Computer Research Competition 21st Century Classroom

Computer Research Competition

Topic: 21st Century Classrooms
Name: Nilofar Ali
Class: 9-D

21st Century Classroom
Although many of us dislike the term “21st century,” we can all agree that the notion behind it—the need to reform education to meet today’s and tomorrow’s learners—is still valid. And while most districts are just at the cusp of figuring out what 21st century learning is and how to deliver it, the technology leaders at the SchoolCIO Leadership Summit in Chicago have already begun figuring out some of the key elements: providing more bandwidth, focusing on resources, and working with leadership to get everyone on board.
The 21st Century Classroom is less about products and more of a mindset.
Technology is such a fast-moving target. Increasingly our focus is less about adding more devices, which we are challenged to find funds to purchase, and more about providing services that teachers and students can consume. Examples of this include pervasive wireless, a learning management system, email, and BYOD support. There is still a very valuable role for interactive whiteboards, projectors, etc., but the roles are more supportive. Those devices also tend to be more teacher focused and less learner-focused.

21st Century Classroom Demonstrates Model Learning Environment
The next generation of students will be very different from those of today. They will have grown up using cell phones and laptops. Communicating with others through digital technologies will be as natural as breathing. How should schools tackle the challenge of teaching these “digital natives?” And how can teachers engage students in ways that are familiar to them, as well as harness the power of these technologies to prepare youngsters for an increasingly complex world?
These questions were explored at the 21st Century Classroom, a major exhibit at the 2009 annual meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), which took place in Dallas, Texas, February 14-18, at the Hyatt Regency Dallas. The classroom was presented by the ATE’s Committee on Technology and the Future of Teacher Education, chaired by Learning Technology Center Director Paul E. Resta. The 21st Century Classroom displayed a model learning environment for using a variety of technologies to teach 21st Century skills. More than five hundred attendees visited the classroom, many participating in a variety of learning activities, over the four days of the meeting.
The 21st Century Classroom presented five learning areas, each specifically designed for a particular instructional or collaborative activity. Seating around an interactive board facilitated knowledge-building in the Collaborative Area. A Science Area was equipped with a handheld digital microscope and a 360° close-up camera to permit detailed examination of objects or documents. The room also included Group Work, Brainstorming, and Lecture areas.
The classroom was equipped with Activclassroom interactive white boards, Activexpression student response system, and Activesound system. Apple laptop computers were used throughout the room to model the one-to-one computing environments that are emerging in classrooms across the country. Seats and tables were provided by Herman Miller Furniture, and the Academic Superstore provided the document camera, digital microscope, and other equipment for the facility. (See the 21st Century Classroom diagram for more detailed information.)

Preparing Today 's Students for Tomorrow 's World
Whether in whole-class, individualized, small-group or peer-to-peer learning scenarios, the goal of the 21st century learning environment is to bring together data, resources, tools and expertise to positively impact teaching and learning.
Student achievement is driven by providing a learning environment and learning scenarios that are personalized, timely and relevant. Understanding what students have achieved, where they should head next and how they can collaborate to effectively reach that destination requires a coordinated effort, bringing together best-of-breed learning and assessment tools with engaging, targeted content and instruction.
Collaborate to learn and learn to collaborate
21st century learning aims not simply to teach students facts, but also to help them develop the lifelong skills they need to succeed. Effective collaborative learning ensures that each learner is an active participant and cultivates valuable communication, problem-solving and collaboration skills. Facilitate collaborative learning with Promethean’s interactive table, multi-touch interactive whiteboards and software.
Engage learners and give each student a voice
Promethean’s resources, software and student response systems draw students into every lesson with rich digital media, real-world activities and opportunities for active participation.
Meet student’s right where they are
With simple, quick formative assessment, student response systems allow teachers to gauge learners’ background knowledge before getting started and check comprehension during and after a lesson to ensure targeted, effective instruction.
Spend your time where it counts
Ready-made interactive lesson resources and student response systems allow you to spend more time where it counts, addressing students’ needs. Standards-based interactive lessons by trusted publishers and close to 70,000 free resources on Promethean Planet can greatly reduce lesson preparation time. With student response systems, assess learners ' understanding without spending your time grading papers.
What is your personal definition of 21st century learning and/or teaching?
21st Century learning is the process whereby digital natives utilize the power of modern technology to learn anything, anytime, anywhere. Classrooms are no longer necessarily defined by rigid walls, as hybrid learning models blend the virtual with the physical into a truly engaged and collaborative educational experience. 21st Century pedagogy requires an evolution beyond the 19th Century "sage on a stage" role to that of a facilitator as a "guide on the side". Effective teaching in the 21st Century is student-centric, is infuse technology into the learning experience for both rigor and relevance, and emphasize higher-order thinking skills.
What does a 21st century learner look like?
A 21st Century learner appears to be someone who is engaged in educational gaming and multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs), collaborating through social media (blogs, wikis), listening to Podcast lectures on iPods and Smartphones, watching YouTube videos, connected to and communicating with the global village through wireless laptops and PDAs. Always plugged in, always on, 21st Century learners are mass-consumers of information on demand at the speed of thought.

Links:

http://www.classroom20.com/profiles/blogs/21st-century-teaching-amp http://www.techlearning.com/features/0039/equipping-the-21st-century-classroom/53131 http://www.edb.utexas.edu/education/centers/ltc/news/2009/21stcen/

Links: http://www.classroom20.com/profiles/blogs/21st-century-teaching-amp http://www.techlearning.com/features/0039/equipping-the-21st-century-classroom/53131 http://www.edb.utexas.edu/education/centers/ltc/news/2009/21stcen/