Welcome to the 21st Century

Teaching and learning in the 21st century has extended past the traditional literacy skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic. The invasion of the Internet, media, and other means of information and communication technologies (ICT) are changing the nature of literacy. As a result, new literacies have emerged that are critical success factors for excelling in the 21st century. These new literacies include: information literacy, media literacy, and ICT literacy (Schrum & Levin, 2009). Dr. Donald J. Leu argues that it is essential for educators to prepare their students for the future by helping students to "identify important problems, gather and critically evaluate relevant information from information networks, use this information to resolve central issues, and then clearly communicate the solution to others" (2002b). These skills can be developed by incorporating technology into the classroom. 

 

Leu describes and provides examples of several instructional frameworks to integrate new literacies and 21st century skills into the classroom. The four instructional models of Internet use, include: Internet Workshop, Internet Project, Internet Inquiry, and WebQuest. Internet Workshop and WebQuest are easy models to start with if you are new to incorporating technology into the classroom. Both models do not require a lot of advance planning and easily relate to the curriculum. A word of caution: WebQuests are complete lesson experiences, it is important to review a WebQuest to ensure that it meets your learning objectives and requires students to think critically (Leu, 2000). 

Internet Project and Internet Workshop prepare the student for a collaborative workplace. Internet Workshop requires students to independently research the same topic as their teammates, and then share and exchange their findings. Similarly, Internet Project requires students to utilize collaboration skills. However, in this case, students are collaborating with a classroom in another part of the country or world. Internet Projects requires a lot of up front planning and cooperation between participating schools, so it is not recommended that this be an educator's first application of technology in the classroom. Internet Projects connect your students to another culture and prepare your students for real world collaboration with the global community that they will likely encounter as adults (Leu, 2000a). 

Lastly, Internet Inquiry is similar to Internet Projects in that it is an exercise that typically takes longer to complete. Internet Inquiry is an instructional model where students pursue a topic or idea that interests them. Because students' select their own inquiry question, they are more invested in the research and excited to share their findings with their classmates (Leu, 2000a). Internet Inquiry requires students to utilize a variety of new literacy skills and is an excellent way to end a unit or school year. 

One example of incorporating technology into the classroom is to use Internet Workshop to introduce a new unit. If I were doing a unit on The Crucible, I would have students look at a few websites about life in Salem Village in 1692 and complete a KWL chart. The students would then join their groups and share their findings. This exercise would provide students with a little bit of historical and cultural context before beginning the play.

While I am not student teaching this fall, I look forward to trying out at least one of these instructional models once I do finally get into the classroom.  

Reference List 

Leu, D.J. (2000). Instructional workshop and webquests: two instructional models. Retrieved from http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~djleu/cue/thu_handout2.pdf.

Leu, D.J. (2002a). Canter video website. Retrieved from http://ctell.uconn.edu/canter/canter_video.cfm

Leu, D.J., Jr. (2002b). Internet Workshop: Making time for literacy [Exploring Literacy on the Internet department]. The Reading Teacher, 55(5). Retrieved from http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=/electronic/RT/2-02_Column/index.html

Schrum, L. & Levin, B. (2009). Leading 21st century schools: harnessing technology for engagement and achievement. California: Corwin.