Week+2

One of the high point for me in this weeks readings and discussion in our educational technology class is about Apples Classrooms of Tomorrow or ACOT.

This project statrted to generate positive feedback as early as the 1980s, when researchers found better results in the California Achievement test coming from schools reported as computer-enriched. This concept is worth looking at under the next diagram, which come straight from the latest ACOT report named ACOT2:

21st Century Skills are in some researchers opinions as much as 97 percent coming from the use of computers. As educators, we need toconsider what we teach before we can evaluate how we teach it. An innovative vision of what the learning environment applies what we know about how people learn and adapting the best pedagogy to meet the needs of this generation of learners. Students should be engaged in relevant and contextual problem- and project-based learning designed to develop 21st century skills and provided using a multi-disciplinary approach.

This initiative also identifies the types and systems of assessments schools need to develop to fully capture the varied dimensions of 21st century learning as well as the independent role students need to take on in monitoring and adjusting their own learning. Assessments used in the classroom should increase relevant feedback to students, teachers, parents, and decision-makers and should be designed to continuously improve student learning and inform the learning environment. And all the scenarios in our class project need to be observed under this scope.

The best universities in the world, including some in China, India, Russia and Mexico acknowledge the concept of the "entreprenurial incubator". This concept is the fuel that drives today’s global economy and, in turn, its importance in both student learning and the school environment becomes paramount. As a result, schools should create a culture that supports and reinforces innovation for student learning and leverages the creativity and ingenuity of every adult and student to solve their unique problems. Additionally, the teaching and learning environment should generate the continuous development of these skills.

ACOT focuses in the appropriate recognition to the personal, professional, and familial relationships that determine the health, growth, and cognitive development of a child within the family, school, and community. Specifically, each student should have a clear and purposeful connection to the social environment in school, with at least one adult who is purposefully in tune with the student’s learning preferences, learning interests, and social connections. Many times this adult comes from the community at largeand not from the student's home. Unfortunately, we are epxperiencing an era of distrust in American society that deprives our student form meaninful mentoring opportunities.

The most visible chracteristic of online technologies applied to education is its availability. Students and educators need 24 by 7 access to information, resources, and technologies that engage and empower them to do background research, information and resource gathering, and data analysis, to publish with multiple media types to wide and varied audiences, to communicate with peers and experts, and to gain experience and expertise in collaborative work. Let us all talk about ACOT and how can we mimic this initiative in our educational organizations.