Review of, "Partnership for 21st-Century Skills"

As I began to review the website of Partnership for 21st Century Skills I was very impressed that this is an organization fully committed to fulfilling the needs of all the students in our schools technologically so that they can become a competitive and successful adult. I really liked how there were many opportunities for people visiting the site to see the latest news and events that have gone on all of the United States that have to do with technology and 21st century skills. It was impressive that there were even opportunities for visitors to review a broadcast of a talk radio show if you had missed the initial one. Looking at the overview and framework for 21st century learning was very informative and I really liked what it stood for. The framework not only stated what the students would learn, but also the means the educators would use to help students learn all these new skills. I liked how the core subjects are all supported by technology and information skills, learning and innovation skills and life and career skills.  Core subjects are important, but they are not the end all to helping prepare our students for life as an adult; especially in a competitive workforce. One of the parts of this organization that I struggled to understand is that not all fifty states were part of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. I do understand that they would need the state and the government officials to buy into their program to be truly successful, but I also think that we have students in every state that deserve the help this program can offer.  I believe it should be that all states are part of this organization and they have the option to opt out each year, but not have to earn their way in first. Most of all this website offers great tools and publications that can help me as an educator in today's world to better educate and prepare my students for the 21st century.

Integrating Blogs in the Classroom

My idea for how to integrate a blog into my 5th grade classroom would be to let all my students have access to posting comments and sharing their learning with not only their parents, but also make it sort of an online pen pal with another 5th grade class in another state. This way the students can see how their communities, schools and states are similar and different. With a mail pen pal it takes quite a bit of time to receive a letter and to get a letter in return, this way when the students go to their computer lab or access it online they can see instant posts and comments. I could use this blog to give my students a grade on their writing and communication skills. We could also use it to study our social studies and do research about our area to share with our pen pals or look up information on their state so we would know more about them.

My After School Program

I also run a non-profit organization in the Tri-Cities. It is based off of a program started in California by Olympic Beach Volleyball Gold Medal Winner Eric Fonoimoana. It is an after school program that teaches kids the importance of education through the love of volleyball and mentoring. Please check out my website to learn more. Also you can visit Eric's site.

My site: http://d4kwa.com/default.aspx

Eric's site: http://www.dig4kids.org/

Hi and Welcome to My Blog

I am currently a 5th grade teacher in Washington State and my school is unique in the fact that we are the only one in the district that serves three languages, English, Spanish and Russian.  I have had the opportunity to teach bilingual students and classes, even though I am not technically bilingual. This has been a challenging last 5 years of my career, but I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet and teach so many great students of different cultures.  This coming year I will be teaching the only mainstream 5th grade class of 29 students so I know I will have my hands full, but look forward to the challenge.

I am also taking classes this summer that will help me reach my goal of earning my Master's degree in Integrating Technology in the Classroom. I hope to learn about many opportunities to help my district, school and students integrate technology into their lives.