The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has put together an interesting website for educators. This site is user friendly and very descriptive. There are interactive areas on the site such as Route 21, which directs you to a page that gives the themes of the program. This site is actively approaching the issue of preparing our students for the 21st century work place and they not only pose the issues, but provide solutions to many of the issues our students face in modern educational systems.

An interesting section of the site is the link for participating states. These states are showing an iniative from the highest level of the state government to prepare their students for the 21st century. I can only wonder why Georgia, a state that desperately needs to improve the strength of our education system, is not on this list. Some of our counties are pushing forward into the 21st century and others simply can not financially keep up with a growing world of technology.

Goals Of My Blogsite

My goal for this site is to interact with my students outside of the classroom. My students will have the opportunity to post questions, answer questions, engage in discussions, etc... I use Twitter to post homework assignments, but it has not caught on with many of my students and parents. I hope to create an interactive environment that enhance the student's experience in my classroom. I do encourage them to use all of the tools at their disposal. Using my blog space for homework assignments will force my students to become interactive and I think it will assist with our preparation for the AP and Gateway (county) exams that are quickly approaching.

I also envision this site as a peer tutoring venture. I teach Advanced Placement and College Prep (regular) World History and many of my students will have the opportunity learn from each other. There are times when the words of a peer are easier understood than the "wind bag" that has been lecturing to them all day. We have seen success with peer tutoring in the school setting, maybe it can be successful across the web too.

The textbook for my College Prep classes are already online and I keep my teacher page updated with assignments, study guides, notes, power points, etc... Maybe I can create a virtual classroom and that allows the students to learn as much at home as they do in the classroom.

At this rate, I wonder how long it will be before the majority of students are taking courses from their homes?

An Introduction

My name is Frederic Ashford and I teach Advanced Placement World History at Duluth High School in Duluth, GA. I am a life long fan and graduate of the University of Florida... GO GATORS! I have a beautiful wife, Jamie, and stepdaughter, Amber, and we just found out that we will be blessed with a new addition in September. This is my first child and I can not be more excited. I only pray that I can be a great father and provider for my child. As I take this new adventure into technology, I hope to be able to keep up with demands of this course because despite hours of searching finding and commenting on other blogs was apparently out of my comfort zone. Well, this is it... hello cyber space and welcome to my hectic world.

God Bless