21st Century Skills

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” Plato

The world has changed and the financial system seems to be unraveling. Work is definitely changing.  The focus has moved from consumerism to personalization. Instead of supply and demand, it is “what’s in it for me?” and “what can I get that is just for me?” Now that this type of personal on-demand type of system is in place, how does this impact education?

Schools in the US are designed around the industrial model where the teacher is the all-knowing expert delivering instruction to meet the standards and tests. With this model, students are learning the same thing at the same time. If schools are going to produce a new type of worker who can deliver what people need on-demand where they personalize each situation for each user, they will need a different kind of education system than we are delivering now. Students will be active learners designing their own learning environments based on their needs and finding the most creative learning environments that build on their strengths.

Traditional schools create workers who prepare for jobs that are no longer here. These are jobs where workers followed orders and usually had one job for life. Those types of jobs are being outsourced. Students today are going to need critical thinking, problem-solving, and entrepreneurial skills. Most jobs today and in the future will be in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Plus, employers will be looking for creative and innovative people who think on their feet and who have an arts background. The new MBA (Masters of Business Administration) that businesses may be looking for will be the MFA (Masters of Fine Arts). The focus on STEM education will be STEAM. (The A is for Arts)

Look at where consumers are buying products:

• iTunes downloads of music
• Apps for free on smartphones
• Amazon finds other products like the ones you purchased already
• Netflix lets you stream movies on-demand on your Wii system

This new type of worker means amazing opportunities for people who are creative and innovative. Some people are born creative and think way out of the box. They were the ones that just did not fit in the traditional school model. Schools have to change to make people more creative and innovative. Unfortunately, right now public schools that are losing funding are getting rid of the arts and focusing on testing and memorizing facts. Creative students are leaving these schools. Actually there may be creative students in these schools, but how would you know?

Schools have to change to compete. Virtual schools are providing on-demand teaching so why should students sit in a classroom and be subjected to traditional teaching methods anymore? This is a moral issue. We need to prepare our children for their future.

Play and bringing back joy to learning is what schools have to do to prepare our future citizens. When you are involved in playing a game with your friends, how do you feel? Watch children play and interact with other children. They are fully engaged and probably remember those activities for a long time. Ask a child if they remember the worksheet they filled out last week. Was that fun? Do they remember the answers? Schools need to provide engaging activities that turn students into critical thinkers, researchers, and designers.

Creating games follows the constructionism theory that was defined by Seymour Papert.

“From constructivist theories of psychology we take a view of learning as a reconstruction rather than as a transmission of knowledge. Then we extend the idea of manipulative materials to the idea that learning is most effective when part of an activity the learner experiences as constructing a meaningful product.”

The idea of constructionism is “learning-by-making.” Constructionist learning involves students drawing their own conclusions through creative experimentation and the making of social objects. The constructionist teacher is more of a facilitator assisting students to help one another understand problems in a hands-on way. Some examples of learning-by-making include creating board games, scalable game design, and designing 3-D objects.

Creating Board Games
Bernie Dodge, PhD, teaches Explorative Learning Through Simulation and Games (http://www.thegamecrafter.com). Students can playtest their games before they design and submit their board game idea to The Game Crafter where their game can be sold in a professional design on-demand.

Scalable Game Design
AgentSheets [http://www.agentsheets.com] is a unique software authoring environment where users of all ages can build games, interactive demonstrations, and modifiable simulations using Conversational Programming that makes the computer your programming “buddy.” The computer tells you visually how the game or simulation you are programming is going to act before it runs. The iDREAMS project using AgentSheets has taught over 1200 middle school student to program complete video games and plans to reach over 7,500 students. The program uses the psychological notion of flow to gradually develop design skills that match design challenges. Flow proposed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is where a  person is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Students progress from simple arcade games to games and computational science applications that require sophisticated Artificial Intelligence.

Designing Three-Dimensional Objects
Fab@School uses the constructivist/constructionist approach [http://www.fablevision.com/new/index.html]  to revolutionize STEM learning by featuring an inquiry and project-based curriculum along with the arts that allows students to create three-dimensional objects – everything from model skyscrapers and bridges to pop-ups, gears, and working mechanisms using a digital fabricator. Students design the objects on a computer and then send it to the fabricator to “print.” When finished, a student has in physical form what they created on the screen.

These are only three ideas of learning-by-making. Now anyone can write, perform, and sell their music, make apps for the iPhone or iPad or Tablet, tell their story digitally, or write and publish their books on Lulu.com. Look at teaching entrepreneurial skills as a challenge and an opportunity. Bring play into the picture. For teachers to change to facilitators, it is a good idea to first become players themselves. Teachers need fun also. Consider changing professional development opportunities from Workshops to Playshops. ” To design an instructional game well, you must be both systematic and intuitive, analytic and artistic.

Bring play into the picture. For teachers to change to facilitators, it is a good idea to first become players themselves. Teachers need fun also. Consider changing professional development opportunities from Workshops to Playshops.

On Friday October 8th, I was lucky to be invited to help facilitate professional development for Mid-Pacific Institute in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Over 120 PK-12 teachers worked side-by-side in mixed grade-level groups to experience project-based learning (PBL). This approach requires 21st-century skills: collaboration, creativity, innovation, team work, and critical thinking. 15 Teams  of 8-10 teachers each created public-service announcements (PSA) to raise awareness about Mid-Pacific Institute. Teachers put themselves in the role of learners with a facilitator guiding the process in each team. So how did they do? Read more what Elementary School Principal Edna Hussey wrote about the process.

The team I worked with consisted of MPI’s director of education technology Mark Hines, associate education technology director Bob McIntosh, the three principals, and middle school tech coordinator Brian Grantham where we collaborated several weeks prior to last Friday to  plan the project experience. A meaningful day is effective if everything is planned well. I was so impressed with how the team worked tirelessly to pull everything together. The PSA concept was developed as a project that could be completed by day’s end and which would entail the use of technology already available to the faculty. Check out the details and completed PSAs at http://mpi-psas.my-ecoach.com.

Teachers completed reflections as exit tickets at the end of the day.

“I hope that this process will help me consider some of the challenges and rewards that come with building a project so that when I design this sort of thing for my students, I will understand what it’s like to be them.”

“I hope to get a better sense of how students think about ‘open-ended’ projects. If I enter with a student’s mindset of being ‘spoon-fed’ what’s required of me, what will work to engage me in this project. Often students feel lost when they get to make too many decisions. I hope to get ideas/techniques for helping students to get engaged.”

There were 15 teams who focused on a theme and developed a driving question and supporting questions about that theme to develop the storyboard and script for the 60-90 second PSA.

“Everyone feels comfortable to share ideas and is respectful and listens to the ideas of others. We have been able to discuss differing ideas and come to consensus. Everyone is open to hearing everyone’s ideas and do what needs to be done to bring the project together. Everyone also seems to understand the importance of the process, not just completing the product.”

“The group is communicating very well. I’m proud that people are constructing their ideas based on the communication of a positively critical idea, from a teachers perspective, and for the teachers as an audience, keeping the assignment in mind. When there was a difference in opinion, they chose to go with the more persuasive/engaging idea that invites the audience to think. It is going well because we are focusing on the process, even though the worries of getting the PSA done came up, we acknowledged how this might be a crossroads for students, and how should we proceed.”

We asked teams to pair with another team at the end of the day to share their PSA and reflect on the process. A spokesperson was chosen from each group to share with the whole staff. Everything was so positive. What an amazing group of teachers! Thank you Mid-Pac for including me in a very exciting professional development opportunity!

Society has always been impacted by technology. Each invention has affected how people relate to one another and how cultures have expanded or ended. Technology impacts how cities grow, where people live, and who owns what. Technologies are the reason a few people are very rich, that people are more social, and that teaching and learning is changing. We are at a crucial time in history where educators can make a difference in how our students interact with one another and make a place for themselves in society.

Historical Perspective

People developed a language so they could communicate and learn from elders through their stories. They invented tools for agriculture, to build homes, and to create weapons for hunting and protection. Civilizations have been impacted by natural disasters, encroachment from other civilizations, and from problems within their own community. Technology not only increased humans’ life span but how we live, how long we live, and how many there are of us.

[Human population growth over time]

The population doubled from 2.5 billion to 5 billion in only 40 years after 1950. The world population passed 6 billion just before the end of the 20th century. It is estimated that the population will reach 8-12 billion before the end of the 21st century. More people means more technology.

People migrated to find a better life. For most of history, only the wealthy had access to literature and a good education. The printing press allowed the masses to receive news, read books, and attend school. Inventions changed the way we worked like the cotton gin where slaves were stolen from Africa to be used as free labor with no rights, and the railroads that were built with Chinese labor who had little or no rights, no property, or a fair wage. Communities developed within large cities to protect and sustain the different cultures.

After World War II, freeway systems led to the suburbs. Public transportation changed when the automobile became part of every family. Television shows replaced dinner conversations. We saw man walk on the moon and the horrors of war in our living rooms.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/

So Where are We Now?

The Internet and mobile technology are changing the way people interact, work, and learn. Everyone can report the news or share a picture from their cell phone. You can produce your own music, publish your own book, blog your thoughts that you usually keep to yourself, create a website with even personal information, Twitter what you are doing right now, and talk on your cell whenever and wherever you want. We are using technology for our own use yet it infringes on others. Does this technology allow us to respect each other and value each others’ time and work or do just the opposite?

Consider these questions about today’s technology:

• Do you answer your cell phone when you are at a party, in line for coffee, dining with friends, etc.?
• Would your children rather text message instead of talking to your friends face-to-face?

Image from Consumerist

• Do you post to your blog your thoughts and link to others without researching if the information is valid?
• Do your children have a FaceBook profile with links to friends they don’t know?
• Would you rather visit a museum in SecondLife than visit a real museum?
• Do you believe that all music, art, and literature should be free?

Our connections seem personal, but are they? Many young people value the number of friends they have more than the quality of those friendships. The appeal of technology is real. Do you have an iPhone or a Droid? What about an iPad? Today, the arts, artists, and culture do not seem as valued as in the past. Who owns the work? How would the Beatles promote their music today? They probably would create a FaceBook site and give away samples of their work. With a Creative Commons license, they would probably allow others to use but not modify their work. How do artists make money? How does the viewer find this artist if the artist is not tech savvy? How do you know if the artist is the original artist? With the proliferation of social networking tools where everyone can share and publish on the web, artists will have to be innovative and entrepreneurial to be successful.

Web 2.0 allows us to be self-absorbed yet more connected than ever.

“The consequences of Web 2.0 are inherently dangerous for the vitality of culture and the arts. Its empowering promises play upon that legacy of the ’60s–the creeping narcissism … with its obsessive focus on the realization of the self.” . [Andrew Keen's reference to Web 2.0]

Every day there are new Web 2.0 tools that let you create, publish, and share. This is a time in history we will look back and say either “I wish I had created my own Web 2.0 or mobile app”, “I lost everything because I gave it away” or “what is Web 2.0?”

Okay – so I twitter [twitter.com], blog [barbara.bray.net], and have my own learning community [my-ecoach.com]. I’m not alone. People are leaving landline phones, books, and television by the millions. They use Internet-based services like YouTube or Hulu to watch their favorite shows and Skype to virtually connect — for free. It is a generational shift with even older generations jumping on board. Companies are marketing to a new kind of multinational and navigating the digital Silk Road. The growth of technology in China and India already affects how we use technology just because of the numbers of people involved. Video games have professional leagues with international online contests and self-made celebrities [Major League Gaming: http://www.mlgpro.com/]. Digital fads that are global may work in one country and not in another. Student tutors mentor students in another country. The old hierarchical system is falling away. Textbooks are starting to become open source such as Curriki.com and MIT OpenCourseware. Even marketing is changing. Viral marketing launches companies like Threadless T-shirts where the consumers design what they want. Will our students design what they need to learn? Will teachers learn how to be the digital guide?

Value Arts and Culture

With more people and crowded conditions, new technologies will be necessary to support and sustain us. Let’s also make sure we use these tools to tell and protect our stories. Video, audio, images, and interactive features open doors to worlds and cultures that children could never learn in a book. We need to allow for private spaces for confidential discussions and provide guides for tentative and eager participants. It is our duty as educators to guide students and other educators as they become innovative producers, teach them to become cautious consumers, and learn how they can use these tools to reach their fullest potential. We need to support the arts and artists and value each others culture. Let’s take these next few years to design digital ways to connect us not only to each other but to promote our values, to respect each other, and to encourage innovation as we develop a place for ourselves in the 21st century!

This post was updated from the original post on Rethinking Learning September 2007

We know better. You tell yourself you are going to exercise so many minutes a day, but something else takes priority. You do 15 minutes one day, nothing the next, and then feel bad again. You may be doing the same thing about your diet or some other behavior you want to change and you still keep going back to sabotaging yourself. Then you beat yourself up and continue this behavior over and over again.

The same thing happens to teachers with project-based learning. When a school decides to transform their traditional teaching to student-centered learning environments, it is best if the whole school buys in if it is to work. But… do the teachers say Yes and really mean Maybe?

“Maybe I’ll do the project when I have time.”

A teacher may be really excited as they design a project with other teachers, then they go back to their day-to-day grueling schedule and may never really jump head first into the projects. Excuses and questions like how do we fit a project in our schedule and meet the standards? Maybe a principal rallies behind the teachers to change teaching practice, but cannot find ways to squeeze in collaborative planning time. If everything depends on raising test scores, then the administration may prioritize direct instruction that focuses on teaching to the test. It’s very complicated. We all have good intentions but it’s all about data. Review your scores and other student information and disaggregate the data to identify which students are having problems and where there are gaps in learning. Projects don’t work if you don’t take the time to plan, review the data to determine your learning targets, and collaborate with other teachers to design a good project that will improve student achievement.

People sabotage themselves when they don’t believe they can change. It is easier to give up and go back to what they are used to. People don’t know what they don’t know. Change is not easy and for many scary. It takes initiative, time, practice, being okay about failing and trying again. A good project doesn’t always work. Teachers can learn and reflect on what works and what didn’t work and then use what they learned with the next project. Think why you might sabotage yourself or a project. Is it because you don’t believe projects will work for your students or that you are concerned about how you will develop and manage the project? Projects not only engage and motivate learners to want to learn, teachers find them rewarding. Change is tough, so take small steps and start with one project.

Care2′s article Are American children growing less creative? shared Tests since 1990 show a steady decline in the creativity levels of American children, despite the fact that IQ tests indicate they are getting smarter.

The focus for the last 9 years has been on increasing student achievement based on standardized tests. Maybe our children are learning how to memorize facts and increasingly doing better on spelling tests and Jeopardy games. Even the TV show “Are you smarter than a 5th grader?” encourages students to recall facts. There is no problem-solving, critical thinking or creativity involved in these activities. The 5th graders on this show are stoked when they get the answer right but there is only one right answer.

Life doesn’t always work that way. What we need are students who come up with the questions and are able to take some risks, find multiple ways to answer any of the questions or solve problems. They need to be able to think on their feet and jump in with new innovative ideas. Who knew even five years ago that people would be listening to mp3 files with an iPod or that cell phones could access the Internet. Email is old school. Now people text, use Facebook and Twitter to communicate. Traditional schools are closing because of so many reasons and, in my opinion, we need to rethink what a school is and redesign our learning environments if we want our students to be productive 21st century citizens.

The old business model where we own what we create is out of date and does not work anymore. That’s why social media like Facebook and Twitter are growing exponentially. Sharing ideas is powerful. You cannot own an idea. I was asked yesterday by a university if they could pay me for an article I wrote to include in a new book for principals. I thought “how cool” but then realized that the little money I would get for an article I wrote is not where I want to make any money. I want to get my ideas out there. Change is tough, takes time, and is very challenging. If we all hold on to the old paradigm of “no – you can’t have it. It’s mine” then we will never innovate and grow. As soon as I changed my mindset, things started happening for me. I encourage you to rethink your We Think possibilities.

I came across this video by Charles Leadbetter that is very interesting and talks about the importance of sharing and creativity.

We are in the middle of a revolution and many of us don’t know it. Everything is changing. Creativity will win because that is the only way we will succeed in the 21st century.

“Schools in their present state are anti-creative.” [source] There are more than 120 different definitions of creativity but, in the case of creative thinking in schools, it is not just about bringing arts into the curriculum; it is about changing how we teach and learn. It is about creating a new type of school culture where learners are innovating, being curious, taking risks, and are okay about failing and learning from mistakes. Read Creativity at School: is it even possible?

I have been thinking about creativity while working with 1:1 laptop programs and schools that are integrating technology into the classroom. Just giving students a laptop or using technology in a lesson is not changing the culture of the school and how students learn. Learners need critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Teachers become more of a facilitator guiding the buzz happening in their classroom and online. We hear the why we need to change over and over at conferences, in speeches, on YouTube. We get it. We have to change our learning environments to prepare our students to be 21st century citizens. Read Ben Johnson’s post on “How to Ignite Intellectual Curiosity in Students” on Edutopia.

Changing schools like this is not something that happens right away. In fact, changing schools and school culture takes years. The reason is that the adults who work in the system, the teachers, administrators,  parents — all were taught in systems where creativity was not allowed. It was about memorizing facts. I still hear from some parents “if it was good for me, then it is good for my children.” The problem that we need to get across to these parents is that yesterday’s schools won’t work today and are harmful for our children’s future. The jobs you prepared for in the past are no longer available today. The world has changed and is changing faster than we can keep up. Our kids cannot compete now. How will they compete as a global citizen?  I said it once before — this is a moral issue.

Most innovative programs are with soft money (grants). When the grant ends, the program ends unless they find other money. Some grants are for one year. Some lucky grants are three to five years, but that still is not enough time to change the culture of the school. I’ve been throwing around in my head how much time is enough time for change. Every school, every teacher, every student is different and unique. There is no clear cut formula on change. How you deal with change is personal.

When you think about changing the culture in a school, you need to be creative and innovative. Actually, those are the skills you need to teach. How do you teach something you may not know about? We ask our teachers to integrate technology but, in many cases, we don’t provide enough technology or training, current technology, or technology that works all the time. In fact, it’s not really the technology that makes change. We continue using the same school schedule and assessment strategies. In other cases, we assume if we teach teachers how to use a technology, then they will automatically know how to include it in their lessons. Teachers will use an interactive whiteboard just like they used a whiteboard; in front of the classroom. They will use PowerPoint to present their lessons. Animating bullets may be all a teacher feels comfortable learning and doing. Teaching teachers to let go and let students become more responsible for their learning just doesn’t seem right for many teachers. Being a facilitator instead of a lecturer is not an easy move for teachers especially if teachers are told to teach to the test and follow a pacing guide.

Bringing creativity to the classroom is so big and scary for schools that it IS going to take time before we see full scale change. There are pockets of excellence here and there. There are programs like New Tech High and the Buck Institute where schools are changing to project-based learning. This takes a big effort from everyone and a commitment to invest time and money into people and appropriate resources.

Next post will be about a change process I’m working on with several schools. I thought I’d share how it works while it is being implemented. Going to take a few risks myself so all of us can learn together.

students collecting data

Project-based learning (PBL) is a dynamic approach to teaching in which students explore real-world problems and challenges. With this type of active and engaged learning, students are inspired to obtain a deeper knowledge of the subjects they are studying. [Edutopia] PBL is an approach to learning focusing on developing a product or creation. The project may or may not be student-centered, problem-based, or inquiry-based. The main focus is engagement and being motivated to learn something they are interested in learning about.

Think about your own education and what made a difference in your life. We need to get back to how we learned in preschool – it used to be how we learned in Kindergarten, but now these beautiful young children are learning how to fill in a bubble on a test.

Enough! We are draining the creativity and curiosity out of our children. Children love to learn when they are young. They are so curious and want to learn their letters and numbers. We need to let our children ask “why is the sky blue” and “why do we need oil for our cars?” We want our children to ask questions why a certain problem is happening and if they can figure out the solution. Why children can figure out things probably better than adults is that their brains are not clogged with all the thousands of tasks, daily problems, and more that we have as adults. They are born with inquisitive minds and want to use them. However, they need guidance on how to develop critical thinking skills so they can effectively problem solve. Watch project-based learning in action:

For more videos on PBL, check out this library online.

Here’s a few sites on project-based and problem-based learning:

Explore the following websites as needed for more information:

• Introducing Project-Based Learning from Edutopia.
• The Guide on the Side
• Project-based Learning Overview
• Project-based Learning
• Challenge 200 Project-based Learning
• The Project Approach
• Problem-Based Learning – California
• Problem-based Learning – Southern Illinois School of Medicine
• Center for Problem-Based Learning

Looking for lots of examples to share and schools that want the best type of education for their children. This is a moral issue now. Our children are not prepared for their future and are in need of high level critical thinking skills. They need to learn how to work collaboratively and use technology effectively. We are not preparing them for their future. Look at our college graduates who are not getting jobs. Maybe we should we be teaching entrepreneurship and innovation. It is time to look at what engages children in the learning process and to provide an education that they will need for their future NOW!

Chris Lehman is principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, PA. The Science Leadership Academy is a partnership high school between the School District of Philadelphia and The Franklin Institute. SLA is an inquiry-driven, project-based high school focused on 21st century learning that opened its doors on September 7, 2006. SLA provides a rigorous, college-preparatory curriculum with a focus on science, technology, mathematics and entrepreneurship. Yes – I said entrepreneurship. Students set up their own businesses and develop products and services.

ISTE 2011 is in Philadelphia next year. If you are looking at changing your school or changing you, I suggest you finding a way of going to ISTE and immersing yourself in this new learning environment where technology is transparent and ubiquitous, where students can create, collaborate, and change their world. There will be activities at his school. If you cannot attend ISTE, the school hosts Educon each year where students and attendees participate. If you are looking at strategies to move to your school of the future, I suggest you follow Chris. This presentation below is over a year old but still timely:

Chris used the Pechu Kucha model of 20 slides in less than 5 minutes. Whew! Great ideas with great visuals. Here’s the presentation:

Designing Online Learning Environments that Engage Learners
(first published on OnCUE Summer 2010 Vol. 32 No. 2 p. 10-11)

Teaching online is fundamentally different than teaching face-to-face. The design of effective online learning environments requires rethinking teaching practices. The rapid advances of educational technology encourages the growth of collaborative online learning experiences unconstrained by time and space. Even so, students may not learn from technology alone; they learn with the support of competent facilitators who design learning strategies that support learning goals and objectives.

Online learning technologies were first used to digitize existing instructional materials for easier distribution, to enhance consistency, and reduce costs. Unfortunately, this use of technology did not actually improve instruction. Now there is a shift to more theory-based online learning strategies that use technology to enhance an instructionally sound learning experience that meets the needs of all learners.

“Technology can play an important role in the achievement of learning outcomes but it is not necessary to explain this enhancement with a special account of learning. Rather, the challenge is to describe how the technology allows underlying processes common to all learning to function effectively (Mayes and de Freitas in Beetham and Sharpe, 2007, pg 13).”

With funding cuts, districts are looking at creative ways to provide courses not offered at their site. Students are becoming more proactive along with their parents on what they need to meet their learning goals so they graduate with appropriate credits. The number of K-12 students taking online classes is growing exponentially.  University students take it a step further. They not only search for learning opportunities at their school and online, they know a good online class. These students are picky about which classes they sign up for and will drop a class if the teacher is not effective. They are the new, savvy consumers of online education. In response to their higher expectations, designers of online education are incorporating increasingly sophisticated instructional approaches such as animations and simulations that address the challenges of presenting dynamic content to learners.
I asked online learning providers from my PLN (Personal Learning Network) how they design an environment that engages and motivates the learner to actively participate in the learning process. The top answers included:

• Posting syllabus with due dates
• Providing timely feedback
• Individual support and coaching
• Face-to-face meetings

All of these answers work to nudge the learner to logon, participate, and complete an assignment. Yet, even experienced curriculum designers are rethinking how to deliver instruction online so students want to be engaged in the learning process. Survey respondents also shared that about 10% drop out. Top three reasons presented were technology issues, not able to do assignments, and motivation. As educators with limited budgets and resources, we may be trailing the world of instructional design. Today’s students are different than five years ago. They are used to instant information, cell phones, games, and simulations. It is going to be difficult to keep them engaged with traditional education.

Virtual University Class

Teaching online class

Scott McLeod, Ph.D., associate professor in educational leadership and policy studies at Iowa State University, communicates with his students via web cam. McLeod is teaching two sections of Educational Law and Ethics wholly online for the first time this February. Each of his students were given a webcam to allow face-to-face interaction without having to leave their homes.

“The technology side of distance education is an add-on to the instructional content,” McLeod said. “…when students have lived in this online community for a semester, they start making connections back to their schools and translate these educational practices to their students and staff…”

Google Reader, Adobe Connect, and Moodle are also integrated into the course. Students are able to use Google Reader to keep abreast of new developments in their field, even after the class is complete.

“This enables them to continue learning, far beyond the classroom,” McLeod stated.

Professors who find they need to promote their courses are experimenting with social media and new technologies. Universities around the world are building virtual classrooms with Second Life, designing interactive programs and games, and posting free online courses.

Experience History as it Happens

Launch of Apollo 11

Maybe we need to find content that lets our students experience how historical events really happened such as the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum’s We Choose the Moon (http://wechoosethemoon.org). At this site, users listen to the actual commentaries from Houston as Apollo 11 is launched. Users can watch and hear what happened on their own time by clicking through the stages and on different galleries.

Virtual Museums and Galleries
Schools are cutting back on field trips because of limited funds. Students now can navigate around exhibits right from their desktop with videoconferencing and links such as:

• Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa)

  http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2008/vangoghnight/flashsite/index.html

• Exploratorium: the museum of science, art and human perception

  http://www.exploratorium.edu/

• Color, Contrast & Dimension in News Design by Poynter.org

  http://poynterextra.org/cp/colorproject/color.html

Learn by Doing
There are numerous online activities where learners of all ages can learn by involving themselves in hands-on activities.

• Design a Panda Habitat by National Zoo
  http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Education/ConservationCentral/design/default.cfm
• Virtual Dinosaur Dig by Smithsonian Museum

Go on a virtual dinosaur dig www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/games/#archeology/

Play while Learning
Most students play games, so why not introduce games into your learning repertoire?

• BBC Interactive Games

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/games/

• Saibai Island Canoe from the National Museum of Australia

  http://www.nma.gov.au/kidz/learn_and_play/saibai_island_canoe_/

• Maryland Budget Game from University of Baltimore

  http://iat.ubalt.edu/MDBudgetGame/

Interact with Videos and Audio
Reach those students that are auditory and kinesthetic learners with multimedia.

• Math Tutorials at Brightstorm

  http://www.brightstorm.com/d/math

• How Your Brain Understands What your Ear Hears by NIH

  http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih3/hearing/activities/activities_toc.htm

You as the teacher can be the instructional designer creating a learning environment that is engaging and challenging. You can set the pace and rhythm, vary the format of the instruction you deliver, give the learner control, and make learning fun: fun for your students and fun for you.

I recommend teachers building their own PLN with other teachers and instructional designers where everyone collects rich curriculum and learning activities to share with each other. Use social media and your network to learn about new resources, bookmark and tag them in del.icio.us or Diigo, and then share them with your students in an organized way that enhances your instruction. There is no reason to reinvent learning activities if they are already available.

Cited Sources
Beetham, H. & Sharpe, R., 2007. Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age: Designing and Delivering E-Learning 1st ed., Routledge.

Rydell, M. Online learning environments enhance education for Cohorts. Iowa State University news, February 11, 2010
http://www.hs.iastate.edu/news/inside/view/300/