I think my school is on their way to fostering ideas of 21st Century skills. However, I think they focus on certain subjects more than others. For example, math and english classes tend to get all of the "new" technologies" in their classrooms. They are the classes who have the white boards. We also have something called CFF (classrooms for the the future). I honestly couldn't really explain exactly what it is. All I know about it is that there is a lot of technology ideas involved, but only one person in our building in charge. 21st century skills are extremely important because it's what is going to keep you up to date with this ever changing society.
There are many subject areas that have time to collaborate and team teach with each other. We are given 20 minutes of "Professional Development" in the mornings. Once every 2 weeks my department meets for those 20 minutes to discuss issues. What can be done in 20 minutes? Hardly anything. I think some schools lose sight of the time teachers need to prepare for good lessons. We are so worried about so many other things, that the creativeness in lesson planning loses focus. We should be given more time to collaborate with other teachers and express ideas. On the flip side there are also a lot of teachers who do not get along, and have a hard time accepting new ideas from other people. Some are stuck in their ways and refuse to work together as a team. But you have that everywhere.
Another major issue in achieving the ultimate environment encompassing 21st century skills is MONEY. How can you achieve these goals with the lack of technological resources? I am sure there are many schools who face these issues. It's hard to keep up with the times when you don't have the resources.
College educations spend numerous time educating students on how to use technology, especially in the classroom, however, they lose sight of the fact that their visions include a sense of the perfect world in which every student has a computer, and teachers have all the time in the world to collaborate and formulate these "ideal" lessons. I understand the importance of these courses, but unfortunately some of these ideas get washed away because schools we teach in may not have the resources.
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I agree that collaboration with other teachers leads to great new things. Also, 20 min. is not really enough time for sharing and collaboration. I also agree that technology resources should be more evenly distributed. Equity and access is the main focus behind eliminating the "digital divide". Remember, most 21st century skills can be taught without technology, but certainly not all. Keep trying!
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