After again getting on the Fischbowl and reading the article in the Washington Post I have other concerns/questions/ideas. (Of course you do Barb :) Anyway, the statement that the computers didn't improve student achievement bothered me. First of all we aren't testing all achievement. How do we know that it didn't increase technology literacy, reading for valitity, students' organization and ability to share note, ideas, and hypothosis with others, application of concepts, synthesis of content, crossculicular connections? What exactly do those achievent tests to which they are refering in the article test? Assessments are going to need some huge adjustments as this wave of 21st century takes form.
I agree with the article and Karl's comments on the Fischbowl that there will be a dire need for staff developement before lap tops become an essential school supply for all students. But we need to ask ourselves, when we are in our offices at our desks how much are we on our computers?
By the way, sorry that I may be the most annoying blogger ever :)

After reading Karl's last blog on the fischbowl I have really been thinking and evaluating teaching and what I want my students to walk away with. The quote from the Time Magazine article that really got me thinking was the following question, "Whether an entire generation of kids will fail to make the grade in the global economy because they can't think their way through abstract problems, work in teams, distinguish good information from bad or speak a language other than English." (Time Dec. 10, 2006) I think that as educators, we need to really start evaluating our world today, the jobs of tomorrow and the essential information (learning) for our students. I am extremely guilty of learning for the tests when I was in school.
As I work twice a week in the study center I am constantly saying, "I know I was taught that and received an A in that class in high school/college, but I have no idea how to do it." I realize that we won't remember everything that we are exposed to. However I think that we have got to figure out a better way to "teach". Not just an exposure to facts then a test on those facts. In high school I "learned" about the Hollocaust and in college I "learned" it again; yet I never really understood it until I spend a day at the Hollocaust museum reading, experiencing, seeing, and crying that I feel educated about the event and what it meant.
So my question becomes how do I help my students experience the content to help them internalize it, use it and synthesis it so they can apply it in future situation.
When I hear 90% of our population say, "I took foreign language for 4 years and can't say a word," I think somewhere something went terribly wrong.

I enjoyed the meeting on November 30th as we dicussed posing a problem to help the students start their thoughts/inquiry. Our group had a lot of good discussions on how to start implementing many of our constructivist ideas into the classroom. I am going to start approaching the vocabulary in each chapter in a different way. For example our next chapter in year 2 is shopping. Instead of giving the students the vocabulary for the chapter then continually drilling that vocabulary in different activities, I can pose the question, "what words would you need to know to successfully shop for a day in down town Mexico City?" Then in groups the students could construct a list of vocabulary. I bet that the words in each group would be incredibly similar, if not the same. In addition, I'm sure the vocabulary would be almost identical to the book. I could tell them to make sure they think of verbs, nouns, adjectives, and expressions. Then we could move on to finding the Spanish words for the vocabulary and using it in dialogs and other activities.
I think the by in to these words would be awesome, as the students themselves said this is what we need to know. I guess I could then approach every chapter this way as well.
To me, this part of 21st Century is exciting. To discuss how to change/tweak my classroom in incorporate more constructivist methods to allow the students to really be the center of their education and hopefully increse the metacognitive/critically thinking skills of the students at the same time.