Carrie Devlin
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Just a Thought

21st century Skills with a twist

6/12/2022

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The experts define 21st Century Learning Skills  in a variety of definitions. Some say that 21st Century Learning is an approach that “marries content with skill (Rich, 2010) , while another says it is  dynamic, self-directed modern learning using modern technology-based tools and yet another expert describes 21st Century Learning as leverging technology to meet the needs of the learner in a personalized environment (Rich, 2010). Perhaps we can all agree that 21 Century learning is learning a set of skills to apply to content knowledge and how to access 
technology in a way that engages and enhances student learning. technology in a way that engages and enhances student learning.
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 Challenge: 
The real challenge as a special education teacher is shifting the mindsets of educators to support their technology needs. Educators have an opportunity to move away from the Medical Model of Disability and adopt the Social Model of Disability. We can do this through implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) inside the classroom to support technological integration for all students. We must adjust our mindset from seeing the disability as the problem to adapting the world to the disability because we value all children. UDL removes barriers to learning to support the success of all students in the digital classroom.  
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Reflection Piece: 
What is 21st Century Learning for students with disabilities? From the lens of special education, I always identify the similarities as a jumping off point. Student's require skills to access the digital classroom. From here, the gap widens very quickly. 

All educators have an opportunity to consider accessibility, inclusive technology and innovation, which will increase equitable practices and develop skills for  the 21st century learner.

To learn more about 21st century learning for students with disabilities please watch my video. I hope you enjoy.



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References and Image Credit: 
CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http: //udlguidelines.cast.org

Devlin, C. (2022, June 12). 21st century learning with a twist. [Video]. YouTube. youtu.be/gISTFHVlgI4

Human, Erin. (2019). Disability 101: medical model vs social model. [Image]. EISFORERIN. https://eisforerin.com/posts/

Petrograd99. (2022). Cute toddlers playing in twister game at kindergarten. [Photograph].  Deposit Photos.     
depositphotos.com/43954949/stock-photo-cute-toddlers-playing-in-twister.htm


Rich, E. (2010, October, 11). How do you define 21st century learning. EducationWeek. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/how-do-you-define-21st-century-learning/2010/10
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​  Start at the Beginning

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Have you ever just wanted to skip over the whole process of being a novice learner? All of the mistakes, the uncertainty, cringeyness, lack of confidence, and general messiness of the learning process. A necessary place to begin. 

I found this video years ago when I first started teaching. Many of my days felt like this:  The Novice 

One main difference between experts and novices is that the expert’s organizational knowledge enables them to readily and efficiently identify patterns in order to ‘chunk’ information (Bransford et. al 2000). This ability provides experts to view a problem from a conceptual perspective or with the intent to understand the issue.
 

Another difference between the expert and novice is the expert's ability to efficiently and fluently retrieve knowledge to support problem-solving in new situations or learning. In my early years of teaching, I struggled with identifying students with academic disabilities (SLD). It is like a puzzle, yet the pieces are scattered and sometimes hidden. It was challenging to analyze the data and identify their learning patterns. As my content knowledge increased so did my pedagogical knowledge. As my PCK grew, my thinking changed in regards to teaching and learning. Therefore it would stand that as we learn to understand technology integration, we grow our understanding of its connections to our pedagogical content knowledge. 

Another tell-tale sign of the expert is their ability to adapt their knowledge and teaching to any classroom in any given opportunity. In fact, I would suggest that experts often look for opportunities to adapt their skills to a variety of teaching and learning settings. Experts are the artisans of their craft. 

​The novice must step out of their comfort zone to grasp these foundational pieces of learning in educational technology and technological integration in order to access a deeper understanding of how our PCK connects to technological knowledge.

To read more: revision2_cep_810_unit_1.pdf


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References, Media, and Image Credit: 


Bransford, J., Brown, A.L. & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. National Academy Press. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368.

Sagar, D. (2022).  [Photograph/Abraham Maslow Quote]. Quotefancy. quotefancy.com/quote/1010022/Abraham-Maslow-You-will-either-step-forward-into-growth-or-you-will-step-back-into-safety
 
Trending Happiest (2016, November 28) Trying to get through my day. [Video]. Facebook.  www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1897402760481052&ref=sharing ​



Photo used under Creative Commons from Didier Bigand
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