Technology for Learning

photo credit: sam.kronick

How tough is it to get it right? 21st Century Learning and Teaching, that is. Over the last few days I have read several different bloggers write about a similar aspect of teaching and learning in this new world but with decidedly varying viewpoints. A convergence of sorts.

Jonathan Rosenberg, Senior VP at Google, is advising students to major in learning. In a recent post on the official Google blog he described the attributes that Google looks for in prospective employees. Rosenberg says:

At the highest level, we are looking for non-routine problem-solving skills. We expect applicants to be able to solve routine problems as a matter of course. After all, that’s what most education is concerned with. But the non-routine problems offer the opportunity to create competitive advantage, and solving those problems requires creative thought and tenacity.

Kate Olson provided a great educator’s perspective on the Google post, lauding Rosenberg for capturing the essence of what it means to be a 21st Century Learner. Yes we seem to be articulating the skills and attributes correctly, but are we designing the right learning environments? Will we get it right as educators?

Andrew Churches provided a detailed mind map of Ian Jukes‘ presentation at NECC last month. Jukes described seven key steps that teachers must take to be successful in a 21st century classroom. Andrew summarized them:

* Teachers need time to catch up – Essentially teachers need to be given time to play and learn
* Moving beyond 20th C Literacies to 21st C Fluencies
* Changing our instructional approach
* Allowing the students to collaborate
* Allow students to access information natively – using their tools of choice and recreation.
* Let students create real time, real problem digital products/solutions – real rich problems
* Reassess evaluation and assessment

Has anyone got it yet? Ewan McIntosh wrote about Chris Lehmann’s Science Leadership Academy, indicating he thinks Chris has got it right. Ewan writes:

What Chris is describing seems to me, albeit in other meta-language, to be what Scotland’s Assessment for Learning and Assessment as Learning programmes are beginning to achieve throughout our small corner of the world. The ambition of his school’s learning approach reflects the Curriculum for Excellence.

But others don’t share Ewan’s enthusiam. Ken DeRosa posted a criticism of SLA to which Chris responded and Ken countered again. Ken contends that the project-based learning is superficial at best in the absence of domain knowledge. The series of posts has generated several comments, many supporting DeRosa’s viewpoint. One commenter suggested that if the projects were iterative progressions there may be a better chance of deeper learning. I would agree – see my post for a more personal perspective in my other blog.

Where does this leave us? Surely the dialogue is healthy as we navigate our way through the 21st Century. And if Google is at all representative of the 21st Century corporation, the goal posts have been set for us. The question is – what kind of ball will we kick? And who gets to decide?