not so. The digital learner proves that buying technology does not solve the problem, as it's the learner themselves who need to communicate with us differetly. You can't simply hand them an iPad and say "go!" The solution? Talk to your students! They are more than willing to share their voice on how they best learn. They'll show you not only what engages them, but why it engages them. They are the USERS and any good company knows that it's the USER who matters more than anything. Education uses dated models that revolve around the teacher!
 * 6) To what extent to you see your students (or your children, or yourself as a student) possessing the qualities shown on thegraphic on the wiki for the International School in Bangkok ? If you see any gaps, what do you consider the reason for these gaps, and how might educators help students gain these skills and qualities? W hen I see this graphic, I see how I possess most of these qualities. Partly, this is because of the time I grew up in....I am somewhat of a digital kid myself. I'm reflective, inquisitive, creative, and collaborative when it comes to learning. Gee, don't I think highly of myself? Still, being an efftective communiator is something I strugled with early in life and at times, it causes problems even in my adult life. As a natural introvert who deals with social anxiety from time to time due to a condition, I have to fight myself to succeed. Seeing this graphic makes me think of the gap as a communicator can inhibit my teaching at all? I'd like to think that I can professionally engage and overcome such weaknesses, but I must admit that it takes different tools (creativity mainly) for me to be successful as a teacher.
 * 7) To what extent are you, your children or your students Effective Learners, Effective Communicators , and Effective Global Collaborators .? I think that I am an effective learner. It's a very personal thing and allows me to be introverted while pursuing an interest.It allows me to set a goal and rely on myself. I can spot this quality in my students almost instantly because I recognize it from myself. I even feel a sense of belonging with other effective learners because you can often see the drive and passion in their pursuits. Ever listen to a successful visionary like Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos speak and instantly identify? I'm not comparing myself to them, but I can certainly relate to that sense of self.
 * 8) To what extent is your school (or your children's school) and classroom meeting these needs? I think our school is meeting these needs mainly beecause it knows how to effectively spend our money on pruposeful tech combined with a willing and able student body. The teachers get on board quickly with conceptual thinking and provide opportunities for our students to go "beyond the test" more than any other district I've taught in. It's truly a remarkable thing to watch and be a part of. It's a student centered modeled applied from top to bottom and the results show in the rest of our pursuits as a school.
 * 9) How might you rethink your classroom to make it a 21st Century classroom? What are the barriers you face to making your class a 21st Century learning environment? If you are not currently teaching how should classrooms be re-thought? T I believe strongly in assessments, but I'm just beginning to learn how to use them quickly. Moreover, I'm experimenting with a flipped model for the first time so it's going to take time to adapt to the vast amounts of data collected and learn what to do with it! Collecting is no problem, but using it to drive instruction (and being brutally honest with yourself) is no easy task. Still, the biggest barrier will always remain TIME. I have so many ideas right now and trying to find the time for them all is difficult, so I better start with one or two.


 * Module 3 Notes**
 * 1) List how your school and classroom environments support 21st Century learning outcomes. If you are not teaching, think about your school experience of the your children's school. Consider:
 * Collaboration (Purposeful Prof Development)
 * iPad training
 * Macbooks for all/iPads One to One (8th grade) at school
 * Activity Tables
 * Live TV announcements with PSAs
 * Creatively focused
 * Smartboards in every classroom
 * Conceptual learning
 * Module 4 Notes**
 * 1) In what ways are your assuring that the 21st century skills taught discretely in the context of core subjects Is your curriculum interdisciplinary? If you are a middle or high school teacher how can you or do you collaborate with teachers in other departments to create multidisciplinary projects?
 * **1.Collaboration is king in my classroom. Most projects or activities demand dependency on one another and without it, projects fail quite easily. They are just difficult enough that one strong student cannot make up for the team and students must learn to work together (or fail together) before attacking each task. Most get overwhelmed by this 21st century learning model and all the changing world, but what most teachers don't realize is that this isn't BRAND NEW! It's often very similar to what we already do and we often embed this in our curriculum without even knowing it. We may not call it the same thing, but how many of us were doing THINK PAIR SHARE before someone came along and coined that technique? We encourage collaboration in our group assignments. We encourage public speaking in our presentations. I try to remind myself of this daily because we discreetly teach many of these skills in the elementary environment.**
 * 1.What instructional strategies do you use to enable innovative learning methods that integrate the use of supportive technologies such as inquiry-based, project-based and problem-based approaches as well as promote higher order thinking skill?
 * **1.Strategies include blogging and social networking to communicate, collaborate, and comment. Projects that require teamwork, time management, and purpose (with a little creativity thrown in for free!) guide my students to their goals. More importantly, I reward failure in my classroom. When students try something outside the box in digital media with a crazy idea that just falls flat, I give them extra points for the creative try. I want to encourage more of this because I get sick of the same projects and I believe creativity is not encouraged enough because students are afraid to fail! I've just begun using edmodo and twitter as a tool in addition to blogging. I'm now going to use Remind101 to test one-way communication reminders in my classroom. Innovative and creative are right up my alley, but learning how to combine these tools into effective instruction is going to take some practice. I think by starting off day one with a story about my own failures, encouraging students to fail, and showing them some of the most famous people (like Michael Jordan, Abraham Lincoln, and Walt Disney) who have failed miserably in their own lives only to find success, I can begin challenging higher order thinking. It may be cliche, but I have to open the door to higher order thinking before they are willing to step through.**
 * Module 5 Notes**
 * 1) What are the best uses of technology to promote student learning in a 21st Century Classroom? **I just want technology to be a tool, not a pedagogy! Too often, people see technology as the savior. It's not!!! To promote the best uses means to promote the development of the skills of how to use it first. Any technology that makes a teachers life simpler (more efficient!) and encourages a teacher's creativity in how to approach a unit is a good use. Any technology that drums up images of a rhinoceros trying to head butt a semitruck is probably something that wasn't properly implemented. Ease of use, simplicity over flashy and gimmicky. The simplest tools, the simplest software, often trumps even the most heavily backed app. It's all about what's PRACTICAL and allowing teachers to take it from there. Students learn when their teachers feel armed. The best way to promote student learning in the classroom is to promote teacher learning outside of it.**
 * 2) What strategies can teachers use to assure their students are acquiring the 21st Century skills necessary for their future? An easy one! (sorta). Teachers should use project based learning, inquiry based learning and problem based learning to insure that skills are being taught. No more "plug and chug" learning. If you want a robot, fine, keep teaching them how to recite what you say. If you want them to think, give them a challenge, a project. Stir up some questions without directly stating it yourself. Let them be interested in what you have to say before you start talking! Use video, use media....try to speak their language. If they send 3900 text messages per month and you're trying to remind them about homework using a marker and a whiteboard....you aren't speaking their language are you? So find a texting app that blasts your classrooms and get going! Most importantly, learn who your students are before you start teaching them because to insure they have the skills for their future, we must first find out what skills they've already acquired.
 * Module 6 Notes**
 * 1) Direct instruction is still king. However, what we sometimes forget is that we first have to open the door for direct instruction to take plac e. Before we can reach them, there must be inquiry, interest, engagement. There must be questions asked before we can provide answers. Showing up and saying "learn this" is simply not enough for purpose, retention, or value. Learners must have buy-in to be "real learners" otherwise they are just puppets or robots mimicking and regurgiating information. "Plug and chug" is a dated model and quite ineffective.
 * 2) I think my ideas have changed a bit because I tend to get caught up in 21st century meaning cool technology when that's simply not true. 21st century means free ideas, adaptable minds, and critical thinkers more than anything. You don't necessarily NEED tech for these things. They are tools, not miracles. I also want to make sure our students have access to these same resources, teaching them how to be responsible digital citizens and preparing them for a resource filled world. These resources taught me it's more about the questions we ask than the answers we find.