It's not the End

This is the last week of my class on developing 21st century skills. That means this is the last week of assigned readings, posting in the class forum, collaborating with others on small group projects, and meeting deadlines. The course is over. The work is finished. The grade will be reported. That's all she wrote; it's the end.

Or is it?

Now that I have had a chance to examine frameworks for 21st century skills, develop my own framework, test a small group of the many free media tools, spend some time critically reviewing and writing rubrics, and integrate 21st century skills into one unit of my curriculum, what may appear to others as an end, feels to me like the beginning.

Developing my own 21st century skills, most specifically my multimedia skills was my first step toward change. I believe change always starts at a personal level. For me, this change started with the strong desire to be a better teacher and to reach my own students in a language that "speaks" to them. I knew technology was an important part of my students' lives. I've seen the look they give me when I ask them to please take their I-pod earphones out of their ears. I've observed how quickly they can text a friend while standing in the lunch line. And I've listened to many conversations about Youtube, MySpace, and Facebook. I've marveled at some of the final projects my students have turned in. Many students in the past couple of years have opted to film their final project instead of presenting it "live" to the class. I thought I was somewhat "up" on the times and technology, until my students informed me that they prefer to text over talk on the phone and that they don't email, they facebook. I knew Facebook was an online social networking service. I even have an account! But I didn't know it was a verb. My students are truly digital natives and they adapt to technology much quicker than I can learn about it. While some may lament about today's teenagers and their obsession with technology, I wanted to learn more about their technology and figure out how to use it in my classroom. The title of the course, "Developing 21st Century Skills," intrigued me and seemed to promise to do just that, so I signed up.

The course has not disappointed me and I have learned more than I could have imagined not only from the instructor, the course materials, and the assignments, but also from my classmates. Learning more, not everything, about the free technology available to me and my students and 21st century skills was a first step of what will be a challenging, but rewarding journey towards change.

As I return to school in September, I need to share my new knowledge with my students, their parents, and my co-workers. One of the best ways to share my knowledge and enthusiasm with others will be not only to tell them what I'm doing, but to show them. As I integrate more 21st century skills into my classroom, I anticipate my students will become more excited about learning and using German and more confident about what they can do. Our classroom will grow beyond its physical walls as my students use read/write web tools to collaborate with other students learning German around the world. Parents and community members can virtually visit our classroom and see what their children can do using video publishing software and sharing sites. As I'm integrating more 21st century skills, I'll also be introducing and using more performance assessments with my students, their parents, and my colleagues.

After I have begun implementing changes in my own classroom and have been able to share some of my experiences and my successes with my colleagues, my next step will be to initiate and encourage change beyond my classroom. Our building has been developing Professional Learning Communities and we also have a Career Focused Education Program. Integrating 21st Century Skills would logically fall under both of these initiatives. I need to continue serving on both of these committees to help facilitate change within my own school and district.

Throughout the process, I need to remember that teaching and learning are a continuous cycle of risk-taking, adapting, reviewing, and assessing. As I am changing and as my school and district are changing, I'm excited that we can be part of an online community of individuals, schools, and communities who all have the same goal--to prepare today's students to be successful in tomorrow's world. I'm confident that personal change is already occuring in teachers throughout the nation, who are initiating change in their buildings and districts, and as we all work towards change together, 21st century schools will become vastly different from 19th and 20th century schools.