Ideal 21st Century Classroom?

My ideal 21st century classroom. What’s yours?

Matt Miller from Ditch That Textbook
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Teaching and learning have changed in the 21st Century. They have that potential, at least. What would your 21st Century classroom look like? (Public domain image via Pixabay.com)

Iknow. We’re already many years into the 21st Century. And I know there’s a chance that the term “21st Century” might rub you the wrong way.

But we’re here, and teaching and learning look very different. At least they have the potential to.

When I started teaching in 2004, there was one computer in the classroom: a slow desktop computer to take attendance and report grades. 

No iPads. No Chromebooks. No flip cams. No iPods. No 1:1 technology initiatives or augmented reality or virtual reality.

I was tickled when a retiring teacher gave me an LCD projector. (He said he couldn’t use it: “I don’t want to copy all my overhead transparencies over to PowerPoint.”)

I cobbled together what I called my “multimedia cart” — the projector, a CD/DVD player, a VCR and some speakers.

Oh, how times have changed.

Even if we don’t have an official “one device for every student” classroom or school, many students come to class with powerful supercomputers in their pockets every day.

We connect and share with our school community through social media, email and text message. (Remember when we thought the separation between school and Facebook should be like church and state?)

Now that we’re here in the 21st Century, what should our classrooms look like?

A teacher named Marie emailed me recently. Her school asked her to describe the perfect 21st Century classroom, and she wanted my thoughts.

I was really glad she asked. It gave me a chance to take a big-picture view at what’s possible.

So I responded, and I wanted to share my response with you. This was my response on that particular day, and it may change from day to day, month to month or year to year.

What I really hope this will become is a conversation. When you’re done reading, would you add your thoughts in a comment? Tell us any of the following …

• What your ideal 21st Century classroom would look like
• How it might look different than what I described
• What you agree with in this post
• What parts of a modern classes should look different (or the same!) compared to older, traditional classes

Here was my response to Marie …

Wow … the perfect 21st Century classroom. That’s a very big question. It could look different in so many ways. I think an important aspect is to know what the goals of the teacher/school/district are before crafting that classroom.

I think there are some aspects that I’d make sure to include no matter what.

One is to break down the four walls of the classroom with global connections.That could be with video calls (Skype, Google Hangouts, FaceTime) or other collaborative tools (Google Apps, etc.). Connect students with other classes around the country and world. Bring guest speakers in virtually. Take students on virtual field trips. These options are almost always free and open students up to the world around them in ways we can’t alone in the classroom.

(Resource: SkypeInTheClassroom.com, DitchThatTextbook.com/connect)

A second is to promote a student-centered classroom. Direct less from the front of the room. Give students options in activities, in topics of study, in projects to create. Direct them to YouTube and other videos — and let them find their own pertinent sources of content.

(Resource: Hyperdocs, Hyperforms, Google Classroom)

A third is to promote creation instead of consumption. Creating and using creativity will become more and more important in the future workforce, and if we can encourage students to create and produce instead of only consuming and watching/listening/reading, they’re well positioned.

(Resource: Project-based learning, any activities where students create instead of consume).

A fourth is to encourage serving others. We have populations in our own communities and worldwide that we can serve in pursuit of our standards and learning. When students have a purpose larger than themselves, it elevates activities in the classroom to a higher level of motivation.

Finally, always try to bring it back to the four C’s: critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity. These are the skills that we believe employers will really covet in new employees in the future. If we want students to be prepared to exhibit them, they need lots of practice in schools. (Note: I added this one after emailing Marie.)

Tools for Creating Screencast Videos

From Richard Byrne at Free Technology 4 Teachers:

Creating a screencast video can be a great way to show your students and or colleagues how to do things on their computers, phones, and or tablets. Screencasting can also be a quick way to create a short, flipped video lesson. At least a couple of times a week I'm asked about the tools that I use to create the screencasts that I share with teachers. Here's a run-down of the three tools that I use more than any others for creating screencast videos.

Screencast-o-matic:
I use Screencast-o-matic to record on both Windows and Mac computers. There is a free browser-based version of Screencast-o-matic and a paid desktop version ($15/year). The free version is great for most situations. The desktop version offers some editing tools and longer recording times. Both versions include a highlighted circle that follows my cursor around the screen to help viewers see exactly where I am clicking and writing on the screen.

Nimbus Screenshot:
Nimbus Screenshot is a free extension that allows you to capture screen images and create screencast videos. I use Nimbus screenshot when I want to create a screencast video on my Chromebook. Screencasts recorded with Nimbus Screenshot can be saved to your local drive or to an online Nimbus account. I chose to save to my local drive then upload to my YouTube channel. You could also save to your local drive then share to Google Drive or another online storage service.

AZ Screen Recorder:
AZ Screen Recorder is a fantastic free app for creating screencasts on your Android phone or tablet. Unlike a lot of Android screencasting apps AZ Screen Recorder does not require you to have root access to your device nor does it require you to mirror to another device to record. To create a screencast with AZ Screen Recorder on your Android device simply install it then open it and tap the record icon. You will see a three second countdown timer appear on your screen and then you’ll be recording. You can talk over your recording to explain what you’re showing on your screen. When you’re done just tap the stop button and your recording is saved on your device. You can share your recording directly to Google Drive, YouTube, or any other file storage service that is connected to your Android device.

Other tools & methods for creating screencasts:These are tools that I've used at various times for creating screencasts, but I don't use them on a regular basis.

There is no shortage of iPad apps that will let you create whiteboard videos in which you draw and talk. But recording yourself demonstrating how to use an app or how to complete a workflow process on an iPad requires something outside of a stand-alone app. If you have a Mac, connect your iPad to your Mac by using the Lightning cable (the cable that came with your iPad). Then open QuickTime on your Mac. Next select "new movie recording" from the QuickTime menu. You can then choose the name of your iPad and click record. When you're done recording your new screencast will save to your computer as a video file that you can then edit in iMovie if you want to cut out portions of it or lay a music track under your narration.

If you have a Windows computer and you want to record your iPad's screen, you will need a third-party service that allows you to mirror your iPad to the screen of your Windows computer. Air Server is the service that I recommend for mirroring an iPad to a Windows computer. Air Server includes a recording tool that you can use to make a screencast video of your iPad's screen. With Air Server running you can just tap record and instantly start capturing your screen and your narration. The video will save on your Windows computer where you can then edit it and or upload it to your favorite video hosting service.

The simplest way to create a screencast on a Mac is to use Quicktime. Apple offers step-by-step directions for recording a screencast through Quicktime. The shortcoming of making a screencast this way is that it lacks a highlighter for the cursor on your screen.

Richard Byrne's Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week

Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week – 5 Ways Students Can Find Free Images

5 WAYS STUDENTS CAN FIND FREE IMAGES


When students are searching for images to use in their slide presentations, videos, or other multimedia projects it can be tempting to them to simply perform a Google search then right-click and save the first images that they like. Of course, in doing that they could be downloading copyrighted images that they shouldn’t be using without permission. Instead they should be consulting sources for images that are either in the public domain or that have been labeled for re-use with a Creative Commons license. In the following video I provide an overview of five sources of public domain and Creative Commons licensed images.