21st Century Learning

21st Century Learning occurs around the core subjects: reading, writing, and math.  The 21st century skills occur when the teacher or classroom ties career skills, critical thinking skills, and technology into the core subjects.  These have more connections in the 21st Century classroom by standards, curriculum and instruction, professional development, and the students learning environment.  Featured below are 3 different 21st Century Learning tools you can include in your classroom.

Virtual Environments
An understanding of complex causality is a necessary foundational skill for advanced science and mathematics. Ecosystems science, an important strand of the life science content standards, requires an understanding of complex causal relationships. However, even after instruction, students often retain inaccurate interpretations about ecosystems’ structural patterns and systemic causality. To address this issue, we are developing a Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE)-based ecosystems science curriculum called EcoMUVE, based on middle school life science standards.


The goal of this new curriculum is to immerse students into virtual environments to help students develop a deeper understanding of patterns that have the feel of video games.  Such as SecondLife.
http://ecomuve.gse.harvard.edu/
http://wowinschool.pbworks.com

Google SketchUp
Google SketchUp is 3D editing tool that can be used to design basically anything you can see.  Area, Perimeter, and Volume concepts- Download a living room and create story problems for students to solve based on the dimensions in the room. Or you can have students create problems for their classmates to solve in a blog or wiki. Trigonometry- Ever wonder why the proofs in trigonometry work? Have students create triagles and predict the lengths and angles using trigonometry formulas. Prove concepts in class.Technology Education- Students design a room based on a blueprint they create in the classroom. Design objects in Sketch-up and allow students to find missing angles and measurements. 
http://edupln.ning.com/google-sketchup-math


Project Based Learning
PBL is a method of instruction that can help engage students in active learning by providing relevant, challenging curriculum.  The focus is to foster an understanding of project-based learning, particularly in mathematics education; to explain the factors for making a conscious decision to implement PBL in middle grades mathematics classrooms; and to provide insights about the possible realized effects when mathematics-based PBL is implemented.  The characteristics PBL holds is that students and teachers are engaged in active learning, curriculum is relevant, multiple learning approaches to student diversity, and assessments that promote quality learning.
http://www.bie.org/project_based_learning_in_mathematics