21st Century Learning at GHS
We hear about the topic called 21st Century Learning quite often these days. But what does it really mean? It is much more than just adding hardware and software to our classrooms. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) defines it as:
“teaching and learning that combines a discrete focus on 21st century student outcomes(a blending of specific skills, content knowledge, expertise and literacies) with innovative support systems to help students master the multi-dimensional abilities required of them in the 21st century”
P21 has designed a framework around which 21st Century skills can be taught and developed by the students. At Gibsonburg High School we are using all of the technology hardware and software that has been installed in our buildings to continue to provide an excellent education for our students. We now have short throw projectors, audio enhancement systems, Mimio Studio, Turning Point Student Response Systems and we are now a Google Apps for Education School.
Schools throughout our state and nation are continually being challenged to prepare our students for college and career readiness. In addition to Information, Media and Technology skills, our high school students are being asked to complete a course of study that requires more rigor and relevance than any student in previous generations has ever been asked to complete.
We continue to focus on the “three R’s” in our core subjects, and in addition we are also including the ”four C’s”>> critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity. New 21st Century technology is vital to assist our students and teachers to think critically, be more creative, as well as to communicate and collaborate to solve problems.
While our teachers are “digital immigrants,” our students are “digital natives”. We are now tasked to prepare our students for careers that do not exist today. How do we do this? We are working hard to continue to provide positive learning environments, based upon a foundation of standards and assessments aligned to the new models for curriculum and instruction. Gibsonburg Schools have a strong program of job embedded professional development for our teachers including summer academies, two-hour delays and after school work sessions to assist our teachers with their continued migration into the “digital world.”
Gibsonburg High School is in the second year of implementation of our five year technology plan. While our initial plan was for five years, we will annually continue to add another year to keep our building with a vision to the future. Current tools like student response systems (Turning Point clickers), Mimio, Google Apps for education all allow us to help our students continue to master the “three R’s” as well as enhance their abilities with the “four C’s.”
If you would ever like to see a demonstration of any of our technologies or discuss our 21st Century Curriculum and Instruction please feel free to contact me at Gibsonburg High School at tloomis@gibsonburgschools.org
