Learners need support from peers and mentors to persist through setbacks and challenges

A growing body of research indicates that interest helps us pay attention, make connections, persist and engage in deeper learning

Learning is irresistible and life-changing when it connects personal interests to meaningful relationships and real-world opportunity

an age of abundant access to information and social connection that embraces the diverse backgrounds and interests of all young people.

Learning is motivating when it grows out of personal interest.

It is learning in an age of abundant access to information and social connection that embraces the diverse backgrounds and interests of all young people.

Connected learning combines personal interests, supportive relationships, and opportunities.

Learning is motivating when it grows out of personal interest.

Librarians and mentors organize showcases, support the production of various projects and broker connections to other opportunities in their interest area.

digital media production such as music, art, poetry and journalism.

Success beyond the classroom requires tangible connections to real-world career and civic opportunities.

Learners need support from peers and mentors to persist through setbacks and challenges

interest helps us pay attention, make connections, persist and engage in deeper learning.

The research is clear: Learning is irresistible and life-changing when it connects personal interests to meaningful relationships and real-world opportunity.

It advocates for broadened access to learning that is socially embedded, interest-driven, and oriented toward educational, economic, or political opportunity.

It advocates for broadened access to learning that is socially embedded, interest-driven, and oriented toward educational, economic, or political opportunity.

Encouraging students to reach out to each other to solve problems and share knowledge not only builds collaboration skills, it leads to deeper learning and understanding

Redefinition The SAMR Ladder: Questions and Transitions Modification to Redefinition What is the new task? Will any portion of the original task be retained? How is the new task uniquely made possible by the new technology? How does it contribute to my design?

Modification The SAMR Ladder: Questions and Transitions Augmentation to Modification How is the original task being modified? Does this modification fundamentally depend upon the new technology? How does this modification contribute to my design?

Augmentation The SAMR Ladder: Questions and Transitions Substitution to Augmentation Have I added an improvement to the task process that could not be accomplished with the older technology at a fundamental level? How does this feature contribute to my design?

Substitution  The SAMR Ladder: Questions and Transitions What will I gain by replacing the older technology with the new technology?

The SAMR model  is a useful tool for helping teachers think about their own tech use as they begin to make small shifts in the design and implementation of  technology driven learning experiences to achieve the next level

Technological pedagogical content knowledge is an understanding that emerges from interactions among content, pedagogy, and technology knowledge.

TPK is an understanding of how teaching and learning can change when particular technologies are used in particular ways. This includes knowing the pedagogical affordances and constraints of a range of technological tools as they relate to disciplinarily and developmentally appropriate pedagogical designs and strategies.

TCK, then, is an understanding of the manner in which technology and content influence and constrain one another. Teachers need to master more than the subject matter they teach; they must also have a deep understanding of the manner in which the subject matter (or the kinds of representations that can be constructed) can be changed by the application of particular technologies. Teachers need to understand which specific technologies are best suited for addressing subject-matter learning in their domains and how the content dictates or perhaps even changes the technology—or vice versa.

FITness, therefore, requires a deeper, more essential understanding and mastery of information technology for information processing, communication, and problem solving than does the traditional definition of computer literacy.

PCK covers the core business of teaching, learning, curriculum, assessment and reporting, such as the conditions that promote learning and the links among curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy.

They encompass, among other things, overall educational purposes, values, and aims. This generic form of knowledge applies to understanding how students learn, general classroom management skills, lesson planning, and student assessment. It includes knowledge about techniques or methods used in the classroom; the nature of the target audience; and strategies for evaluating student understanding.

Pedagogical knowledge (PK) is teachers’ deep knowledge about the processes and practices or methods of teaching and learning.

this knowledge would include knowledge of concepts, theories, ideas, organizational frameworks, knowledge of evidence and proof, as well as established practices and approaches toward developing such knowledge.

Content knowledge (CK) is teachers’ knowledge about the subject matter to be learned or taught.

In this model (see Figure 1), there are three main components of teachers’ knowledge: content, pedagogy, and technology. Equally important to the model are the interactions between and among these bodies of knowledge, represented as PCK, TCK (technological content knowledge), TPK (technological pedagogicalknowledge), and TPACK.

In this way, teaching is an example of an ill-structured discipline, requiring teachers to apply complex knowledge structures across different cases and contexts

Rather, solutions lie in the ability of a teacher to flexibly navigate the spaces defined by the three elements of content, pedagogy, and technology and the complex interactions among these elements in specific contexts.

Technological pedagogical content knowledge is an understanding that emerges from interactions among content, pedagogy, and technology knowledge.

The choice of technologies affords and constrains the types of content ideas that can be taught. Likewise, certain content decisions can limit the types of technologies that can be used. Technology can constrain the types of possible representations, but also can afford the construction of newer and more varied representations. Furthermore, technological tools can provide a greater degree of flexibility in navigating across these representations.

FITness goes beyond traditional notions of computer literacy to require that persons understand information technology broadly enough to apply it productively at work and in their everyday lives, to recognize when information technology can assist or impede the achievement of a goal, and to continually adapt to changes in information technology.

Central to Shulman’s conceptualization of PCK is the notion of the transformation of the subject matter for teaching. Specifically, according to Shulman (1986), this transformation occurs as the teacher interprets the subject matter, finds multiple ways to represent it, and adapts and tailors the instructional materials to alternative conceptions and students’ prior knowledge.

PCK is consistent with and similar to Shulman’s idea of knowledge of pedagogy that is applicable to the teaching of specific content.

A teacher with deep pedagogical knowledge understands how students construct knowledge and acquire skills and how they develop habits of mind and positive dispositions toward learning. As such, pedagogical knowledge requires an understanding of cognitive, social, and developmental theories of learning and how they apply to students in the classroom.

Pedagogical knowledge (PK) is teachers’ deep knowledge about the processes and practices or methods of teaching and learning.

his knowledge would include knowledge of concepts, theories, ideas, organizational frameworks, knowledge of evidence and proof, as well as established practices and approaches toward developing such knowledge.

Content knowledge (CK) is teachers’ knowledge about the subject matter to be learned or taught

These three knowledge bases (content, pedagogy, and technology) form the core of the technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK) framework

At the heart of good teaching with technology are three core components: content, pedagogy, and technology, plus the relationships among and between them

Rather, integration efforts should be creatively designed or structured for particular subject matter ideas in specific classroom contexts.

Rather, particular technologies have their own propensities, potentials, affordances, and constraints that make them more suitable for certain tasks than others

Most traditional pedagogical technologies are characterized by specificity (a pencil is for writing, while a microscope is for viewing small objects); stability (pencils, pendulums, and chalkboards have not changed a great deal over time); and transparency of function (the inner workings of the pencil or the pendulum are simple and directly related to their function)

Digital technologies—such as computers, handheld devices, and software applications—by contrast, are protean (usable in many different ways; Papert, 1980); unstable (rapidly changing); and opaque (the inner workings are hidden from users; Turkle, 1995).

Thus, effective teaching depends on flexible access to rich, well-organized and integrated knowledge from different domains (Glaser, 1984; Putnam & Borko, 2000; Shulman, 1986, 1987), including knowledge of student thinking and learning, knowledge of subject matter, and increasingly, knowledge of technology.

Connected learning, as its name implies, works to connect these spheres more pur-posefully. The goal is not to fully integrate these spheres of learning—each requires its own autonomous space—but to build connections, hand-offs, and sites of trans-lation in order to reach more young people where they are.

Connected learn-ing seeks to integrate three spheres of learning that are often disconnected and at war with each other in young people’s lives: peer culture, interests, and academic content.

Are mentors present who can help young people to connect their interest/activity to academic/institutional domains?

When young people do well and are well behaved in the classroom, it improves the class-room experience, but it does not elevate culture at large or expand a valuable social network if the activity ends at the classroom walls.

Making use of social media platforms and channels such as Facebook, YouTube, Livestream, and Twitter, the HPA connects young people who are inspired by the civic virtues portrayed in the Harry Potter books, and want to apply them to the real world.

Public schools like Q2L have an impor-tant role to play in broadening access to connected learning, providing opportuni-ties and guidance for young people to connect their social and recreational learning to academic subjects and prospects.

It is realized when a young person is able to pursue a personal interest or passion with the support of friends and caring adults, and is in turn able to link this learning and interest to academic achievement, career success or civic engagement.

Preparing children for creative jobs does not guarantee that those jobs will materialize just because workers are stand-ing by.

A strong current in the workforce readiness view holds that “creative work” is where the security will be, and that the current education system must produce students who are capable of the critical and creative thinking skills

Since the late seventies, there has been significant growth in college attendance among youth in higher income brackets, while rates of college attendance among poor youth have remained relatively flat (Bailey and Dynarski, 2011).

Employment Status of high school graduates not attending college full-time

Based on this history, the message to young people has been that they should seek college educations and professional certifications as a reliable eco-nomic investment.

He describes how he feels his teachers “set you up for failure” and he has watched the majority of his friends drop out from high school.

Privileged families also support tailored learning opportunities through clubs, camps, sports, and other programs where their children get recognition, gain skills, and make meaningful con-tributions.

14 | CONNECTED LEARNINGoday’s educational institutions are struggling to fulfill their mission of provid-ing pathways to opportunity for all youth. In the past two decades, earnings have dropped for those without high school degrees, while dropout rates have continued to remain high among vulnerable populations. At the same time, privileged families are turning to costly private schools and enrichment activities for an educa-tional edge, preparing their children for a competitive and volatile market for profes-sional and fulfilling jobs.

(For more on the essential elements, be sure to read W. Ian O’Byrne’s sidebar.)

When we encourage students to use technology, do we remind them of the risks of placing their information online and give them choices of how much personal information to reveal?

When is it best to do a Google search versus ask a question on Twitter? Why would students tweet to a particular hashtag or person versus another? When they tweet to people from another country in another time zone, what kind of context do they need to consider? What should they add, remove, or modify in order to communicate better?

We often hear people talk about the importance of digital knowledge for 21st-century learners.

talking about audience—whom they are addressing and who are people who might accidentally come across their blogs or tweets

Digital literacy would focus on helping students choose appropriate images, recognize copyright licensing, and cite or get permissions, in addition to reminding students to use alternative text for images to support those with visual disabilities.

Twitter plays a large role in my teaching, but the essential elements can be applied in many technological contexts

It is important for students to recognize that although technology gives us a lot of power, it also restricts us in many ways, and we need to question how the affordances of technology modify our communication and our behavior.

Doug Belshaw’s eight elements of digital literacies, I have just mentioned the civic, critical, creative, and communicative. The other four are cultural, cognitive, constructive, and confidence.

For example, teaching digital skills would include showing students how to download images from the Internet and insert them into PowerPoint slides or webpages. Digital literacy would focus on helping students choose appropriate images, recognize copyright licensing, and cite or get permissions, in addition to reminding students to use alternative text for images to support those with visual disabilities.

Digital skills focus on what and how. Digital literacy focuses on why, when, who, and for whom

When we encourage students to use technology, do we remind them of the risks of placing their information online and give them choices of how much personal information to reveal

It is important for students to recognize that although technology gives us a lot of power, it also restricts us in many ways, and we need to question how the affordances of technology modify our communication and our behavior. For example, it is worth discussing the process of Wikipedia. Although Wikipedia is not a scholarly source, it is usually a good enough first stop to learn about something. However, students need to know how it is updated.

Digital skills focus on what and how. Digital literacy focuses on why, when, who, and for whom.

Digital literacy is not about the skills of using technologies, but how we use our judgment to maintain awareness of what we are reading and writing, why we are doing it, and whom we are addressing.

When we encourage students to use technology, do we remind them of the risks of placing their information online and give them choices of how much personal information to reveal? Do our students recognize the ways in which Facebook’s privacy settings continually shift without user permission, and what posting a photo today might mean for their future employment opportunities? Do students recognize the importance of password-protecting their devices and having different passwords across platforms? We also need to recognize the risks of blogging/tweeting, which include opening avenues for abuse. We should not be throwing students into the public domain to discuss sensitive topics without having conversations with them on what they might face and which of these risks they are willing to take, how they would handle it, and how they might support each other. Then we should give them a private option if they so choose.

Teaching digital literacy does not mean teaching digital skills in a vacuum, but doing so in an authentic context that makes sense to students. It means teaching progressively rather than sequentially, which helps learners understand better and more clearly over time. Instead of teaching how to use a hashtag and how to tweet and retweet, I give my students meaningful tasks to help their learning.

Doug Belshaw’s eight elements of digital literacies, I have just mentioned the civic, critical, creative, and communicative. The other four are cultural, cognitive, constructive, and confidence. This last one is important and takes time to build.

Digital skills would focus on which tool to use (e.g., Twitter) and how to use it (e.g., how to tweet, retweet, use TweetDeck), while digital literacy would include in-depth questions: When would you use Twitter instead of a more private forum? Why would you use it for advocacy? Who puts themselves at risk when they do so?

teaching digital skills would include showing students how to download images from the Internet and insert them into PowerPoint slides or webpages. Digital literacy would focus on helping students choose appropriate images, recognize copyright licensing, and cite or get permissions, in addition to reminding students to use alternative text for images to support those with visual disabilities

Digital skills focus on what and how. Digital literacy focuses on why, when, who, and for whom.

It means teaching progressively rather than sequentially, which helps learners understand better and more clearly over time.

Digital literacies are not solely about technical proficiency but about the issues, norms, and habits of mind surrounding technologies used for a particular purpose.

Instead of teaching how to use a hashtag and how to tweet and retweet, I give my students meaningful tasks to help their learning.

I have just mentioned the civic, critical, creative, and communicative. The other four are cultural, cognitive, constructive, and confidence.

Digital skills focus on what and how. Digital literacy focuses on why, when, who, and for whom.

Do our students recognize the ways in which Facebook’s privacy settings continually shift without user permission, and what posting a photo today might mean for their future employment opportunities?

Digital skills would focus on which tool to use (e.g., Twitter) and how to use it (e.g., how to tweet, retweet, use TweetDeck), while digital literacy would include in-depth questions: When would you use Twitter instead of a more private forum? Why would you use it for advocacy? Who puts themselves at risk when they do so?

Teaching digital literacy does not mean teaching digital skills in a vacuum, but doing so in an authentic context that makes sense to students. It means teaching progressively rather than sequentially, which helps learners understand better and more clearly over time.

eight elements of digital literacies, I have just mentioned the civic, critical, creative, and communicative. The other four are cultural, cognitive, constructive, and confidence.

while digital literacy would include in-depth questions: When would you use Twitter instead of a more private forum? Why would you use it for advocacy? Who puts themselves at risk when they do so?

Digital skills focus on what and how. Digital literacy focuses on why, when, who, and for whom.

These discussions can be fraught with power dynamics, resulting in controversial issues appearing unbalanced as more powerful authors block alternative viewpoints.

means talking about audience—whom they are addressing and who are people who might accidentally come across their blogs or tweets

When we encourage students to use technology, do we remind them of the risks of placing their information online and give them choices of how much personal information to reveal?

It means teaching progressively rather than sequentially, which helps learners understand better and more clearly over time.

educational researcher Doug Belshaw’s eight elements of digital literacies, I have just mentioned the civic, critical, creative, and communicative. The other four are cultural, cognitive, constructive, and confidence.

Digital skills focus on what and how. Digital literacy focuses on why, when, who, and for whom

When we encourage students to use technology, do we remind them of the risks of placing their information online and give them choices of how much personal information to reveal? Do our students recognize the ways in which Facebook’s privacy settings continually shift without user permission, and what posting a photo today might mean for their future employment opportunities? Do students recognize the importance of password-protecting their devices and having different passwords across platforms?

nstead of teaching how to use a hashtag and how to tweet and retweet, I give my students meaningful tasks to help their learning

Digital skills would focus on which tool to use (e.g., Twitter) and how to use it (e.g., how to tweet, retweet, use TweetDeck), while digital literacy would include in-depth questions: When would you use Twitter instead of a more private forum? Why would you use it for advocacy? Who puts themselves at risk when they do so?

Digital skills focus on what and how. Digital literacy focuses on why, when, who, and for whom.

Digital skills would focus on which tool to use (e.g., Twitter) and how to use it (e.g., how to tweet, retweet, use TweetDeck), while digital literacy would include in-depth questions: When would you use Twitter instead of a more private forum? Why would you use it for advocacy? Who puts themselves at risk when they do so?

Digital skills focus on what and how. Digital literacy focuses on why, when, who, and for whom.

Good online readers know the tools and strategies that can be used to search for and locate people, resources, and information. They then know how to judge the credibility of these sources.1

1) develop more educators, advocates, and community leaders who can leverage and advance the web as an open and public resource, and 2) impact policies and practices to ensure the web remains a healthy open and public resource for all. In order to accomplish this, we need to provide people with open access to the skills and know-how needed to use the web to improve their lives, careers, and organizations.

Reading, evaluating, and manipulating URLs (addresses on the web).

Knowing how to read, write, and participate in the digital world has become the 4th basic foundational skill next to the three Rs—reading, writing, and arithmetic

1) develop more educators, advocates, and community leaders who can leverage and advance the web as an open and public resource, and 2) impact policies and practices to ensure the web remains a healthy open and public resource for all. In order to accomplish this, we need to provide people with open access to the skills and know-how needed to use the web to improve their lives, careers, and organizations.

Mozilla continues to refine its strategies to support and champion the web as an open and public resource

diverse audiences using the web.

Collaboration Participate Share, Contribute, Connect, Open Practice Example - Learners are collaborating when they build products together to reach a common outcome while leveraging working in the open to connect and learn with individuals and groups online.

Communication Read: Synthesize Write: Compose, Remix Participate Share, Contribute, Connect, Protect, Open Practice Example - Learners are demonstrating good communication skills when they are able to use the web to compose and synthesize web content and remix information to share and connect effectively with others.

Creativity Write: Design, Revise, Remix Participate: Share, Code, Compose, Contribute, Open Practice Example - Learners are creative when they are able to design new ways to remix and revise information that is accessible and approachable to broader audiences. They co-construct designs with with new partners that increases opportunities to share and contribute to engage more feedback.

Problem-solving Read: Search, Navigate, Synthesize, Evaluate Example - Learners are problem-solving when they are able to use the web to search and critically evaluate information to synthesize findings that support a researched opinion. Write: Design, Compose, Code, Revise, Remix Example - As learners design, code, compose, revise, and remix, they are problem-solving when they create algorithms and designs that improve information sharing and services for themselves and others.

“Read” is how we explore the web. Web literate individuals understand basic web mechanics such as the difference between names and addresses on the web, and how data is linked and moves through the infrastructure of the web. They can evaluate web content, and identify what is useful and trustworthy. “Write” is how we build the web. Web literate individuals can transform a word into a hyperlink and add media to websites. As abilities are honed, one becomes more adept at remixing other users’ content and understanding or writing code. “Participate” is how we connect on the web. It includes interacting with others to making your own experience and the web richer to working in the open. It also includes having a grasp of security basics, like protecting your online identity and avoiding online scams. “21C Skills” refers to a broad set of knowledge, skills, work habits, and character traits that are important to succeed in today’s world, particularly for college and career readiness and in the workplace. Examples of these skills include collaboration, communication, creativity, and problem-solving.

To hold information-age jobs, people also need to think deeply about issues, solve problems creatively, work in teams, communicate clearly in many media, learn ever-changing technologies

Using questions and keywords to find the information you need.

nowing how to read, write, and participate in the digital world has become the 4th basic foundational skill next to the three Rs—reading, writing, and arithmetic—in a rapidly evolving, networked world.

1) develop more educators, advocates, and community leaders who can leverage and advance the web as an open and public resource, and 2) impact policies and practices to ensure the web remains a healthy open and public resource for all. In order to accomplish this, we need to provide people with open access to the skills and know-how needed to use the web to improve their lives, careers, and organizations.

1) develop more educators, advocates, and community leaders who can leverage and advance the web as an open and public resource, and 2) impact policies and practices to ensure the web remains a healthy open and public resource for all. In order to accomplish this, we need to provide people with open access to the skills and know-how needed to use the web to improve their lives, careers, and organizations.

reach and meet the growing number of diverse audiences using the web.

Learning through making

1) develop more educators, advocates, and community leaders who can leverage and advance the web as an open and public resource,

Managing and maintaining the privacy and security of your digital identity through behaviors and digital tool settings

A group of local or global learners who reach a common outcome while connecting and learning online

Understanding basic principles, purpose, and applications of coding and programming languages

Creating mental and physical representations of digital content focused on accessibility and approachability

Integrating separate and unique information from multiple online sources

Using questions and keywords to find the information you need

What we concluded is that people needed the map to be more approachable, accessible, and applicable for learning and teaching web literacy skills.

It also includes having a grasp of security basics, like protecting your online identity and avoiding online scams

They can evaluate web content, and identify what is useful and trustworthy

1) develop more educators, advocates, and community leaders who can leverage and advance the web as an open and public resource, and 2) impact policies and practices to ensure the web remains a healthy open and public resource for all.

“21C Skills” refers to a broad set of knowledge, skills, work habits, and character traits that are important to succeed in today’s world, particularly for college and career readiness and in the workplace. Examples of these skills include collaboration, communication, creativity, and problem-solving.

“Participate” is how we connect on the web. It includes interacting with others to making your own experience and the web richer to working in the open. It also includes having a grasp of security basics, like protecting your online identity and avoiding online scams.

“Write” is how we build the web. Web literate individuals can transform a word into a hyperlink and add media to websites. As abilities are honed, one becomes more adept at remixing other users’ content and understanding or writing code.

“Read” is how we explore the web. Web literate individuals understand basic web mechanics such as the difference between names and addresses on the web, and how data is linked and moves through the infrastructure of the web.

The perfor-mance tasks ask students to apply their learning to a new and authentic situation as means of assessing their understand-ing and ability to transfer their learning.

Effective curriculum is planned backward from long-term, desired results through a three-stage design process (Desired Results, Evidence, and Learning Plan)

This process helps avoid the common problems of treating the textbook as the curriculum rather than a resource, and activity-oriented teaching in which no clear priorities and purposes are apparent

transfer their learning through authentic performance

the ability to effectively use content knowledge and skill

The World Wide Web has become this generation’s defining technology for literacy. This technology facilitates access to an unlimited amount of online information in a participatory learning space.

history’s first generation of “always connected” individuals do not have the knowledge and skills to critically explore, build, and connect online. Simply stated, students are often not provided with opportunities in school to practice the web literacies necessary to read, write, and participate on the web.

The World Wide Web has become this generation’s defining technology for literacy. This technology facilitates access to an unlimited amount of online information in a participatory learning space.

Simply stated, students are often not provided with opportunities in school to practice the web literacies necessary to read, write, and participate on the web

Yet, as early adopters, history’s first generation of “always connected” individuals do not have the knowledge and skills to critically explore, build, and connect online

Simply stated, students are often not provided with opportunities in school to practice the web literacies necessary to read, write, and participate on the web.

The World Wide Web has become this generation’s defining technology for literacy. This technology facilitates access to an unlimited amount of online information in a participatory learning space

supports learning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; builds 21st century skills; increases student engagement and motivation; and accelerates learning. Technology also has the power to transform teaching by ushering in a new model of connected teaching

Understanding by Design

Teachers should also be cognizant that web literacy education also occurs outside of the classroom. Some of the most valuable learning takes place when students gather after school in coffee shops, libraries and living rooms. 

In the 21st century, web literacy unlocks the same opportunities as reading and writing. The student who is able to create online has a limitless array of tools. The student who is able to collaborate with peers on the Web can bring fresh, new perspectives to their work. And the student who can distinguish reliable information from the unreliable will always be at an advantage.

Large and/or group discussion Interactive lecturing and think-pair-shares Flipped classroom Cooperative learning (including team-based and project-based learning) Guided note-taking Guided inquiry for problem-solving

Term papers. Short-answer quizzes. Free-response questions. Homework assignments. Lab projects. Practice problems. Group projects. Among many others…

It continually encourages the instructor to establish the purpose of doing something before implementing it into the curriculum

The backward design framework suggests that instructors should consider these overarching learning goals and how students will be assessed prior to consideration of how to teach the content.

Instructors typically approach course design in a “forward design” manner, meaning they consider the learning activities (how to teach the content), develop assessments around their learning activities, then attempt to draw connections to the learning goals of the course.

I give my students meaningful tasks to help their learning.

Digital skills focus on what and how. Digital literacy focuses on why, when, who, and for whom.

Nonetheless, the larger unit goals provide the context in which individual lessons are planned.

Teaching for understanding requires that students be given numerous opportunities to draw inferences and make generaliza-tions for themselves (with teacher sup-port)

In addition to performance tasks, Stage 2 includes other evidence, such as tradi-tional quizzes, tests, observations, and work samples to round out the assess-ment picture to determine what students know and can do.

Thus, we consider in advance the assessment evidence needed to document and validate that the targeted learning has been achieved.

An important point in the UbD framework is to recognize that factual knowledge and skills are not taught for their own sake, but as a means to larger ends.

The point of school is not to simply excel in each class, but to be able to use one’s learning in other settings

n the first stage of backward design, we consider our goals,

Understanding is revealed when students autonomously make sense of and transfer their learning through authentic performance. Six facets of under-standing—the capacity to explain, interpret, apply, shift perspective, empa-thize, and self-assess—can serve as indicators of understanding.

To hold information-age jobs, people also need to think deeply about issues, solve problems creatively, work in teams, communicate clearly in many media, learn ever-changing technologies.

Using questions and keywords to find the information you need

It also includes having a grasp of security basics, like protecting your online identity and avoiding online scams

They can evaluate web content, and identify what is useful and trustworthy.

Knowing how to read, write, and participate in the digital world has become the 4th basic foundational skill next to the three Rs—reading, writing, and arithmetic—in a rapidly evolving, networked world.

Mozilla focuses on the following goals: 1) develop more educators, advocates, and community leaders who can leverage and advance the web as an open and public resource, and 2) impact policies and practices to ensure the web remains a healthy open and public resource for all. In order to accomplish this, we need to provide people with open access to the skills and know-how needed to use the web to improve their lives, careers, and organizations.

21st Century Skills (21C Skills)

Knowing how to read, write, and participate in the digital world has become the 4th basic foundational skill next to the three Rs—reading, writing, and arithmetic—in a rapidly evolving, networked world.

reach and meet the growing number of diverse audiences using the web

udents acquire word knowledge through implicit learning that takes place as theyread and write, and through explicit instruction orchestrated by the teacher. However, itis impossible to know exactly what to teach and when to teach it until we have a livingchild before us. An informed, developmental interpretation of students’ efforts as theyread and write shows us

phabet Pattern MeaningEmergentPre-K to middle of 1Chapter 4Emergent StageLetter Name–AlphabeticK to middle of 2Chapter 5Beginning StageWithin Word PatternGrade 1 to middle of 4Chapter 6Transitional StageSyllables and AffixesGrades 3 to 8Chapter 7Intermed

obecome fully literate, however, we also need specific knowledge about individ-ual words. Knowledge about the English spelling system provides us the tools to do thejob correctly. The word rain,for example, might be spelled RANE, RAIN, or RAYNE—all are orthographically and phonetically plausible. However, only specific knowledgewill allow us to remember the correct spelling. Likewise, only specific knowledge of thespelling of whichand witchmakes it possible to know which witch is which! The rela-tionship between specific knowledge and knowledge of the system is reciproc

explore the many directions that read-alouds can take in your classroom. Read-alouds will provide your students with a myriad of benefits and, to put it simply, a nice change of pace.

However, the example of mistletoes as parasites pales when contrasted to an excerpt from the trade book Exploding Ants: Amazing Facts About How Ani-mals Adapt (Settel 1999). Settel evokes considerable excitement, more reminiscent of a screenplay than a textbook:“The Brainwashers: A worm reprogramming an ant’s brain may sound like the stuff of science fic-tion. But that’s what really happens when the small liver fluke gets itself inside an ant. The tiny worm-like fluke is a parasite that spends different parts of its life inside the bodies of three different host ani-mals: a snail, an ant, and a sheep. The fluke must get inside each host by being eaten” (p. 13).

reading alone, because the teacher naturally uses tone of voice, gestures, and accurate pronunciation of technical words, all of which help students—particu-larly English language learners—better understand the material.

Because students can often comprehend oral-ly presented texts that are normally above their own reading level, teacher read-alouds also allow middle school students to experience texts that may be oth-er wise inaccessible (Rief 2000).

To address these issues, skilled science teachers plan multiple experiences for their students that extend far beyond the textbook. Demonstrations, hands-on activities, and videos are common ways an industrious science teacher will provide inquir y-based instruction, offering engaging access to the middle school science curriculum.

Traditional definitionsof literacy focused on the ability to readwords, but now literacy is considered a tool,a means to participate more fully in the 21st century’s digital society.

Behaviorism

collaboration,not competition, is more conducive to learning

Schema Theory.

Active Learning.

Social Interaction.

Peer Groups