21st Century Teaching and Learning

Arthur C. Clarke,  author  of "Technology and the Future," said, "The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible." How do we transform the classrooms of today into 21st century learning environments? How can we best guide and support teachers in making a paradigm shift in  the way that they teach? These are difficult questions that present some exciting new possibilities and some unique challenges.   

I would like to share with you some facts about the ever changing digital landscape of the world today. The students of today are called the New Millennials. Did you know that:

• 250 million new users join Facebook, Myspace and Twitter monthly?
• 31 billion Google searches are made each month?  This is up from 2.7 billion in 2006.
• the mobile device will be the world's primary connection tool by 2020?
• 1 out of 6 married couples met online?
• the average teen sends 2,272 texts per month?
• the average teen watches 16.5 hours of TV, spends 5.5 hours on the computer and plays games for 3.5 hours per week? 
• the average teen prefers texting, IM and blogs over email?

K–12 educators have been noticing a wide array of changes in today's students. Students often have the expectation that they should be able to create, consume, edit and share information with others instantly. They want the system to work and expect instant feedback. What should K–12 schools do to respond to the ever-changing needs of  the new Millennial students? How should the mission, organization, curriculum, recreation, discipline, and classroom experience of schools be retooled?  

"It is said that generals are always planning to win the last war, not the war they are now fighting. Likewise, it may be said that educators are always crusading to fix the problems of the last generation of students, not the generation they are now schooling."

— Neil Howe and William Strauss, Millennials and K–12 Schools: Educational Strategies for A New Generation (Great Falls, VA: Lifecourse Associates, 2008), p. iii

Measure K has opened up a world of new opportunities for the students of  the Martinez Unified School District. This is not just about the purchase of new educational resources such as iPads and NetBooks. Those devices will generate interest and excitement about learning for a time but will they truly be transformative? The goal of the plan we are developing is to go beyond the resources and to provide the training and support needed to truly impact the way that teachers teach and students learn. These tools provide avenues for students to access and interact with content and skills in new ways and to share what they have learned with others. Cloud computing is a vehicle to allow for collaboration for teachers in a global context. This is an exciting new journey we have embarked upon and we are grateful to have the continued support of the Martinez community.