A twenty-first century skill identified often in G21 plans I’ve been working on with teachers is one we’re calling “Research 2.0.” I wanted to take the time to specifically outline what this is.

First, it’s a recognition that we today have a variety of digital and non-digital resources available from sources that are both traditionally “viable” or “trustworthy” and those from other authorities. Specifically, today we’re talking about 1:1 communication with experts and friends, read/write sources (blogs, wikis), prosumer media sharing (YouTube), and “invisible” web sources (subscription databases). Never before have students had access to this amount of information, both in depth and breadth.

Second, it’s a model for searching, summarizing, and verifying content. Information found must be verified and cited. And as students approach research projects in high school, they ought to be verifying their sources by looking at who is publishing or owns the content they find online.

Third, it’s a technique for collecting information through copy-paste, summarizing, tagging, and citing digital content. This can be done electronically, or even better, using read/write tools. Keeping information students “mine” through research online can be aided through the use of a blog, a collaborative document, bookmarking sites such as Diigo, or within a course management system such as Moodle.

Lastly, Research 2.0 is focused on building infoseeking fluency. Through the practice of this system, students build their skills at choosing better keywords to begin searches. We believe to be successful in this day and beyond, not only is finding information important, but also what we make of it. This is why time management, problem-solving, and collaborative skills are important yet related twenty-first century skills.

Today I ran across some really engaging art pieces by our high school digital graphics teacher Mrs. Kim Bachmann’s students.

Check out their latest work!

With school now in full swing, teachers can take a well-deserved break from grading papers and creating lesson plans to visit Borders in Richmond for special savings opportunities, in-store events and giveaways during “Educator Appreciation Weekend,” Friday, Oct. 3 through Sunday, Oct. 5. According to a recent study by the National School Supply and Equipment Association (NSSEA), 94 percent of teachers surveyed spend their own money for school supplies, with the average teacher plunking down $395 of his or her own cash on supplies and educational materials for use in the classroom. Borders has created “Educator Appreciation Weekend” to salute educators for their tireless work and commitment to their students by giving them a 25 percent discount off regularly priced books, CDs, DVDs, gifts and stationery and cafe items for use in schools or for their personal enjoyment.

Got this news via our friend Susan Vaughan from RES about this Borders sale for educators.

The Department of Education here in Virginia recently released a new brief on cyberbullying. It’s intended more for school divisions rather than the general public, but it does include a lot of references that might be of interest to parents, teachers, or the general public.

Cyberbullying is a real problem, and involves the purposeful intimidation of others through electronic means. This can include posting to websites, blogs, instant messages, or through e-mail messages designed to intimidate others.

Goochland County Schools currently includes cyberbullying as one of several topics covered in our mandatory program of including Internet safety in our K-12 curriculum.

One of the bionic teachers recently posted about a number of things he sees going wrong in education.

Among my favorites:

Don’t use Comic Sans. His point? Comic Sans doesn’t make magic out of something boring you’ve written. Personally, if it’s something good you’ve written, the sight of Comic Sans simply makes me trust less what you’ve written. It’s a personal choice, and a matter of aesthetics, but I really enjoyed one commenters rationale for the use of this font in elementary school.

To paraphrase: It looks like the letters kids make in school.

Here’s my take: spend some money. Good fonts are expensive. At least, more expensive than what you might expect. A good font costs more than a cheap watch. But if you need to use printing on paper so that kids can trace, recognize, and practice letter forms, for goodness sake, get the font that works, which means you might actually have to pay for it, rather than rummage around free font sites, or look in your font menu for “the best thing.”

Learning to write, even in a digital twenty-first century, is a skill these kids will carry with them for the rest of their lives. It’s a basic, prime skill. Let’s do it right, let’s not use Microsoft’s worst (free) font as the blueprint.

I’ve always been partial to the D’Nealian alphabet that I learned by in the second grade for practicing cursive. They make and sell a font so you can use their letter forms everywhere. There are plenty more. I know our teachers are using fonts that were purchased specifically for this point.

Make the lesson exciting with technology. This is the approach so many folks try. “I added a dash of pixels and light, and the kids still didn’t pay attention.” Yeah, we know. That’s not the fix. Obvious, but I am so glad it was re-articulated again. More people need to understand this.

Labeling I don’t take this so much as a fault. I like labels. They simplify things. But these labels are now being used as excuses. So many people come to talk to me start off with the excuse. Here’s a classic:

Well, you know, I’m not so good with technology.

I cringe. I want to say, “Okay, how are we doing with teaching?” Because, really, any improvement needs to start there. But people I think assume they’ve got teaching down, it’s just the technology that they’re struggling with.

Good, effective use of technology requires a foundation of good, effective pedagogy.

Faking it. I don’t see so much faking. I see out-of-touchness. They’re not trying to “act” in a particular way, they just ignore the culture, understanding, and people (kids) they are serving. I don’t see it so much where I work, but I see it as I’ve had the opportunity to visit other schools, either in person, or though videos, reading, etc. Good teaching starts with teachers getting to know their students, and understanding from where they come. But Tom is right, people faking it is easy to spot.

Just watch an interview on You Tube of Sarah Palin.