ePost #4: 21st Century Learning in a Globalizing World

The narrator of the video entitled “21st Century Education” produced by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) makes a strong case for the need for 21st century learning in the current classroom. We are living in a brave new world, where the push to become more creative problem solvers and better communicators is greater than ever before. Jobs qualifications and descriptions are different than they ever were before, encompassing multiple skill sets and the ability to communicate across and navigate a globalizing world. Because the definition of success has changed, education to become successful must be adapted as well.

The SAMR model outlines some of the capabilities of using technology in a 21st century classroom. The model ranges from fairly conservative measures of incorporating technology instead of using the “hard copy” equivalent (Substitution) to fundamentally rethinking a learning task through the use of technology (Redefinition).

The SAMR model is helpful because it provides teachers with concrete steps towards incorporating technology--a task that may seem overwhelming for tech savvy teachers, or downright impossible for the older generation of “digital immigrants.” Furthermore, the model offers a clarification about the purposes and possibilities within each category. Many examples in each stage can be found online, for every discipline. Finally, the model is useful because it can help a teacher reflect on where his or her own thinking and comfort level lies, and offers practical steps for growing in his or her application of technology in the classroom.

The SAMR model helped me conceptualize some of the activities I would do in my future Grade 10 history class. I considered how I would use technology to redefine a research activity into the different roles and ideas of world leaders during World War I.

In order to better understand the conflicting motivations for joining the war and how personalities shaped the course of the war and its outcome, students will choose to research a particular leader or key individual in World War I and create a fake Facebook profile for that person. Students may select significant figures such as Kaiser Wilhelm II, Otto von Bismarck, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Mata Hari, Woodrow Wilson, Gavrilo Princip, Edith Cavell, Georges Clemenceau, Czar Nicholas II, Czarina Alexandra, or another individual of their choosing. Rather than just lecturing the class on the historical figures of the war, we will modify our lesson by creating a digital online profile on historical figures that incorporates multimedia. This will not only enhance the traditional style of teaching, but will also provide a functional change to the 21st century classroom, through the use of technology. Students will research their character online, using online websites and fill out graphic organizers to help them document and systematize their research.

This is an example of a Fakebook profile for Joseph Stalin:

Once students have gathered enough information on their character, they will create a digital “Fakebook” profile for that person. Fakebook is an educational tool that allows students to build comprehensive profiles of historical figures by researching his or her likes and dislikes, career, political opinions, friendships and alliances, as well as document links with other historical figures. An activity like Fakebook allows students to summarize and synthesize their knowledge in a creative and dynamic way, in a language that makes sense for 21st century learners.

Fakebook template for students to fill out with their data:

The goal of this exercise is for students to understand the reasons world leaders were involved in World War I and the ways in which their interests, actions and decisions impacted world events. Fakebook is an excellent medium for this type of “biographical” exercise, since it makes use of a social media avenue, already familiar to students, and allows them to recast historical figures as living, breathing individuals in a contemporary format.