Posts tagged 21st century learning
New Brunswick grade schoolers place third in InterroBang
May 24th
A New Brunswick elementary class recently placed third at the InterroBang (http://playinterrobang.com/) competition, and international social networking contest designed to develop 21st Century learning skills.
The interesting twist is that the Grade 4 class was competing against middle and high school students in both Canada and the United States.
John Kershaw
New Maryland Elementary School (NMES) (http://nmes.nbed.nb.ca) is one of New Brunswick’s 21st Century schools. Teachers are integrating 21st Century competencies, such as leadership, creativity, innovation, entrepreneurialism, collaboration and digital competency into instructional practices. Steve Pierce, the principal, is leading the learning and teaching transformation and states that results are inspiring.
InterroBang is an on-line game where students complete real-world “missions” to learn and win prizes. It is a “social networking game for middle and high school students that encourages their natural energy and inclination to help others. Read the rest of this entry »
Education tech highlighted in three nations
Feb 7th
The growing importance of technology in education was clearly evident in three different countries over the past few months.
In November 2010 the U.S Department of Education released its National Education Technology Plan Learning Powered by Technology http://www.ed.gov/technology/netp-2010.
John Kershaw
The plan was led by Karen Cator, Director of the Office of Educational Technology. Cator is well versed in learning and technology having previously worked with Apple’s education group and as a previous chair of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (http://www.p21.org/). Cator’s plan is inspiring and echoes her core belief that positioning America for success in the global knowledge economy calls for the integration of technology with learning to enable the nation’s youth to be equipped with 21st Century skills.
Now the Obama administration must breathe life into the plan through advocacy and concrete investments. We trust P21 members will be vocally supporting the plan. Read the rest of this entry »
Inclusive ICT rich education needs to expand coverage
Jan 6th
New Brunswick is well known for its inclusive education system. The province’s ongoing effort to successfully integrate children with disabilities into the regular classroom is to be lauded and emulated.
John Kershaw
Unfortunately, some pundits believe incorrectly that inclusive education is solely about ensuring children with disabilities receive the accommodations they need to be successful in the classroom. This thinking is both erroneous and dangerous. Read the rest of this entry »
Canada should to follow U.S. 21st Century skills program
Nov 11th
In the United States, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) has emerged as a coalition determined to advance 21st Century learning agenda in that country. The P21 website states that: The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a national organization that advocates for 21st century readiness for every student. As the United States continues to compete in a global economy that demands innovation, P21 and its members provide tools and resources to help the U.S. education system keep up by fusing the three Rs and four Cs (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation). While leading districts and schools are already doing this, P21 advocates for local, state and federal policies that support this approach for every school.P21 consists of federal and state agencies, private sector businesses and non-government agencies that all recognize the need to advance 21st Century learning in the United States.
John Kershaw
Canada would do well to emulate P21 and create a coalition of Canadians and Canadian organizations devoted to advancing 21st Century learning in this country. The Ministers of Education in Canada have taken an important step in declaring their commitment to work together; it is time for others to join the movement in this country and create a “coalition of advocates” for 21st Century learning.
Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Education in Canada recently committed themselves to explore the global 21st Century learning movement and its potential impact on public education systems. The Ministers met in Winnipeg on September 23/24th , 2010 to advance their Learn Canada 2020 agenda. Read the rest of this entry »
ICT central to three new 21st century agreements in New Brunswick
Aug 24th
New Brunswick’s journey toward creating a 21st Century model of public education took three significant steps forward recently, with ICT being a central element in all three instances.
John Kershaw
On June 3rd the New Brunswick Department of Education (Anglophone Sector) entered into new agreements with three New Brunswick universities regarding pre-service teacher training.
The agreements represent a bold and exciting step forward by the universities in supporting New Brunswick’s 21st Century learning agenda. The agreements commit each of the three universities’ Faculties of Education to adopt new 21st Century oriented standards for beginning teacher training.
The process of reaching the agreements was highly collaborative, and included a team of representatives from the three Faculties of Education, the Departments of Education and Post Secondary, Education, Training and Labour, and the New Brunswick Teacher’s Association. The new teaching standards relate to the integration of ICT with pedagogy, and a commitment by the universities to adopt within three years a 1:1 student-computer model within their Faculties of Education, reflecting the province’s intent to adopt a 1:1 student-computer model in its upper grades in the years ahead.
New Brunswick releases 21st century learning plan
Jun 8th
On May 14th the Anglophone sector of the New Brunswick Department of Education released its proposal on how to shift our public education system to a 21st Century learning model. The plan was developed using a co-leadership model with principals and district leaders, and the consultation document will now be used to engage our teachers.
John Kershaw
As New Brunswick teachers were each allocated a notebook computer, for the first time in history we were able to forward a copy of a draft learning strategy to every teacher, for their advice and counsel.
The plan, entitled 21st Century Learning (NB3-21C) is available for review at our departmental website: http://www.gnb.ca/0000/index-e.asp.
While the three year plan is quite comprehensive, four key elements are emerging as critical pillars to success. Let’s call them the CRT2 formula, where C is Creativity, R is Relevance; the first T is Time and the second, Technology. Read the rest of this entry »
Three questions for learders seeking 21st century public education
May 18th
Transition expert William Bridges (Managing Transitions: Making The Most of Change, 2009) cites three questions he poses to leaders when they seek help with change. He asks these questions so leaders anticipate what people affected by the change will be asking.
Bridges position is that if the leaders of change can answer the questions concisely and informatively, their chances of success will be higher. His questions are: What is changing? What will be different? Who’s going to lose what?
John Kershaw
As we seek to shift our New Brunswick public education system to a 21st Century model of learning, Bridges three questions resonate and we need to have the answers for our teachers, school support staff, parents, partners, stakeholders and elected officials.
As we continue designing our NB3-21C strategy we are finding that ICT is offering us a host of venues for engaging people in our system. Our recent NB3-21C video (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=new+brunswick+education&aq=f) set the stage on “why” change is required. We are now turning our attention to identifying “how” change needs to takes place. Read the rest of this entry »
The Coolest Stuff in Digital Media: Checking Out Ryerson’s Digital Media Zone
May 5th
I’m often asked at IDC what the coolest technology is that I’m seeing in Canada from tech startups. In the Digital Media space, and in Toronto specifically, a good place to source out hot new digital media technology is at Ryerson’s new Digital Media Zone (DMZ), which officially opened on April 7, 2010 (http://www.ryerson.ca/dmz/).
Located on the 5th floor overlooking Yonge-Dundas Square, the DMZ connects Ryerson students, graduates and alumni from different disciplines to take digitally inspired concepts and make them real solutions and marketable products. Ryerson’s President Sheldon Levy explained that Ryerson does not take a stake in the technology being developed; instead it provides the space and equipment for students to test and try their ideas in a safe environment supported and funded by the school.
The result? Some pretty cool and marketable technology. Examples include: Read the rest of this entry »
New Brunswick teachers receive new laptops
Apr 26th
New Brunswick’s Department of Education is serious about building a 21st Century model of learning. On April 16, 2010 the Department announced that every teacher in our system will receive a new notebook computer. The multi-million dollar investment involves over 8,000 teachers. The New Brunswick Teachers Association applauded the investment and all agreed that a 1:1 teacher-computer model is essential in today’s 21st Century learning environment.
The Department of Education first offered a personal notebook computer to teachers in 2006. At that time teachers were offered a computer to support their daily teaching activities, including the delivery of provincial curricula, programs and services and accessing online information and resources. A high percentage of teachers accepted the offer in 2006. The more recent announcement to refresh all the notebook computers will keep New Brunswick teachers at the leading edge of using technology and their profession.
The New Brunswick teaching force is now among the highest trained in the world on using ICT applications for teaching and learning. They depend on their computers for creating, storing and sharing lesson plans, report cards and formative assessment information. A growing number are using email, twitter, Facebook and other web based applications to communicate with students, parents, and their local communities. They are collaborating electronically with other teachers in their own school or elsewhere in the New Brunswick system, accessing information on the internet, and increasingly partnering with schools in other parts of the world. With the growing number of interactive whiteboards in New Brunswick’s classrooms teachers now have the capacity to link their notebooks with the whiteboards and create engaging lessons for students. Having their own notebook also allows them to access the department’s on-line portal that offers a host of information, ranging from curricula to on-line resources and best practices. The 1:1 teacher-computer model also facilitates the development of our electronic special education plans for children with disabilities and special needs. Read the rest of this entry »
Videos spark 21st Century learning discussion
Apr 13th
A video created to stimulate discussion on a new 21st Century model of public education in New Brunswick was uploaded onto Youtube last week. (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=new+brunswick+education&aq=f)
The video was originally targeted at an internal audience of education leaders in the province’s Anglophone sector as a means to foster debate. However, the video was so warmly received Youtube was seen as the best vehicle to share its message further afield.
In previous articles for ITBusiness I have shared ideas on 21st Century learning and the role of ICT. The video’s overall message is that life and business are now moving at the speed of the internet, and New Brunswick wants its students out in front leading the way. The brainchild of the video is Bill Kierstead, a former principal and now key member of the department’s leadership team. He wanted to show how rapid advancements in ICT are transforming the world and that these transformations are precipitating the need for new approaches to knowledge acquisition and instructional practices. Read the rest of this entry »
