Understanding the Digital Generation


Book Description

An innovative look at reshaping the educational experiences of 21st-century learners! Inspiring thoughtful discussion that leads to change, this reader-friendly resource examines how the new digital landscape is transforming teaching and learning in an environment of standards, accountability, and high-stakes testing and why informed leadership is so critical. The authors present powerful strategies and compelling viewpoints, underscore the necessity of developing relevant classroom experiences, and discuss: Attributes common among digital learners The concepts of neuroplasticity and the hyperlinked mind An educational approach that supports traditional literacy skills alongside 21st-century fluencies Evaluation methods that encompass how digital generation students process new information




Literacy Is Still Not Enough


Book Description

Modern fluencies provide a platform for authentic teaching, learning, and assessment While reading, writing, and arithmetic remain important, they are no longer enough. For learners to thrive, they must move beyond traditional literacies to modern fluencies—the unconscious mental processes that are learned, adapted, and applied in the context of real-world problems and challenges. In this book, the authors unpack the fluencies (solution, information, creativity, communication, collaboration, and global citizenship) to reflect the relentless social, cultural, and economic shifts of modern times. Practical resources are presented alongside: Authentic Unit Plan Exemplars for each fluency Assessment rubric examples Discussion questions Learners today must master an entirely different set of essential skills and knowledge needed to succeed than previous generations. This book provides a practical framework for integrating new fluencies into traditional curriculum.




Apps for Learning


Book Description

Provides detailed descriptions of forty apps that can be used in high school classrooms.




Getting It Right


Book Description

A fresh look at technology planning for schoolsThis book is designed to help educational leaders, decision makers, and teachers wade through the complexities of aligning technology planning with learning goals. Organized around a problem-solving model based on solution fluency, the authors outline how to:Address state, regional, or provincial standards Improve test scores · Meet curricular requirements Foster relevant staff development Provide measurable accountability for technology expenditures Included are sidebars with advice and comments from educators who have successfully integrated technology initiatives with learning goals. Their experiences help light the path through the journey toward "getting it right" for 21st century learners.




Literacy Is NOT Enough


Book Description

How to upgrade literacy instruction for digital learners Educating students to traditional literacy standards is no longer enough. If students are to thrive in their academic and 21st century careers, then independent and creative thinking hold the highest currency. The authors explain in detail how to add these new components of literacy: Solution Fluency Information Fluency Creativity Fluency Collaboration Fluency Students must master a completely different set of skills to succeed in a culture of technology-driven automation, abundance, and access to global labor markets. The authors present an effective framework for integrating comprehensive literacy or fluency into the traditional curriculum.




Apps for Learning, Middle School


Book Description

Turn your classroom into a digital adventure in learning! In the 21st-century classroom, mobile learning plays an increasingly significant role for our students. The authors take you on an exciting journey through the world of educational apps. Learn about some of the best apps for middle school classrooms, such as: Creative storytelling apps like Puppet Pals HD Powerful language skill builders like Play2Learn and SpellBoard NASA HD and Solar Walk, which take you on a trip across the galaxy Book Creator to make your own unique digital books Drawing Pad to produce a work of art




Global Trends 2040


Book Description

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.




Windows on the Future


Book Description

"I would like to see this book become required reading for every teacher or administrator before they break for the summer. Its simplified descriptions make it easily understood by non-technical people. I will make sure that all of my classes read it!"-Shirley CampbellDirector, Computer and Curriculum Inquiry CenterUniversity of Pittsburgh, PA"McCain and Jukes build a case that the Information Age has not yet peaked and awaken us to the challenge of the dramatic technological changes we will surely see within our life time."-Frank Buck, Principal, Graham SchoolTalladega, AL"Windows on the Future summarizes key developments and concepts making them readily understandable. Though I've been a member of the World Future Society and an avid reader of books for over 30 years, I am not aware of any other publication like this for practicing educators. This would be very valuable for professional development study groups."-Karen L. Tichy, Associate Superintendent for InstructionCatholic Education OfficeSt. Louis, MOGet prepared to help your students move into the technological future!The world as we knew it ten years ago no longer exists. Ten years from now, today's world will have recreated itself many times over. Windows on the Future shows educators how to help students cultivate the attitudes and skills necessary to leverage this monumental change for their benefit. Windows on the Future was designed to help the educator cope with changes created by technology and embrace a new mindset necessary to access the burgeoning technological advances. The goal is to keep schools and students relevant in the 21st Century, and McCain and Jukes offer new paradigms and frameworks to accomplish that.Critical issues explored include:Key trends for the new millennium The power of paradigm Education in the future New skills for students New roles for educators The need for vision




Cosmic Citizens and Moonshot Thinking


Book Description

From award-winning educator, innovation expert, and Global Teacher Prize finalist, Rohan Roberts, comes a provocative look at why our current education system is not fit for purpose and why we need to overhaul it. Cosmic Citizens and Moonshot Thinking: Education in an Age of Exponential Technologies takes a fresh approach to what we need to do differently to prepare our children for a world of exponential technologies, disruptive innovations, and ubiquitous A.I. In this groundbreaking book, Roberts outlines the purpose of education in a world of increased outsourcing and automation and explains how we can future-proof our youth to survive and thrive in a world of accelerating change. Through interactions with corporate leaders, interviews with principals, meetings with parents, and surveys of students, this book considers how the best and brightest students would overhaul their education system. The book highlights the role of neuroscience in education and explores several fascinating concepts such as radical openness, abundance mindsets, the gig economy, the technological singularity, intelligent optimism, the age of imagination, humanics, transhumanism, and the importance of Enlightenment values as we advance into the 21st Century. Underpinning this book is a constant focus on the importance of bringing a sense of awe into education and fostering a sense of cosmic wonder when contemplating human purpose and human existence. Written in a style that is discursive, contemplative, and with a sense of urgency, this book will appeal to students, parents, teachers, school principals, and to anyone who recognises that the only real and long-lasting way to create a better society is to first fix our education system.




The Fourth Industrial Revolution


Book Description

World-renowned economist Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, explains that we have an opportunity to shape the fourth industrial revolu­tion, which will fundamentally alter how we live and work. Schwab argues that this revolution is different in scale, scope and complexity from any that have come before. Characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the developments are affecting all disciplines, economies, industries and governments, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. Artificial intelligence is already all around us, from supercomputers, drones and virtual assistants to 3D printing, DNA sequencing, smart thermostats, wear­able sensors and microchips smaller than a grain of sand. But this is just the beginning: nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than a strand of hair and the first transplant of a 3D printed liver are already in development. Imagine “smart factories” in which global systems of manu­facturing are coordinated virtually, or implantable mobile phones made of biosynthetic materials. The fourth industrial revolution, says Schwab, is more significant, and its ramifications more profound, than in any prior period of human history. He outlines the key technologies driving this revolution and discusses the major impacts expected on government, business, civil society and individu­als. Schwab also offers bold ideas on how to harness these changes and shape a better future—one in which technology empowers people rather than replaces them; progress serves society rather than disrupts it; and in which innovators respect moral and ethical boundaries rather than cross them. We all have the opportunity to contribute to developing new frame­works that advance progress.