I was at a 21st Century Learning Conference in Chicago last week. It was very informative, interesting and daunting quite frankly.
I have the utmost confidence that the education we deliver in our Catholic Learning Community is comprehensive and faith based. Our wonderful and dedicated teachers by in large deliver the curriculum in an engaging manner that is differentiated to meet the varied needs of our students. Guided by our gospel values, students crictically, creatively and ethically synthesize information in a collaborative learning environment.
Yes....CtK has many smartboards, several computer labs, wireless technology, multi-media projectors, laptops and interactive clickers. Yes....our staff uses class portals, wikis, blogs and many different websites to augment the delivery of their instruction. In fact, this blog is the only one of its kind in our board by an administrator!
That said, this conference confirmed what I already knew.....that schools across this province fall short preparing our students for the 21st Century. Given that we are already ten years into this century, we have some catching up to do.
What does a 21st Century Learning school look like? Feel free to go to the link below and view a number of such secondary schools in the US.
http://www.bobpearlman.org/Learning21/21stcenturyschools.htm
Thanks for reading. Looking forward to your comments.
Mr. DeSantis,
ReplyDeletewhy Chicago? Why don't board administrators attend Canadian conferences with information (and expertise) better suited to our needs? I am more interested in viewing secondary schools in Canada.
I also wonder whether classroom teachers were invited to attend the Chicago conference. Who better to put educational theory into practise?
Mr. C.DiDiodato (St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary, Oakville)
Dear Mr. DeSantis,
ReplyDeleteI googled " Canadian 21st century schools" and there were no direct examples of any schools with the level of technology like those on the above website. There are many sites discussing the theory and plans, but there is definitely a large gap between Canada and the US. In my opinion, funding is the big difference. The school boards need to shift their thinking and place more money in the budget for technology. As an elementary teacher, I see a very slow implementation of the LCD projectors and smart boards. There is only one computer lab period per week, so how do students access technology? From my point of view, the US is half a century ahead of us.
Monica Nobile