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=Welcome to our Wiki! = ==It was created for the purpose of helping educators enhance their curriculum in order to meet the needs of the 21st Century learner. ==

**21st Century Skills**-
===The sites and documents below provide more information about the skills needed to educate the 21st Century Learner ===
 * ===[|http://www.p21.org/]The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a national organization that advocates for 21st century readiness for every student. ===
 * ===[|http://www.21stcenturyschools.com/What_is_21st_Century_Education.htm]**-** Be sure to check out the chart that compares 20th Century teaching and learning to 21st Century teaching and learning. ===

**I. Technology Tools**-
 Looking for ways to add more technology into your lessons? Check out some of the latest innovations in educational technology.


 *  __//**Promethean boards-**//__ An interactive learning tool that lets students have hands on practice and personal involvement with their learning. It's the new white board //A Promethean board is an electronic whiteboard that, when combined with a computer and projector, allows teachers to interact with software applications and Internet browsers from the board. By projecting the computer screen onto the board, all applications become interactive by using the pen tool that is calibrated to work with the board. The tap of the pen mimics the click of a mouse, so teachers can navigate a website or open a document without having the leave the board. Promethean ActivInspire software comes with the board, providing teachers with digital tools that allow them to annotate over documents and websites, create re-usable multimedia lessons and record audio and screen video of lessons while they are being taught. //

[]
-.Here you can find resources for each core subject that can be used with the **Promethean Board**. You will also find tutorials and opportunities for Staff/Professional Development.

-Background of Promethean Board-
[] -A site that provides some background information about the purpose of Promethean Boards. 

-Promethean Board Flipchart-
[] - A site that offers **free interactive** Primary and Elementary Key Stage 2 Promethean flipchart resources and games

-Interactive Whiteboard-
[] -Sponsored by **Scholastic.com** this site offers FREE interactive whiteboard activities in various subject areas and grade levels. There is also a forum where teachers can interact with other whiteboard users.

-Ilearntechnology -
<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[] - <span style="color: #ff7100; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">-An **edublog** about integrating technology into the classroom; includes quick-tips on operating a Promethean board. Offers daily articles about new forms of technology that are out and the ways each can impact teaching and learning.


 * __//**Ipads for the Classroom-**//__ A new tool that will allow students to have a computer in the classroom where they can store notes, download a textbook and not use a lot of paper in the class. They will be able to read their notes from classwork because it will automatically convert their handwriting to a computer font. The teacher will be able to send them worksheet assignments through an app and the students complete it and send it back to the teacher for feedback.

-ipads Will Transform Education-
<span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[] <span style="color: #ff5700; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This site lists six ways that ipads in the classroom will benefit education.

-Apple Education-
<span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[] <span style="color: #ff5700; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">On the **Apple site**, I found education apps that really made me want to have an ipad in my classroom. There were apps for almost any subject. I was particularly interested in the Pre-K subject areas. There were ABC apps, word knowledge, math and science. It was amazing!

-Slideshare-
<span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[] <span style="color: #ff5700; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This website showed ways to use ipads in the classroom.


 * **Google Earth for Educators**- Another way to upgrade technology in the classroom is by using the internet. Social Studies and some English Language Arts standards require students to be able to read and demonstrate skills related to cartography or map making. A traditional manner of teaching students to read, analyze and create maps could be to use a simple paper map, a globe, or a textbook with illustrations of maps and an explanation of how to utilize the map key.

-Google Earth-
[] The internet has made great strides in cartography. In particular, **Google Earth** has up-to-date features wherein students can start by looking at the physical shape of the Earth from afar, but then can zoom in to just about any country, state, city, or road around the world and actually view roads, buildings, various landmasses and terrains. Students can research current streets, roads, maps, and buildings along with a location’s historical images, showing how the location looked in the past. Google Earth gives students a more engaging view of the world we live in; students can do more than simply look at an exterior model of the Earth, students can center in on specific landmarks and get a better visual of a city’s layout. Teachers may also use Google Earth to show students actual buildings around the world. For example, imagine a Social Studies class working on the following standard: SS6G1 The student will locate selected features of Latin America and the Caribbean: students will create cause and effect chains showing the links between physical geography, resources, and densely populated in the countries of Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, and Venezuela. Students may work on computers/laptops using Google Earth and can actually see various physical features such as the Andes Mountains, the Amazon River, and rain forests. Students are able to literally visualize physical features and eventually make inferences of how certain physical features affect population density.


 * For schools more PC driven Dell has a wide variety of technology driven hardware and software that can make a difference in a school.

** -Dell Connected Classroom- **
[] **Dell Connected classroom** is created to show the latest technology and give teachers and administrators the support they need to reach students. This web site delivers interactive solutions, classroom management, digital content, audio visual technology, and mobile devices.

-Teachnology-
[] **Teachnology** gives teacher a new way to address their classroom issues. Form online activities to printable worksheets. Teachnology also gives teacher links the best teacher websites for modern research; this includes articles, catalogs, dictionaries, teacher forums, newsletters, teaching tips, as well as weekly teacher polls.

**<span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">II. Replacements **

 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Promethean Boards**- A Promethean board easily replaces the overhead projector and Power Point presentations of the past. By creating lessons with the ActivInspire software, teachers are able to include audio and video, two elements that are essential to how 21st Century students learn and think. The board also allows users to manipulate the text, objects or websites that are displayed, so students can have an active role in learning instead of "sit and get".

//<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">A **Promethean board** can replace the outdated practice of checking homework: a teacher reading off answers to questions while students check their work. Now, the homework assignment can be displayed on the board and students can use the pen tool to display answers. Incorrect answers could be edited by other students, and questions could be documented as notes for review at a later date. All student work can be saved, if desired. // //<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The Promethean ActivInspire software is a great replacement for a teacher planbook or notebook. Taking lesson plans, notes, activities, etc... and digitizing them allows teachers the flexibility of easily editing and improving lessons and content, sharing files with other content teachers, and posting information on web sites to keep parents informed. //


 * The **Ipad** will replace textbooks, worksheets and help keeps students organized. It will also keep teachers and administrators organized.
 * Hardware and Online Resources- **Google Earth** is an engaging tool that replaces traditional textbooks, maps, and globes. Supplied with a computer or laptop, internet and access to Google Earth software, students can enter into a lively, visual world of cartography. Students can see current physical features including roads, landmasses, buildings, and bodies of water. Students can view the Earth and its contents from various perspectives, such as the external physical appearance, to its internal images.
 * **Learn 360**- is an interactive, state standard guided, media-on-demand service for the 21st century classroom. Through streaming video, audio and accompanying support materials, **Learn360** supports web-based learning. Learn360 provides an online collaborative environment where users can share information and ideas. Learn360 provides teachers tools to engage today’s students. The technology Learn360 provides enables teachers to address the unique learning styles of individual students through multimedia formats while fully incorporating differentiated learning into the curriculum. Coupled with Learn360’s virtual classroom platform, students become more actively engaged in their education and are inspired to learn in school and at home.

-Learn 360-
[] One of the most fascinating attributes of **learn 360** is a search engine feature that allows teachers to search over 8,900 digital video titles, and 27,000 video clips as well as a comprehensive set of speeches, images, songs, research articles and activities from top educational publishers such as A&E, History, Bio, Encyclopedia Britannica, PBS, National Geographic & Sunburst Visual Media. Teachers can search by subject area, grade level, media format, and state standards.


 * Collaborize Classroom- is a great way to keep your student attention while working with other classrooms around the world.

-Collaborize Classroom-
[|**http://wecollaborize.com/classroom-online-collaboration.html**] **Collaborize Classroom** was created to aid in classroom instruction while keeping student attention with online activities. These activities include assignments and discussions that allow for deeper participation inside and outside the classroom.


 * Communication is critical in the 21st century. **Skype** allows teachers and students to be able to leave the classroom and journey around the world.

-Skype in the classroom-
[] This article describes 50 awesome ways to use Skype in a classroom. Being that Skype is a free teacher can use it as a way to open up their classroom. This allows students a world far beyond the classroom.

**<span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">III. Research **
<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">1. Promethean Boards

<span style="color: #ff5700; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">-"Transforming Teaching and Learning From the 21st Century"-
<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> [|http://www.prometheanworld.com/upload/pdf/Transforming_Teaching_and_Learning_for_the_21st_Century_V6.pdf] <span style="color: #ff5700; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">In this article, Sonny Magnana and Paige Frenkel speak of the importance of educational institutions stepping up to the plate to meet the needs of the 21st Century student. "When kids that are used to wielding technology at home come to school and experience prescriptive, didactic teaching or do worksheets in isolation, they quickly lose interest,become disengaged and soon, to their detriment, “power down” (Magnana & Frenkel, 2009)." One such way to do this is with the use of the Promethean Board and the other ActiveInspire programs. Promethean claims to be a company formed by educators. Educators who are "committed to putting powerful yet easy to use transformational education technologies in the hand of our teachers (Magnana & Frenkel, 2009)."

Magnana, S. & Frenkel, P. (2009). //Transforming teaching and learning from the 21st century//. Retrieved from []

<span style="color: #ff5700; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">-Pros and Cons of using ipads in the classroom-
[] This website gave the pros and cons of using ipads in a classroom based on research done at Notre Dame.

<span style="color: #ff5700; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">-Google Earth Blog-
[] Google Earth is a wonderful differentiation tool. Students who require more scaffolding because of limited prior knowledge of content can receive easily comprehend concepts as they listen to teachers and peers discuss ideas and can actively apply concepts with the Google Earth software. Below is a link where you can read articles and blogs of how teachers implement Google Earth in various content areas.

-Education World-
[] This website is full or research based teacher resources. It gives teachers guidance with articles that have the most up to date classroom research. It also includes lesson plans, opportunities for professional development, administrator support, modern technology, as well as a plethora of school issues.

-Resources for School Librarians-
[]

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lans that focus on classroom behavior while introducing reading/writing skills to students. All of this can be done while teachers are introducing students to library skills. links that show students where and how to put books back where they belong. There are locations that help teacher show students how to take care of books and where to find different types of books in the library sessions. system. One of the most popular aspects of this website are the that are full of creative lessons. =====

-Read Write Think-
[] This website is jammed packed with teacher resources. It gives teachers guidance in afterschool programs, community stories and opportunities for professional development. There are hundreds of proven lesson plans for all ages of students. There are links that allow students opportunities to uses technology while completing interactive activities. Read Write Think also gives teachers resources when working with differentiation, special education, and classroom management.

-Spelling City-
[] This website is designed for teachers who are looking for creative ways to spice up their students spelling and vocabulary skills. There are over 42,000 spelling words with customizable sentences and definitions. There is a REAL person who says each word and places it in sentence form. It provides a free home pages for teachers and parents to save lists. There are teacher training videos are for both students teachers and parents, showing them how to use SpellingCity.com. The link provides teachers with free printable handwriting work sheets and tons of Free teaching resources with lists and lesson plans for teaching high frequency words, compound words, sound-alike words (their, there, they're), contractions, possessives, and more. There are also lists for learning state capitals. Students love the free games that help students of all grade levels and skill levels.