March 3rd, 2009 by Learning Systems
Greenfield believes government ministers’ work on internet regulation has not yet looked at the broad cultural and psychological effect of online friendships via Facebook, Bebo and Twitter.
And despite anecdotal evidence and hype surrounding the integration of Web 2.0 technologies in education, the fact is that there are few studies which give real evidence on the role of such technologies in supporting learning systems. They do seem to fit well with current pedagogical theories of collaboration, self-paced learning systems, and 21st century skill-building.
The challenge ahead of educators and school boards is to decide which Web 2.0 technologies are worth integrating into their LMS courses and classroom learning systems, and which are best left to the discretion of parents.
January 13th, 2009 by Learning Systems
Leon Battista Alberti said it best: “A man can do all things if he will.” Educators and organizations that apply 21st century skills in their learning systems demonstrate this fact. All over the world schools and organizations are using online tools and LMSs to encourage students to work together to solve environmental and societal problems.
One unique learning system that sprang from such concepts is the Global Challenge. Its co-founder, Vermont-based management consultant Craig DeLuca, had an epiphany one long weekend after a series of events. He read Tom Friedman’s “The World is Flat”; a client of his decided to outsource certain components of its operation; and his local school board proposed postponing the purchase of new science textbooks because of budget constraints.
DeLuca became concerned about America’s learning systems and future prosperity, and proposed his ideas to his Arno Group colleague in 2005. Thus, the Global Challenge project was born. (See the next post.)
January 13th, 2009 by Learning Systems
ICT literacy is much more than just having good technology skills and familiarity with LMSs and collaborative online tools. It is learning core subjects combined with the application of these learning skills and communication tools. So what will 21st century skills programs actually do for students, and how can an LMS help?
Many objectives are listed on the Partnership for 21st Century Skills agenda. They are hoping to instill students with three kinds of skills: thinking and problem-solving, information and communication, and interpersonal and self-directional. An LMS can provide students with the chance to collect and retrieve information, organize and manage material, interpret and present information, evaluate the quality, relevance and usefulness of information, and generate accurate data using a variety of resources.
January 13th, 2009 by Learning Systems
Many people dismiss “21st century skills” as a pedagogical fad. Although the 21st century skills tenets–creative thinking, collaboration, problem-solving, etc–are sound, there are also some valid emperor-has-no-clothes critiques of this recent learning system buzz phrase.
For example, some critics point out that most Asian classrooms–for example India, China, and Malaysia–are ill-equipped in resources such as technology, LMSs and online learning systems compared to American schools. But they focus the resources they do have on math, science and English. Their idea of “global awareness” might be studying geography.
The US should learn from foreign learning systems and start to stress global knowledge with meat on its bones, like language, geography and world history.
January 12th, 2009 by Learning Systems
By encouraging students to memorize information and pass tests, too often American learning systems also discourage students to think creatively and critically. This style has not only contributed to the lack of competitiveness in American learning systems and workplaces, but it’s lacked the kind of energy that creates enthusiasm for learning and a sense of pride and satisfaction in solving real life problems.
American learning systems therefore produce graduates whose attitude is not one of excitement about their fields, but of acceptance that they need a good job in order to succeed financially.
Global Challenge project founder Craig DeLuca said it best: “Young people in America need to be excited about the challenges of life, and not just the benefits of a good life.”
January 12th, 2009 by Learning Systems
What’s so novel about 21st century skills? Innovative educators who use engaging projects, LMSs and other technology in their learning systems are certainly nothing new. In discussing 21st century skills, many teachers claim to have already implemented styles like modeling instruction, which is based on the work of Arizona State University physicist David Hestenes.
But a scattered community of 21st century skills educators isn’t enough. What the US needs is “a system built around the idea that every kid needs to be able to critically think and problem-solve,” says Ken Kay, president of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
To do so, teacher training and state learning systems, curricula and testing need to be aligned with such goals. In a time of troubling indicators of a dive in US competitiveness–from international testing comparisons to the low cost of skilled labor in Asia–it’s time more schools jumped on the 21st century skills learning system track.
January 9th, 2009 by Learning Systems
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, working to infuse 21st century skills into America’s learning systems, claims its goal is to provide students with a rigorous, world-class education that encourages critical and creative thinking.
But Jay Matthews of the Washington Post senses that its expectations are for “all-at-once” change, “a common failing of reform movements.”
To succeed in the shift to 21st century skills learning systems, it is critical to understand that such a transition will be neither fast nor simple. It will require heavy funding for teacher training. West Virginia, for example, is now working to reorient the training and professional support of its 20,000 public school teachers, to ensure they are able to execute such projects.
January 9th, 2009 by Learning Systems
Teaching 21st century skills takes learning systems out of the isolated classroom and into the real world. In one project at Horace Mann Middle School in Charleston, West Virginia, students are engaged in an elaborate community learning system. They are working to create formal plans to renovate the front grounds of the school for its 70th anniversary.
The middle school students will use their math skills to calculate areas and revise their budgets. From all available sources (except their teacher), they will gather information about the school and about landscaping from business officials, relatives, school alumni, and online research.
It’s the kind of project that opens students’ eyes to systems and topics that they normally don’t think about, while giving them a chance to sharpen their math and reasoning skills. Online learning systems and collaborative tools like LMSs can be combined with face-to-face group work to enrich student experience and develop IT skills.
