In this unit you will learn about 21st Century Skills and how they relate to education. You will report on what you've learned by creating a document, presentation, or chart using Internet collaboration tools.

Objectives

1) Identify 21st Century Skills
2) Categorize 21st Century Skills

Readings

Access the following readings from the http://del.icio.us/virtualedworld/21stcenturyskills network (del.icio.us.com is a social bookmarking application).

1) The Intellectual and Policy Foundations of the 21st Century Skills Framework, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2007.

2) Virtual Schools and 21st Century Skills, written by The North American Council for Online Learning And the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, November 2006.

Optional:

3) Chapter 3, pp 59-88, Online Games for 21st Century Skills of Gibson, D., Aldrich, C., and Prensky, M. (2007). Games and Simulations in Online Learning: Research and Development Frameworks, Information Science Publishing, PA. See http://del.icio.us/virtualedworld/books.

Video

Access the following videos from http://del.icio.us/virtualedworld/video and watch:

1) You Tube video, A Vision of Students Today (5 minutes).

2) Frontline video, Growing Up Online: Chapter 1: Living Their Lives Essentially Online (7:34 minutes), and Chapter 2: A Revolution in Classrooms and Social Life (9:04 minutes).

Activities

For this activity you will create a document, presentation, chart, etc. using an Internet collaboration tool such as Google Docs or Zoho.

1. Register for an account for the Internet collaboration tool you select; some suggestions are located at http://del.icio.us/virtualedworld/collaboration.

2. In the document you prepare categorize some of the 21st Century Skills from the readings, video, or any other resources you have collected.

3. Publish and share the document on http://virtualedworld.ning.com in the 21st Century Skills forum.

Note: You must register and become a member at http://virtualedworld.ning.com to post or notify me of your publication.

Today's K-12 students are considered digital natives who are, most likely, very comfortable using technology by being exposed to technology through digital gaming. In this unit you will become familiar with four learning theories as they relate to gaming and each other. You will post responses using Internet communication and collaboration tools.

Objectives

1) Identify four learning theories as they relate to games.
2) Apply a learning theory to learning.

Readings

1) Read *Chapter 2 (Becker, K.), Page 21 of Gibson, D., Aldrich, C., and Prensky, M. (2007). Games and Simulations in Online Learning: Research and Development Frameworks, Information Science Publishing, PA. Access from http://del.icio.us/virtualedworld/books (del.icio.us.com is a social bookmarking application).

2) Refer to the *Learning Theory and Gaming concept map in a presentation that consists of the following theories as discussed in the reading above and how the are related to gaming and each other.

• Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction
• Reigeluth's Elaboration Theory
• Bruner's Psycho-Cultural Approach
• Merrill's First Principles

Watch

You Tube Videos. Access from http://del.icio.us/virtualedworld/video.

1) No Gamer Left Behind (8:13).

2) Serious Games (3:19).

3) Gaming (5:57).

Activities

Using the options below, write a response about how you might use attributes of one (or more of the theories) in your classroom. Keep in mind aspects of gamer characteristics you've read about and seen in the videos. There are no limitations to how you will apply the theories or components thereof; use your creativity and existing knowledge to create an effective activity or lesson.

You must register and become a member at http://virtualedworld.ning.com to post or notify me of your post using the options below. For example, if you choose Option #3 go to the virtualedworld.ning Learning Theory forum and post the link to your blog.

Option #1
Go to http://virtualedworld.ning.com register and post your response in the forum named "Learning Theory".

Introduction

Internet-based technologies abundantly exist for personal, business, and educational use; Curriki or del.icio.us are good examples. In this module you will learn the background of Web 2.0 technologies and become familiar with some of those technologies.

Objectives

Readings

1) Horizon Report 2008 Edition, a collaboration between the New Media Consortium and Educause Learning Initiative. Access from http://del.icio.us/virtualedworld/web2.0 (direct link http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2008-Horizon-Report.pdf, accessed April 14, 2008).

2)  O'Reilly -- What is Web 2.0? Read Page 2 Section 2, Harnassing Collective Intelligence. Access from http://del.icio.us/virtualedworld/web2.0 or direct link http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html, accessed April 14, 2008.

3) Metaverse Roadmap: Pathways to the 3D Web. Read the Introduction and the section on Virtual Worlds. Access from http://del.icio.us/virtualedworld/web2.0 or direct link http://www.metaverseroadmap.org/overview/index.html, accessed April 15, 2008.

Watch

You Tube Videos (access from http://del.icio.us/virtualedworld/video).

1) Web 2.0 - An intro in 5 minutes.

Activities

Choose one (or both):

1) How can you use Web 2.0 technologies in your classroom? Answer this question by posting a response using the options below. You may also respond by posting concerns and issues you see with using Web 2.0 technologies.

2) Virtual Worlds are a relatively new technology for educators. Presently, Second Life (SL) is the most prominent and contains a large number of educational resources. For this activity you must register for a (free) SL account and create your avatar; remember when you choose a name it cannot be changed. I strongly recommend that if you are not familiar with SL, read the items that are listed here http://del.icio.us/virtualedworld/learnSL doing that will help orient you to seeking resources.

You can visit and try the obstacle course at the the Kuttara Zen Japanese Water Garden, specifically designed for Newbies at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kuttara/118/58/21. Remember, you must have registered for a (free) account and avatar.

You may post a your thoughts and experiences on the virtualedworld.ning on the Virtual Worlds and Education forum.

Options for posting your response:

You must register and become a member at http://virtualedworld.ning.com to post or notify me of your post using the options below. For example, if you choose Option #3 go to the virtualedworld.ning Learning Theory forum and post the link to your blog.

Option #1
Go to http://virtualedworld.ning.com register and post your response in the forum named "Web 2.0 Technologies".