PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Our Model for 21st Century PD

We strongly believe that the most effective 21st century teaching and learning takes place in a "blended" environment -- part online and part face-to-face. Our professional development model follows this approach. Upon enrolling in the workshop or workshop series, teachers are subscribed to our online Moodle course environment, where they have access both before and after the workshop to a suite of online materials and learning tools, including forum discussions with their instructors and other workshop participants. Prior to the workshop, participants are welcome to review materials and ask questions in preparation for the session. Following the workshop, teachers can continue the conversation with the instructor and their colleagues. Membership in the online learning community is permanent; once a teacher joins their account remains forever, and access to prior courses continues as long as they like. The mantra of the 21st century learner is "anytime, anywhere". We think it's about time their PD caught up!

The Offerings
Our PD workshops are grouped into topical strands comprised of five, day-long workshops. Subscribing to a strand entitles the district to 16 seats in each of the workshops. Seats are transferable, so the same teacher need not attend all five workshops (though this is the most effective mode of learning and retention). With this transferability in mind, each session is designed to be modular, requiring no prior attendance for participating teachers. Districts may wish to form partnerships or consortia to take maximum advantage of the seats and resources offered.

The Strands (with sample course titles from a menu of more than 50)

• 21st Century Technology Across the Curriculum: Free Podcasting Using Audacity; E-Portfolio, Social Media and Creative Learning; Blended Learning Environments and Moodle; Copyright, Creative Commons, and the Internet; Internet Safety; Technology for Differentiated Instruction; The Student Cell Phone is Your Friend

• 21st Century Math and Science: Tracking the H1N1 Outbreak Using GIS Tools; Infusing Biotechnology into Traditional Biology Curricula; From Chemistry to Nanotechnology; Teaching Algebra Using Scratch From MIT

• 21st Century Humanities: Blogging and Internet Journalism; Digital Storytelling; GIS in the Social Studies Classroom; Shakespeare, Meet Second Life

• 21st Century Media, Business, and Technology: Image, Video and Web Editing in Open Source; From Marketing to E-Commerce; From HTML to Wordpress; Pencil, Blender, and Celtx for Animation and Moviemaking

Cost
The cost of a 16-seat subscription to a five-workshop strand is $10,000 ($125 per teacher, per workshop). This cost includes permanent membership in the online community of teachers and trainers, complete with access to electronic resources (standards mapping, lesson plans, videos, Web sites, images, and documents) and discussion forums.

Technology Across the Curriculum

Blogging and Internet Journalism Across the Curriculum
Level: Introductory
Age: Middle/High School
Grassroots journalism is taking over how information is spread. While the media is still "king," its power is falling—fast. Citizen journalists are infiltrating the media with a small arsenal of cell phone cameras and blogs. People are reporting on everything from science to Big Foot, Kanye West to Shakespeare. The blogosphere is humming with shocking allegations, revelations, and well-researched information. Some of it’s fact, a lot of it isn’t. By today’s standards, the definition of “news” is much different than it was 5, 10, or 50 years ago. This workshop highlights how to cultivate the skills and talents required to find a story, do the research, and present it to the world. The most difficult part? Figuring out how to answer one crucial question: why do people care about what I have to say?

From Podcasting to Audacity
Level: Introductory
Age: Elementary/Middle/High School
You know your students love to make recordings and share them (with friends, family, or with the world), but your school can't afford an iPod for every student. You don't have Apple's Garageband. You might have thought your students couldn't create podcasts without the "pod". Audacity is a free, cross-platform alternative to the world of Macintosh that allows students to record, edit, and publish their work at no additional cost. All you need is a computer and a microphone to get up and running. This workshop will lead you through the Audacity software, provide online and print resources (including lesson plans for "non-pod" casting projects like oral histories), and get you and your students up and running.

The E-Portfolio
Level: Intermediate
Age: High School
Portfolios aren’t just for artists anymore. Employers and college admissions offices are flocking to social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Twitter to get a look at young adults. But what is an e-Portfolio, and how is it different? E-Portfolios are professional profiles and collections of an individual’s best work, compiled and delivered to a college or company via CD or an online link. If a piece of work exemplifies who that student is and wants to be—whether it be a science research paper, an award-winning photograph, an insightful and reflective blog post about a volunteer experience—it belongs in their e-Portfolio. With so much software and so many social and professional networks out there, it’s hard to know where to start. This workshop will show you how to get things underway.

Social Media: Creative Learning in the 21st Century
Level: Introductory
Age: High School
Modern students interact with friends and family and receive entertainment and information online--usually through social networks. How many of your students heard of Michael Jackson's death on a Facebook feed? It's likely they were immediately researching his life and achievements on YouTube. They probably forgot the reason they went online in the first place. How can teachers compete in the 21st century? In a recent interview with Wired Magazine, Andrea Lunsford said, "I think we're in the midst of a literacy revolution the likes of which we haven't seen since Greek civilization." The article went on to say that technology isn't killing our ability to write; it's reviving it—and pushing our literacy in bold new directions. With a focus on Facebook this interactive workshop demonstrates how to safely and effectively tap into this technology.

Blended Learning Environments and Moodle
Level: Introductory
Age: High School
A 2005 IBM White Paper validated blended learning as achieving superior retention and performance over a traditional face-to-face or stand-alone online model. Since that time, the Center for 21st Century Skills has developed and implemented a blended learning environment that has reached more than 2,500 Connecticut high school students. This workshop will share the expertise and best practices our organization has developed. What are the most effective options for course design in the blended environment? What makes Moodle a cost-effective and hassle-free alternative to Blackboard? How can school districts and classroom teachers put Moodle forums, journals, blogs, and wikis to use in breaking down the four walls of the 20th century classroom? Sharing student work, sample curricula, and lesson plans, and working through the "nitty gritty" of Moodle hosting, this workshop will take you from where you are to where you want to be.

Copyright, Creative Commons, and the Internet
Level: Introductory
Age: High School
With collaborative encyclopedias like Wikipedia, blogs, open source software projects, and online photo sharing flooding the Internet, many students forget the legal and ethical implications of using someone else’s work without proper attribution. Creative Commons, a non-profit organization based in San Francisco, is pushing a new initiative called “copyleft”—an alternative to copyright. Instead of “all rights reserved,” authors now have the option to license their work with “some rights reserved”. This allows Internet denizens to share, remix, and mashup other people’s work, provided they attribute the original work to the original author. This workshop shows how to find creative commons material online and use it in the classroom to further student innovation and creativity.

21st Century Science and Mathematics

Tracking the H1N1 Outbreak Using Geographic Information System (GIS) Tools
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Age: High School
In April of 2009, a California patient suffering from "unusual" flu symptoms was the first diagnosed case of H1N1. Since then, the virus has spread to 41 states, infecting over 150,000, and it is expected that 60% of Americans will be exposed. How and where is H1N1 spreading? How can its spread be stopped? In this workshop, you will learn how to use GIS in your classroom in an epidemiological investigation of the global spread of H1N1. You will learn how to use this technology to track the spread of the virus, predict future outbreaks, and work to propose strategies to inhibit this pandemic.

Infusing Biotechnology Into Traditional Biology Curricula
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Age: High School (Note: this can also be adapted to a beginner level and for middle school)
This century will be shaped by the developments and decisions made surrounding biotechnology. Stem cells, genetic modification, pharming, cloning, and forensics are just a few topics that impact our lives. Many of our students will become scientists, but all of them need to become citizens who are capable of making the decisions that will be facing us this century. In this workshop, you will learn how to use biotechnology to teach traditional biology content. You will become skilled at infusing biotech labs and activities into each of your biology units while meeting the state frameworks. These innovative tools will newly engage your students in learning and pursuing science.

From Chemistry to Nanotechnology
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Age: High School
Nanotechnology is on the verge of revolutionizing our world. Nanotech has the potential to transform our approach to medicine, transportation, beauty, construction, sports, and every industry mankind has developed. Nanobots, color-changing paints, dirt-resistant fabrics, and nano-based solar cells are just a few glimpses into our future. In this workshop, you will learn about this cutting edge field, learn how to integrate nanotech labs and activities into your traditional chemistry course, and walk away with the tools necessary to bring your students into this new and emerging field.

An Energy Task Force: Its Importance and Relevance
Level: Introductory
Age: Elementary/Middle/High School
As educators in the 21st century, we have the task of supporting the development of a sustainable and environmentally responsible society. The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, stated that "[t]he situation is so desperately serious that any delay could push us past the tipping point, beyond which the ecological, financial and human costs would increase dramatically. We are at a crossroads: one path leads to a comprehensive climate change agreement, the other one to oblivion.” In December 2009, world leaders will meet in Copehagan to discuss this crisis and the potential ways to reduce energy consumption. We all have our part to play. This simple workshop provides basic cross-curricular activities that can help establish an energy task force in your school and help reduce your energy costs at the same time!

21st Century Media, Business, and Technology

Coming soon.

21st Century Humanities

Digital Storytelling: A 21st Century Classroom
Level: Introductory
Age: High School
We are all storytellers--at work, at home, and in the classroom. Daniel H. Pink writes in his book A Whole New Mind (2005), that storytelling is one of the six essential abilities you'll need to make your way across this emerging landscape. Students in the 21st century learn, read, and write digitally. Unfortunately, the majority of this sometimes happens outside the classroom. This interactive workshop explores the many available digital resources for teachers and students that will help transform their classroom and better create, communicate, and help them comprehend a simple or complex story using digital media that students of all ages respect and understand.