5-26-10

Mr. George Maurer & Mr. Don Murphy Doctoral Students - St. John's University gmaurer22@gmail.com / dmurph88@gmail.com 5-26-10

Essential Questions:


 * What are the 21st century skills students need as outlined by the [|Partnership for 21st Century Skills]?
 * How do students and teachers work and utilize new technology in a 21st century school environment ?
 * What is the nature of the infomation sytems in place at "21st Century Schools" that foster learning opportunities?

Our research team consists of five members, four of which studied specific high schools across the country.

George Maurer (Assistant Principal) - Mineola UFSD Donald Murphy (Director of Technology) - Wantagh UFSD Nancy Carney (Superintendent) - Riverhead UFSD Bergre Escorbores (Assistant Principal) - Brentwood UFSD Florence Simmons (Principal) - Uniondale UFSD

Don studied the predominant platform in place in each of the four school settings. Additionally, an introspective study was conducted about the process of working as a collaborative group using digital tools. In essence, we worked in a "21st century way" in writing our dissertations, and gathering our data. //(Tools: Google Docs, PBWorks, Voicethread, Screencasting, Drop.io, DropBox, Google Voice, iPhones, etc.)//

[|Bethpage High School]- Bethpage, NY - study conducted by George Maurer [|High Tech High School]- San Diego, California - study conducted by Nancy Carney [|New Tech High School]- Napa Valley, California - study conducted by Florence Simmons [|Tech Valley High School]- Albany, NY - study conducted by Bergre Escorbores
 * Learning Platforms** at each school - study conducted by Don Murphy

Generally speaking, each of these schools are similar in some aspects and unique in others. Three of the four schools are either charter schools or alternative high schools that are built on a model based in technology. One school is more of a traditional high school that is incorporating aspects of technology into a larger program that gives students the ability to explore topics of interest in an extra-curricular environment. While there may be differences among their approaches, the focus on P21 skills is at the forefront.

Opening Thoughts...are our students equipped with the requisite skills for this type of workforce?

media type="youtube" key="H_jhLGxH-m4" height="344" width="425"

Partnership for 21st Century Skills



How do students work and utilize new technology in a 21st century school environment ?

21st century schools are student centered / student driven environments that promote the following activities or learning outcomes:


 * Project based learning activities (authentic, curriculum based, interdisciplinary, learner directed, tackle real world problems, synthesize, analyze, derive at new knowledge, connect to real world problems, collaborate and reflect)
 * Project based learning activities include designing a school of the future using mathematical concepts, conducting environmental studies like water testing or researching clean-up methods for the environment
 * Solve real-life problems
 * Write in online journals
 * **Competition**
 * **Communication** - oral and written
 * **Teamwork** - in school and online after school
 * Time-management
 * Conduct Internet research
 * Meet in groups to plan, collaborate and create finished products like websites and digital media productions in person and "**virtually**"
 * **Create, collaborate, share**
 * **Project management**
 * **Leadership**
 * Self-sufficiency and time management
 * Technology literacy using **web 2.0 tools**
 * Critical thinking
 * Portfolio system- dashboard or online breifcase fillied with student assignments, deadlines, calendars, information, resources and assessment criteria

How do teachers work in a 21st century school environment?

The change in the role of the teacher is one of the biggest cultural shifts and significant differences found in these settings. In the 21st century classroom the teacher's role is to guide and advise rather than direct and manage. Control shifts from teacher-centered to student-centered in the 21st century classroom. In the student centered classroom a teacher can be seen:


 * Designing projects
 * Connecting students to one another and experts from the workforce
 * Defining outcomes
 * Developing evaluation tools
 * Providing feedback
 * Filling project briefcases with project criteria, resources, calendar of events and grading rubrics
 * Maintaining a real-time running record of grades for students
 * Collaborating with other teachers within the school and across the country and beyond
 * Contributing to a project library that allows teachers in the network of schools to search, view and download projects that other teachers have found successful
 * Using technology to create a collaborative learning environment and learning commnuity (PLC or PLN)
 * Usin RSS feeds and social networks like Facebook and Twitter to share ideas

The Future of Work?

media type="youtube" key="G8Yt4wxSblc" height="385" width="480"

What is the nature of the infomation sytems in place at "21st Century Schools" that foster learning opportunities?


 * Evolution occuring in the area of information systems
 * Are they evolving to the degree that they are beginning to weave Web2.0 tools, and therefore, potential 21st century learning opportunities into the systems?
 * Locally-hosted systems moving to web-based platforms
 * In the absence of a school-wide solution, does the school support teachers to be educational entrepreneurs, developing their own class-wide "systems" or "tools"?
 * Key Elements to consider/analyze:
 * Expense | Integration | Adaptability | Security | Self-Service | Accessibility | Research Capability | Content Delivery

New Tech Network - [|Information System]

One Goal guiding the research: To be able to say, "Here is the work that teachers and students need to be doing, and here is what the system needs to do to support this type of work."