Partnerships for 21st Century Skills Website Reflection

Reaction to the website-
My initial reaction to the website was not good.  I didn't like how it was organized and found it cumbersome to find what I was looking for.  After going through the different categories and items as well as links listed in them, I found some very valuable resources.
Information on the site that surprised me or was helpful in understanding the issues surrounding 21st century skills-
The graphic explaining the site in regards to core curriculum subjects incorporating the 4 C's; creativity/innovation, critical thinking/problem solving, communication, and collaboration, along with assessments, curriculum instruction, professional development, and learning environments was helpful to see as an overview.  Some of the things that were also helpful were links to ideas for teaching, videos of technology integration, webcasts, webinars, communication resources including mindtools, as well as the solution tree giving ideas for the igeneration.  I was impressed with the eduvision videos and the fact that you can use them in your teaching or add your own video to the site.  The edtechdigest.com blog looked interesting and I plan to visit it again.
Things I disagreed with-
There wasn't much that I disagreed with in this site because it is merely a resource, and I wasn't expecting a great deal from it.  I would of liked a general blog section on the issues of integrating technology in education.  I also think it would of been nice to have a subject category section with more lesson examples for teachers that are new to this to help them get the creative ball rolling.     
Implications for my students and me as an educator-
I think the implications for my students are that this is a fast changing world and if they are going to be successful they are going to need all of the help they can get.  I think it means that along with working collaboratively they also have to be competitive in the skills they learn to be successful in the job market.  For me as an educator, I think the implications are that education is changing in a big way.  I think it is a path that needs to be embraced, and if done correctly can be very rewarding for students. 

Using a Blog in Education

The idea I have for using a blog to enhance learning in my 5th grade classroom would be to develop a forum for students to use critical thinking skills and communication to better understand the content they are learning.  I would like to begin small to help student get acclimated to the idea, so I would start with one subject area, social studies.  I would use this technology to have students initially do what we do in class on our discussion boards.  Students would answer questions, share opinions, and ideas about what they are learning.  Then students would respond to other students' posts and create on going discussions.  I believe that this can enhance lessons and content by having students take a personal stake in the information, giving opinions, defending those opinions, as well as seeing the other side of presented information by other students.  I also think this will help them create a better sense of community in the class, create respect with their classmates, along with develop and deepen their writing expression and critical thinking skills.

Show Me the Money!

I am so excited about my technology course and the ideas of incorporating blogs, wikis, and podcasts to my bag of teaching tools, my issue is this...... with all of the funding cuts there are not even enough teachers, not to mention little things like pencils, paper, etc. where will this new always changing funding for technology come from?  My district has made severe cuts in staffing, so even though we apply for grants to support technology there is also the costs of maintenance, programs and systems becoming obsolete, as well as EFFICIENT teacher training.
Michelle Epstein

Technology

With all the time I spend learning about technology, you would think I would be a little better at it :)