Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Having just taken the "Partnership for 21st Century Skills" website for a spin, I have to say that my reaction is is that it reinforces my general sense, this year, of being overwhelmed. More on that at the end.
Am I surprised by anything I found there? I was surprised that my state, which has implemented, is implementing, will implement most of the ideas outlined in the site, is not a "Leadership State." I was also surprises - how naive am I? - to see the strength of the corporate backing; surely there is money there to help equip schools and students for the 21st century.
I don't disagree with the importance of any of the suggestions put forward by the Partnership, but, though we do address all of the skills spoken of, when you see them spelled out like that, you feel that you are being asked to do more than is humanly possible. This year many teachers are feeling fractured and scattered by all of the changing scopes, sequences, codes, and acronyms that name the things most of us did most of the time all along.

After Many False Starts...

I am starting all over again, and I feel much relieved that I have finally got something that at least looks right. I simply could not fathom how I was to customize or change anything in my original blog on Edublogs. Maybe I am a slower learner than I thought, but in any case this site seems much more intuitive and user-friendly.
Now, what am I hoping for when it comes to this blog and using technology in ELA generally, is that I will be able to create lessons that will truly engage students, allow them to work collaboratively, give them ownership of their work, and encourage creative, higher-level thinking. Since I am a total novice to this use of technology in my personal life, I hope to attract some correspondents who can speak slowly and simply! I would like to jump in and get started on something with the students, but am not sure how to begin. There will be a few students in two of my classes that will not have access to the Internet at home, and there is only one computer lab in the school, which impacts our working during class time. I guess it will take some detailed planning to make class work time available for the two or three who won't be able to do the assignment at home. I'm thinking of using our self-selected reading time for this, with the proviso that the students who must use computers during this time will dedicate that much time at home on independent reading. Is there anyone out there with a tried and tested blogging-for-ELA lesson that is ridiculously easy to implement?