Composition Redefined: Real World Examples Beyond the Classroom

The (cc) image "Trane" uploaded to Flickr by Abstract Machine was found by searching "composition redefined"

Devon Christoper AdamsMesa Comm CollegeBasha High Schooldevoncadams@gmail.com

Shelley RodrigoMesa Community College

shelley.rodrigo@gmail.com

21st Century Skill Set

 21st century skills include learning and thinking skills, information and communications technology literacy skills, and life skills. Twenty-first century skills are in demand for all students, no matter what their future plans; they will have an enormous impact on students’ prospects.

• Rigor must reflect all the results of learning.

• School gets in the way of learning

• Graduates need to be critical thinkers, problem solvers and effective        communicators 

• To be proficient in both core subjects and new, 21st century content and skills.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

NCTE Position Statement on 21st Century Literacy Skill Sets

Literacy has always been a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy. Because technology has increased the intensity and complexity of literate environments, the twenty-first century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and competencies, many literacies. These literacies—from reading online newspapers to participating in virtual classrooms—are multiple, dynamic, and malleable. As in the past, they are inextricably linked with particular histories, life possibilities and social trajectories of individuals and groups. Twenty-first century readers and writers need to  • Develop proficiency with the tools of technology  • Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and

cross-culturally  • Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of

purposes  • Manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous

information  • Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multi-media texts  • Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments

In the 21st century, educators need to redefine what it means to teach. We need to think in terms of creativity and rigor through composition and literacy.

Assignments that address these skills:• Post Secret• Found Literacies• Engagement of SciFi

Gaming• Rhetoric Out on the Town• Digital Annotated Biblis• Virtual Mapping &

Timelining

(cc) image "Creative Commons Translate Symbol Idea" posted at Flickr by itscjrock.

Post Secret:"Secrets" of lit characters inspired by PostSecret.com.

Assignment: Create postcards from the POV of famous literary characters

• "I murdered my brother, married my sister-in-law, and now my nephew is suspicious."

• "I run a line of drug stores selling illegal booze to regain a lost love from half a decade ago."

• "I thought my friend was my enemy, but he was hiding the secret that he was in love with my mother."

21st Century Skills• Core Subjects• Creativity & Innovation

 

(cc) Pict7068 posted at Flickr by Doctor Yuri

Found Literacies"The Way I See It": Starbuck's coffee quotes

(cc) Posted by Flickr by fourplusadragon

Possible Technologies:• blogger.com• wordpress.com

 21st Century Skills• Core Subjects• Creativity & Innovation• Media Literacy• Flexibility & Adaptability

 

Assignment: Demonstrate reflective response by discovering a quote and reflecting on how it connects to the student's own experiences.

The Softwire SeriesAssignment: Using video games to excite students about reading scifiWiki response and engagement between author & readerStudents engage in building digital lexicon based on The Softwire Series by PJ Haarsma (www.ringoforbis.com)Lexicon published in third book's index (March 2010)Complete access to author via visits, email and Twitter

Possible Technologies• Wetpaint.com• pbwiki.com• wikispaces.com

 21st Century Skills • Critical Thinking• Problem Solving• Information Literacy

  

Rhetoric Out on the TownAssignment: Demonstrate learning of a particular concept by taking/finding a picture and reflecting on how it demonstrates the concept.

Possible Technologies:• Flickr• Utterli• Posterous• Drop.io

21st Century Skills • Core Subjects• Creativity &

Innovation• Media Literacy• Flexibility &

Adaptability

Digital Annotated Bibliographies

Possible Technologies:• Blogs-Individual• Wikis-Collaborative• Social Bookmarking

o Deliciouso Diigo

  21st Century Skills•  Critical Thinking &

Problem Solving• Information Literacy• Productivity &

Accountability

Assignment: Share secondary research process to date.

(cc) image "Recap;Summary" posted at Flickr by Timothy Greig.

Virtual Mapping & Timelining

Possible Technologies: • xTimelines

o example 1o example 2

• Google Maps

21st Century Skills• Global Awareness• Communication &

Collaboration Skills• ICT Literacy• Social & Cross

Cultural Skills

Assignment:  Present material in a multi-modal manner. 

Questions? 

Devon - dcamd.comShelley - tinyurl.com/rrodrigo

Thank You.