My Top 10 Survival List for 21st Century Learners 1. A willingness to ask questions. 2. The ability to create media text. 3. The ability to distinguish fact from fiction. 4. The ability to detect credibility. 5. The ability to think critically about what you view online. 6. The ability to communicate through media text. 7. The ability to reflect on your findings. 8. Having proper Netiquette. 9. A willingness to use new technology you are unfamiliar with. 10. A technical skills toolbox. |
Learning and teaching in the 21st Century has taken a drastic turn from textbooks to technology driven and the change is continuously evolving at a very rapid pace. This top ten list is comprised of skills I hope my students are able to develop while in my classroom.
Having these skills will not only benefit students inside the classroom and on an educational level, but is something that they will carry with them and continue to develop in all aspects of their lives. Technology has transformed our classrooms as well as many different fields of work, which my students might be interested in entering. Developing these basic skills will allow for any new technology or tools to be more easily learned and used by my students as well as myself.
This short video was filmed, directed and produced by myself as a social studies assignment. I had an absolute blast making this film and taking the time to ask my grandparents some questions that I hadn't taken the time to ask before this project. It was awesome to see the similarities and differences between their answers, as they both come from completely different parts of the world and are from totally different socio-economic classes. With immigration to Canada being a hot topic in today's media, it was refreshing to listen to two 80 year old immigrants who came to Canada in search of a better life and are complete success stories. They embraced Canada and all of its traditions and values and accepted them as their own all while making their mark on this country and developing a legacy to be left behind.
Sandbox #3 - Prezi
Are you a student like me who is tired of coming up with creative ways to make a PowerPoint presentation? Have you exhausted all of the different PowerPoint features and are looking for a new tool to make your presentations different than everybody else’s? If so, take a look at the new and unique online tool, Prezi, which allows you to construct a presentation in an interesting and easy to follow manner that will be different and visually appealing for your audience. Because of the wide range of options and tools Prezi offers, you are able to give the same amount of information to your audience, but you are able to choose the steps you are going to take to get there.
Prezi is a free (basic) Web 2.0 tool that requires its users to visit their website, create a username and password, and login in order to begin creating presentations. Now if you’re anything like me, you will require some training before jumping into this website. Luckily for us novice media creators, Prezi has a fantastic Learn & Support page in which you are able to get answers to frequently asked questions, watch tutorial videos and sample Prezi’s to familiarize yourself with how the tool works. This is very beneficial for most users because it allows you to have an understanding of the tool before starting to use it. You are also able to ask specific questions that may not be on their frequently asked questions list, and will get an e-mail reply from a technician.
Prezi is a presentation tool that allows you to present your information in a creative way that holds your audiences attention. Unlike typical presentation tools, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Prezi allows you to tell a story through your presentation, and choose visually captivating transitions that move around on different parts of the screen, holding your audiences attention from beginning to end. Prezi presentations can be compared to a map, each country or part of the world, providing different information and materials. Users can insert photos, music and also imbed videos and different URL links directly into their presentation, which is an excellent feature that allows presentations to be seamless from beginning to end. On several occasions, I have found myself particularly irritated using PowerPoint and not being able to open up the link to a video I’ve imbedded in the presentation. The last thing you want to worry about during a presentation is whether or not your links and videos are going to be effective.
Students in a classroom setting can use Prezi as an alternative to Bristol board or PowerPoint presentations. Prezi is a great way to engage students because there are more requirements than simply typing up information, there are decisions to be made about how you want your presentation to look and sound and how you want your audience to feel while watching your presentation. Instructors can also use Prezi to present their lessons to students, which is a good idea if you are planning on introducing the tool to your students for them to use.
As long as you are using the free version of the tool, Prezi typically only requires you to provide your name and e-mail address for their membership purposes, therefore there is limited opportunity for identity fraud issues with this particular tool. Moreover, Prezi has implemented several security measures to ensure that all of your personal information and presentation materials are kept private, therefore the risks that students face are minimal with this tool. That being said, Prezi recommends that its users be at least 18 years of age, or have gained permission from their parents or an adult (teacher, in my case). So long as students are using Prezi effectively, there are not many ways in which students can misuse the tool, however, erring on the side of caution and keeping a close eye on how students are using a new tool, is always a good idea in the classroom.
Now that you’ve learned a little bit more about Prezi and some of the many features the tool has, I encourage you to do some research for yourself and give it a try! Your prezentation marks will thank you for it!
Are you a student like me who is tired of coming up with creative ways to make a PowerPoint presentation? Have you exhausted all of the different PowerPoint features and are looking for a new tool to make your presentations different than everybody else’s? If so, take a look at the new and unique online tool, Prezi, which allows you to construct a presentation in an interesting and easy to follow manner that will be different and visually appealing for your audience. Because of the wide range of options and tools Prezi offers, you are able to give the same amount of information to your audience, but you are able to choose the steps you are going to take to get there.
Prezi is a free (basic) Web 2.0 tool that requires its users to visit their website, create a username and password, and login in order to begin creating presentations. Now if you’re anything like me, you will require some training before jumping into this website. Luckily for us novice media creators, Prezi has a fantastic Learn & Support page in which you are able to get answers to frequently asked questions, watch tutorial videos and sample Prezi’s to familiarize yourself with how the tool works. This is very beneficial for most users because it allows you to have an understanding of the tool before starting to use it. You are also able to ask specific questions that may not be on their frequently asked questions list, and will get an e-mail reply from a technician.
Prezi is a presentation tool that allows you to present your information in a creative way that holds your audiences attention. Unlike typical presentation tools, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Prezi allows you to tell a story through your presentation, and choose visually captivating transitions that move around on different parts of the screen, holding your audiences attention from beginning to end. Prezi presentations can be compared to a map, each country or part of the world, providing different information and materials. Users can insert photos, music and also imbed videos and different URL links directly into their presentation, which is an excellent feature that allows presentations to be seamless from beginning to end. On several occasions, I have found myself particularly irritated using PowerPoint and not being able to open up the link to a video I’ve imbedded in the presentation. The last thing you want to worry about during a presentation is whether or not your links and videos are going to be effective.
Students in a classroom setting can use Prezi as an alternative to Bristol board or PowerPoint presentations. Prezi is a great way to engage students because there are more requirements than simply typing up information, there are decisions to be made about how you want your presentation to look and sound and how you want your audience to feel while watching your presentation. Instructors can also use Prezi to present their lessons to students, which is a good idea if you are planning on introducing the tool to your students for them to use.
As long as you are using the free version of the tool, Prezi typically only requires you to provide your name and e-mail address for their membership purposes, therefore there is limited opportunity for identity fraud issues with this particular tool. Moreover, Prezi has implemented several security measures to ensure that all of your personal information and presentation materials are kept private, therefore the risks that students face are minimal with this tool. That being said, Prezi recommends that its users be at least 18 years of age, or have gained permission from their parents or an adult (teacher, in my case). So long as students are using Prezi effectively, there are not many ways in which students can misuse the tool, however, erring on the side of caution and keeping a close eye on how students are using a new tool, is always a good idea in the classroom.
Now that you’ve learned a little bit more about Prezi and some of the many features the tool has, I encourage you to do some research for yourself and give it a try! Your prezentation marks will thank you for it!
“Don’t all those little tweets, don’t all those little sips of online communication add up to one big gulp of real conversation?” (Turkle) The answer is no. Face to face personal communication is the only way to truly, deeply learn and grow from one another. It is frightening that we are raising a generation that would rather “text than talk”, because social communication is the single most important skill a human can have. Devices, social media, and online communication are fantastic tools to use, but they cannot replace social personal communication altogether. The obsession with technology in today’s society is dangerous, particularly for our future generations. Sherry Turkle says that we are designing technology that will “give us the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship” (Turkle), I believe this to be true. We are all guilty of relying on technology to help us communicate quicker, more to the point, and easier than actual face-to-face communication and relationships. While technology allows for communication to be perhaps easier, we should not be unwilling to put work and effort into our relationships; nothing worth having comes easy. As a future educator and future parent, I fear for my students and children’s relationships and ability to communicate. How can we use technology to it’s fullest potential without replacing conversation with digital connection? We must work together to teach the youth the importance of relationships in order to ensure that future generations are effectively socialized.
Sherry Turkle. Ted Talk. 2012.
Sherry Turkle. Ted Talk. 2012.