After reading Bill Ferriter’s post NEW SLIDE: SKILLS MATTER MORE THAN TOOLS I began to reflect on the skills my students are gaining as they work and learn in my Science classes. Students have access to technology in my classroom just as they have access to pencil, paper and textbooks in other classes. The tech is just a tool we use. Sometimes I get questions about why I integrate so much tech. I usually answer with reasons why the tech makes our work and learning better such as it’s convenient, it’s effective, it allows for differentiation and individualization, and the tech allows us to go paperless as much as possible. But now I see that the tech also makes it possible for kids to practice using The C’s of the 21st Century as well as gaining other important skills they will need in life.
As I wrote on The C’s of the 21st Century, if we consider Connecting, Communicating, and Collaborating as being in the same vein, or as really just one C, then I have come to conclude that these are the four C’s of the 21st Century (as opposed to the 3 R’s of the previous centuries):
As I reflected further on Bill’s post I have come to see that there are other skills that we all need to get and keep jobs. I’ve put together this list to share with my students:
After putting together the two images above I remembered a twitter conversation I had back in April where Dico Krommenhoek reminded us of a very important C that I keep forgetting.
@ShellTerrell @educatoral One of the things my good friend @BobHofman always says, is that we ALL forget about the maybe most important:Care
— Dico Krommenhoek (@Dico_Kr) April 27, 2014
So I added this image to remember the skill that brings all the aforementioned skills together.
I put together this Powtoon slideshow to share these ideas with my students when we get back together in 2015.