Beyond even bribing them with shiny gadgets, educators are sparking their students’ love of learning by figuring out what they’ re interested in.
“ The better way is to motivate each student to learn through his or her passion. Passion drives people to learn( and perform) far beyond their, and our expectations. And whatever is learned through the motivation of passion is rarely if ever forgotten,” writes Marc Prensky in his book Teaching Digital Natives.
Watch for: The growing importance of the student’ s role as content-creator and decision-maker in devising his own curriculum.
3. Skills 2.0
Eleven years into the 21st century, the buzz words“ 21st century skills” are being thrown around in describing what needs to be taught in schools: real-world readiness. Things like collaboration, innovation, critical thinking, and communication are thought to be just as important as U. S. history and calculus because they’ re practical skills that can be used in the world outside the confines of school.
“ One thing is certain,” writes Will Richardson in the comprehensive tome 21st Century Skills: Rethinking How Students Learn: although schools may continue to fundamentally look and act as they have for more than one hundred years, the way individuals learn has already been forever changed. Instead of learning from others who have the credentials to‘ teach’ in this new networked world, we learn with others whom we seek( and who seek us) on our own and with whom we often share nothing more than a passion for knowing.”
Learning to be responsible digital citizens.
The ability to leverage the collective wisdom that thrives online is an important part of building those muscles. But more than just practical skills, it’ s crucial for students to be able to navigate the digital world around them without fear. To make sense of the deluge of information online, to learn what to trust, what to dismiss, to be able to find the gold that exists in the infinite number of Google searches. To know how and what to contribute to the online global community, and how to be responsible digital citizens.
These intangibles have found their way into the fiber of the curriculum in schools like Napa New Tech and its network of schools growing schools. And tech companies are looking for ways to provide value to the movement.