Curriculum21 Podcast – Episode 5

Episode 5:
Philip Vinodradov is a science teacher at the William Tennett High School in Warminster, Pennsylvania. Philip’s extensive of use of social networking tools and wikis has extended the walls of his classroom and created an authentic online learning community for his students.  Each chapter in this podcast highlights particular areas of Philip’s leveraging the power of social networking with his students.
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Podcast Highlights:
  • “Early Adapter” Teachers: Minute 10:33
  • The Web 1.0 Webquest is Dated: Minute 13:18
  • One to One Classrooms: Minute 16:46
  • Social Networking in the Classroom: Minute: 21:41

Curriculum21 Podcast – Episode 4

Episode 4:

Heidi Hayes Jacobs discusses with Bill Sheskey the global impact of the ASCD book Curriculum 21: An Essential Education for a Changing World.

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Curriculum21 Podcast – Episode 3

Episode 03:

Screencast of using the Video Conference tool Skype. Follow Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano along with tips for using Skype in the classroom.

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Curriculum21 Podcast – Episode 2

Curriculum21 Practices in Action.

Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano, Mike Fisher and Bill Sheskey visit the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School in Jacksonville, Florida. They observe a Middle School Language Arts lesson and participate in a discussion about the responsibility of journalism in the Digital Age. The Curriculum21 team learned about quality commenting on a blog from a video created by third graders  and hear about the upgraded writing lesson necessary for the creation of the video. Finally the team has a chance to speak to the Head of School, Jon Mitzmacher, and learn about his vision for the school to become a Curriculum21 school.

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Curriculum21 Podcast – Episode 1

Subscribe to the Curriculum21 Podcast Channel in iTunes.

Mike Fischer & Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano talk about the recent Curriculum Mapping Institute Conference in Saratoga Springs, NY. A different kind of conference who successfully embedded social media and networking to model upgrades for 21st Century Learning.

Listen to interviews with Janet Hale, Jen Laubsch and Adam Bellow (Presenters and attendees of CMI2010) and hear their perspective of 21st Century learning, presenting and conferences.

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Preparing Our Kids for 1982 : Time Traveling through Testing

Cross posted to ASCD Edge

Are your students time-traveling on testing day? Back to the 1980’s- let’s go.

If your tests are overwhelmingly multiple choice, fill in the blank, short constructed essay, longer extended essay whether open book or open note, then welcome back to the old days.   I did some archival research online and found tests and items that went back to the late 1970’s and early 1980’s and found that they are identical TYPES of assessment to present day assessments.  In many instances, they are identical in content as well.

Not only are the types of tests the same, too often so are the tools.  We continue to venerate the #2 pencil.   I wonder, when the pencil was invented, did  kids have to go to PENCIL-LAB?… Did they march  down the hall to the lab, return to the classroom, pick up their quills, dip them in an inkwell and proceed back to “work”?

Is there hope?  Yes, I am reminded of the state of Rhode Island’s policy of graduation by proficiency with a student developed digitalized portfolio beginning with the primary grades through to graduation.  I would direct readers to the CCSSO EdSteps project with a remarkable new way to collect a national pool of student work. Authentic dynamic assessments are emerging in pockets and in classrooms around the country.  Let’s surface them prominently and especially those that are geared toward 2020.  Curriculum 21 calls for upgrading on all levels- one replacement at a time.   Are our student assessments reflecting moderns forms of media and contemporary issues? Some argue that new forms diminish the traditional skills, I disagree.  If our students are engaged then we will see better quality basics.   We can and must show reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills- whether in a web 2.0 application or creating a documentary.  If a student cannot read, he or she cannot read a computer screen.   The great fundamentals of the past need to be lifted into 2011.

On our C-21 Clearinghouse at the Curriculum 21 website we have posted open access tagged interactive tools for educators to try new approaches to engage their learners.  We see this also as opportunity to update assessment practice as well.  (For example, Take a look at gapminder and see how you might use it to engage your students in meeting an array of standards.)  We are beginning a new project with ASCD on collecting upgraded projects from teachers around the world to share and to inspire us all moving forward. We will keep you posted on this one!

We need to choose our century.   The students have chosen theirs.