Putting My Toes in the Water

So far the most enjoyable part of this little blogging adventure has been perusing other blogs related to education and 21st Century Literacy. It has really helped expand my thinking beyond the materials we have studied so far in class. One benefit has been seeing the links between the 21st Century Skills discussion and the Core Content discussion. One very thought-provoking post I ran across and commented on is: http://education.change.org/blog/view/teaching_core_knowledge_and_21st_century_skills. Interestingly, it was helpful to me as a parent who is always looking to supplement my kids' education. More about that later.

I also ran across, quite by accident, the 2 Cents blog written by our textbook author, David Warlick. The post I was drawn to, http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=1719, was responding to Arne Duncan’s suggestion that what we need is a longer school week to teach all of the new skills and content required to meet the needs of our students. Warlick makes the point that "we need to reinvent education, not just prolong it". He also points out that mere exposure to the digital world does not constitute digital literacy. As he puts it, "Our children know how to play the information. They still desperately need us to teach them how to work the information." He argues for a greater role for librarians as well as a reimagined role for the classroom teacher. I found this to be a valuable supplement to the material we have been reading in class.

In my travels, I also came across multiple resources that I can use in the ongoing pedagogic experiment that my own children are forced to endure. For example,
I found games at http://www.fun4thebrain.com/index.html and sources for free audiobooks at http://anabelparra.blogspot.com/.

I found that there is plenty out there for me as a parent as well as someone who is curious and passionate about educating all of our children. Hooray!