21st Century Skills for GCPS Students

Fact or Fiction

Linda Brimmer, PresenterWalden University

Dr. Jana WillisEDUV8441

February 26, 2010

The mission of Gwinnett County Public Schools is to pursue excellence in academic knowledge, skills, and behavior for each student, resulting in measured improvement against local, national, and world-class standards.

21st Century Skills for GCPS Students

Fact or Fiction?

Collaboration

Communication Cooperation

Collaboration

+ +

= 21st Century Skills

Collaboration

Never has an innovation been so readily received as e-mail; especially when managing the education organization.

But e-mail did not transform the classroom.

Need:

Ward Cunningham, WIKI originator, was looking to collaborate with fellow pattern colleagues and created a database that allowed them to thread information without the need to understand programming or html.

GCPS: Goal

Goal: Gwinnett County Public Schools will meet the continuing and changing demand for essential information through technological systems

and processes that support effective performance and desired results.

Research

May 1, 1995 a common gateway interface was developed.

Cunningham developed a method to collaborate as do our students.

You don't need to know HTML to add or modify pages. You just string words together to make links. “

Development:As with all innovations problems are encountered with the development process and a few bugs needed to be worked out, such as vandalism with people changing start-up data and popular search engines like Google and Yahoo did not pick up the wiki page during searches.

Goal: Gwinnett County Public Schools will optimize student achievement through responsible stewardship of its financial resources and the proactive

pursuit of all resources necessary to meet current and future demands.

GCPS: Goal

Goal: Gwinnett County Public Schools will ensure a world-class education for all students by focusing on teaching and

learning the Academic Knowledge and Skills (AKS) curriculum.

GCPS: Goal

Is There a Place for Wiki in the classroom?

The constructivist theory holds that students learn when they are actively engaged in their education by using learning as a discovery model.

Commercialization

Distribution came through Search Engines Google, MSN, and Yahoo

Commercialization

Unlike other databases, Wiki searches not just through key words, but uses an algorithm to Be better than the others before you. Major search engines

Be better than others before you. Google and Yahoo search engines must be able to load your pages.

GCPS: Goal

Goal: Gwinnett County Public Schools will apply continuous quality improvement strategies and

principles as the way the organization does business.

Collaboration of class work

Webliography

Communication is an excellent use for wikisOrganized fashion to communicate with students. Wikis can hold more information than e-mail accounts.

Students collaborate on a class projectSharing research responsibilities

How Do Wiki’s Work?

Engaging information+ fun= learning

Implementation to Adopt Wiki

Click to view video

Security Concerns

Everything written on a Wiki is monitored through the teacher.

Unfortunately, problems arise with innovative lessons

Is this evidence of world-class standards?

How can Gwinnett County Public Schools consider being “World Class...

If we are unwilling to take educational risks on innovative tools for teaching and learning?

“ I think tolerating a certain degree of failure ----Not because it’s good for you but because it’s

A necessary part of growth--- is a very important part of the message that leadership can give.”

Howard Gardner, John H. and Elizabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education; Senior Co-director of Project Zero, HGSE

Confirming Educational Contributions

S Curve of Wiki pages

You are here

The students need our commitment to their education.

DiscussShare thoughtsTrade ideas

CollaborationKnowledgeComprehension

ApplicationAnalysisEvaluationSynthesis

Goal: Gwinnett County Public Schools will recruit, employ, develop, and retain a workforce that achieves the mission and

goals of the organization.

GCPS: Goal

Perceived Attributes

Goal: Gwinnett County Public Schools will provide and manage the system's facilities and operations

in an exemplary manner as determined by programmatic needs and best management

practices.

GCPS Goal

GCPS Goal

Goal: Gwinnett County Public Schools will ensure a safe, secure,

and orderly environment for all.

VisionGwinnett County Public Schools will become a system of world-class schools where students acquire the knowledge and skills to be successful as they continue their education at the postsecondary level and/or enter the workforce.

We must not let fear of failure impede our vision

21st Century Skills require collaboration, communication, and co-operation.

Using Wiki’s as Social Networking opportunities provide students with 21st Century skills necessary for today’s job market.

Scott FreyPresident and CEO of PossibleNOW a multi-million dollar company that deals with changes in consumer privacy legislation and delivering innovative products and services to meet clients’ needs.

“That’s how we communicate. I have employees all over the country and wiki’s are how we share documents.”

Vision for Information Management and Technology. . .

As indispensable parts of the instructional and administrative infrastructure of any system of world-class schools, information management and technology in GCPS will:

a. Advance teaching and learning, with an emphasis on learning and problem-solving.b. Provide learning opportunities through which students and staff receive, gather, analyze, and/or present information.c. Provide all users the information, skills, and tools they need to perform their jobs effectively and make data-driven decisions.

d. Help teachers facilitate and evaluate student learning through a variety of methods with anytime, anywhere access.e. Facilitate communication between the system and its internal and external customers.f. Enable the system to achieve operational and analytical excellence through the use of progressive technology solutions.

21st Century Skills for GCPS StudentsFact or Fiction?

Resourceswiki. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved February 11,

2010, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wiki

http://gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps-mainweb01.nsf/pages/VisionMissionGoals?OpenDocument&1~QuickLinks