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What does 21st Century Learning look like?
This is a professional learning activity for you and your colleagues to discover and identify the major characteristics, features, and practices of 21st Century Learning and Teaching. Watch each of the 6 videos below of 21st Century elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. As you watch each video look for what the students are doing, what the teachers are doing, the tools they are using, and the learning environments in which they do their work, and make a list of the key characteristics of 21st Century Learning that you see. When you are finished, look at your list and group these characteristics as best you can in categories: curriculum, assessment, pedagogy, technology, learning environments, etc. -- Bob, September 2013
Note re the videos: The 6 videos below of innovative 21st Century schools are selections from longer videos and together play for 34 minutes. Links to the full videos are at the bottom of this page, along with links to web profiles of the schools. If one of the videos doesn't load, just refresh the page.
As you watch each video, list the key characteristics of 21st Century Learning that you see.
1. Wooranna Park Primary School, Melbourne, Australia
Now review your notes and reflect on what you listed as key practices in curriculum, assessment, pedagogy, technology, learning environments, etc. If you are doing this activity with a colleague or colleagues, share with them your findings, listen to their findings, and discuss. Do this after each video.
2. Wooranna’s Stimulating Learning Platforms
3. 
National Inventors Hall of Fame School, Akron, Ohio
Note: This CNN video may be preceded by a 15-second commercial, but it's worth the wait! -- Bob
4. Manor ISD and Manor New Tech, Manor, TX
5. New Line Learning, Maidstone, Kent, England
Note: There are two videos here, the first a quick look
at NLL Academy, the second a deeper look
at the Learning Plaza and teacher commentary of how learning takes place
in the plaza.
6. New Tech High @ Coppell, Coppell, TX
Finally review all your notes, reflect on what you listed, by yourself or with your colleagues, and categorize the key practices in these categories: curriculum, assessment, pedagogy, technology, learning environments, etc.
To learn more about these schools, see links below to web profiles of the schools and to the full videos.