21st Century Skills and NETS T for Tonight's Webinar

21st Century Skills • Communication Skills• Collaboration

NETS T• 1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

o b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.

o c. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.

o d. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.

• 4.  Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibilityo c. promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to

the use of technology and information.o d. develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with

colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools.

Step 1- Look at Standards that Could Support Collaboration

Ask Yourself.....

• What are the standards that students have the most difficulty mastering?

• Is there a unit of study  that needs an extreme makeover?

• What real-world applications could I make?

And Create a Spark!!!

Mrs Smoke's Project

• Needed a real-world connection to the novel Treasure Island

• Knew students and teachers both had trouble with intellectual property,  so I wanted to target digital piracy 

• Wanted to build a project around 21st Century Skills and my literature standards

Robert Louis Stevenson. LIFE Magazine Photo Archive. Web. 20 July 2010

Step 2 Brainstorm Project Ideas and Curriculum Framing Questions

• What questions would move students into deeper levels of thinking?

• What essential question could be the driving force for the project?

Mrs Smoke's Project

Essential Question: • Just because we can, should

we?

Unit Questions:• What can Treasure

Island teach us about ourselves and others?

• How does the medium of communication affect the message?

Step 3 - Explore Possible Partnerships

Who are the companies, organizations, educational resources, or government resources available?

What about experts in the field?  Could they answer student questions or be a primary resource?

Mrs Smoke's ProjectSteps we took• Brainstormed a list of

possible contacts• Searched the web for experts

in intellectual property• Discovered that one contact

can lead to others• Scheduled Skype calls, video

conferencing, in classroom visits, and phone calls

I also had experts on call in project based learning to help guide me through the project.

Mrs Smoke's Tips to Expert Collaboration

Local contacts (museums, zoos, national parks, dance studios, etc.) a personal visit to their educational contact or program director makes all the difference.

Large organizations are best contacted through telephone calls to public relations departments.

Share learning goals and project overview with clear explanations.

Websites are a great idea to share with your possible contacts.

Step 4 - Set Up Clear Roles and Expectations

What role will each person play in the project?

How will you maintain communication with partners throughout the project?

Can you determine how much time partners will need to contribute?

Mrs Smoke's ProjectRoles for my project experts were to be resources - people who could answer questions.

Requested 30 minute meetings with the experts to keep time focused for all stakeholders.

Students prioritized questions for each meeting and designated who would ask what.

Students practiced video conferencing skills with other teachers from my PLN before each meeting.

Step 5 - (OPTIONAL) Finding Partner Classrooms

How would partnering with other students bring in new perspectives?

Would the learning be deeper if more students were involved?

Could your students participate as experts themselves to a partner classroom?

Mrs Smoke's Project

For National Talk Like a Pirate Day, students Skype called multiple classrooms to act as experts on intellectual property to other students.

Step 6 - Create the Final Product

What product will be created to answer the curriculum framing questions and student research questions?

How will students share their new found knowledge with others?

Mrs Smoke's Project

Le Arrgh! Anti-Piracy website was created by the class.

75 unique components are implemented within the student created site.

Students' collective knowledge is now being shared with teens across the globe.

http://www.wix.com/mrssmoke/Le-Arrgh-Teen-Anti-Piracy 

Step 7 - Reflection

Was the essential question answered throughout the project?

How did thinking change for all participants involved?

What life long lesson was learned by being a part of the project?

Mrs Smoke's Project

Students created rubrics and self-evaluations of their contributions to the project.

Many of them stated that this project would be the one component of the year that they would take away as a life long learning skill.

Web 2.0 Tools To Start Collaborative Projects

MyWebspiration Collaborative Brainstorming

Google Sites Easy wiki tools to host

your collaborative project

Additional Collaboration Tools