When Students Power Down

March 30, 2009 by

Last week, Education Week published a story that revealed that students are typically asked to "power down" at school, leaving their 21st century literacy skills behind. It’s an ironic reality for the state of out-of-school literacies—learned "out of school" and condemed to be used only "out of school." 

This finding was part of a report released during a Congressional Briefing of the Speak Up National Research Project. The report gives voice to 1.3 million students, all K–12 pupils who speak to educational issues involving  technology, science and 21st century skills.

While I’ve only begun thinking through the implications of the data, one thing is very obvious: students do not have the support or access to the tools that they need to prepare them for their future—and students realize that they are at a disadvantage as a result.

To learn more about the findings, check out the Powerpoint presentation from the briefing, which highlights the key points of their report:

Release of Speak Up 2008 National Findings

View more presentations from Laurie Smith.

Filed under Teaching with Digital Tools

Classroom Essential Series

March 27, 2009 by

Ever see an advertisement for something and want to cry because you had a similar idea and someone beat you to it? That’s how I felt today when I pulled my copy of the NCTE Council Chronicle out of my post office box this afternoon. There on the back cover is a splashy ad for "The Teacher’s Essential Guide Series." It’s a Scholastic endeavor by Jim Burke. There are books on several topics, including Content Area Writing.

I’m no Jim Burke. Maybe that was the problem. If I were, when I turned in the proposal for a similar series for NCTE about four years ago, perhaps I could have scooped Scholastic. Oh well. Maybe I should just write books, and forget about proposals in the future.

Filed under Personal Journal