There was an interesting opinion piece in the News & Observer on Sunday, 8/30. Written by Andy Overstreet, "Standards That Make Sense For Our Children" talks about the skills that our students will need when they are adults entering the working world. "The truth is," Overstreet says,"we don't really know what my 7-year-old granddaughter will face in her life and work 20 years from now. In fact, it's likely most of the jobs needed in 2035 haven't even been invented yet." He goes on to say, "According to the 21st Century Ed Tech website, recent surveys of employers indicate that critical thinking and problem-solving, information technology applications, effective communication skills, teamwork, and creativity are the most preferred skills."
We're teaching those skills here in the MPMS Media Center. eWISE, our research model, teaches students to take a topic or problem, look for an answer, and critically evaluate the information they find online. We teach students not only to use technology like iPads, Aurasma, screencasting, and infographics, we teach them in ways they can transfer their knowledge to new forms of technology as they come along. Communication skills are taught through various presentation programs that share knowledge, school email accounts, and effective, safe use of social media. Teamwork and creativity are taught through collaborative projects and group work, often with students having a choice as to how they set their groups up and what they accomplish in those groups.
We're teaching those skills here in the MPMS Media Center. eWISE, our research model, teaches students to take a topic or problem, look for an answer, and critically evaluate the information they find online. We teach students not only to use technology like iPads, Aurasma, screencasting, and infographics, we teach them in ways they can transfer their knowledge to new forms of technology as they come along. Communication skills are taught through various presentation programs that share knowledge, school email accounts, and effective, safe use of social media. Teamwork and creativity are taught through collaborative projects and group work, often with students having a choice as to how they set their groups up and what they accomplish in those groups.
Those of us in the workplace now have seen huge changes in how we interact and communicate with others. Jobs have changed tremendously, and will continue to change as businesses and technologies evolve. The skills we teach here in the media center prepare students for the occupations they will eventually have, many years from now.