Summary

 =Summary = = =

The purpose of a Technology Day is to provide students, staff and families the opportunity to experience the types of technology students will need in order to succeed as adults. Generations have always said that the good old days are gone and things aren’t what they used to be. This is just as true today if not more. Today there is a struggle between old school and new school, between the way students have always been taught, and the needs of tomorrow’s leaders. The facts are these: today’s students are being brought up with technology we could have never dreamed of at their age. Today’s students expect instant answers, high quality graphics, and quality source electronic materials. The problem lies in the fact that not all schools, teachers, districts, or communities are willing to supply students with these items.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills ([]) has developed what has become a widely accepted list of skills our students need to succeed when they become adults in the upcoming century. These include: 
 * creativity and innovation
 * critical thinking and problem solving
 * communication and collaboration
 * information literacy
 * media literacy
 * technology literacy

These skills by themselves will do the students little good, but when the students learn them first hand in situations in which they are actively engaged, the students will then internalize these skills and be able to apply them to many other situations.

In Technology Day, our sixth grade students learned to think creatively on their own in their art project when they designed a self expression video and in a group when they wrote their own “create your own adventure” book for English/Language Arts. These two projects allowed students the ability to compare and contrast how creativity works individually as well as in group dynamics.

Because group work will be such a large part of their adult lives, students will need a comprehensive set of communication & collaboration skills. Both Foreign Language and Music designed projects for group collaboration that are dependent upon strong communication skills. The Foreign Language project entails student groups writing a skit in Spanish. Being in a group such as this requires good communication and interpersonal skills, however because the skit must be written and performed in a non-native second language, students must be able to “communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multi-lingual)” ( [] retrieved November 10, 2009), a 21st Century Skill. The Foreign Language and Music projects also require a peer critique which necessitates quality written communication skills, strong vocabulary, and information literacy.

Critical thinking & problem solving were directly addressed in both the Health and Math tasks. Here students were required to “effectively analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs." ([] retrieved November 10, 2009). They needed to utilize technology literacy (on-line quizzes/ tracker systems) in Health while also thinking about how each meal affects the outcome of their overall health (systems thinking). Math required students to take responsibility for their own education when they worked through real life problem solving.

Technology literacy was also highlighted in Physical Education, Science, and Social Studies. In the Physical Education activity students used a new technology called the Softkinetic Silhouette video game. In Science students used an interactive SmartBoard and in Social Studies students used new software called PhotoStory. These types of technologies, although new today, will be old and mundane for these students when they become adults. These students will be inventing new uses and improvements to these technologies as they become more proficient.

Finally, one must not overlook the intrapersonal skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century. One must be flexible and able to adapt to change by giving and receiving feedback constrictively. Art, Foreign Language, and Music have all included peer/self critiquing. Students must also learn to work independently and manage their goals through the lessons in Math, Health, and Social Studies. Successful adults must be able to work well with peers, lead others, and show responsibility, so group work was placed in English/Language Arts, Foreign Language, Music, and Physical Education. The important traits of productivity and accountability were included in all content areas as all will produce graded projects.

All of these activities put together are considered critical thinking skills. Patricia Senn Breivik (2005) clumps them into what she calls Information Literacy Umbrella which consists of Computer, Library, Media, Network and Visual literacies. Critical thinking skills are the key to success in any field, at any time, at any age.

When one thinks of the future, images of space crafts hovering above unknown planets come to mind. People with handheld devices which can communicate with galaxies three light years away wearing white shiny suits puttering around in zero emission vehicles which navigate themselves all the while a conversation is being held with no phone in sight also comes to mind. These were the images our parents fed to us when we were kids. These were the skills they taught us. These are the technologies we have today. We as educators need to think farther down the line for what our kids will need. We need to teach them those skills, those subjects, and those literacies. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has developed a fantastic skill set that our students will need to master in order to succeed as adults. Our technology day was designed to impart the wisdom of these literacies onto our students.


 * Breivik, P. S., (2005). 21st Century Learning and Information Literacy. //Change//, March/April, 21-27.