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The Future-Ready Challenge: Improve Student Outcomes in 18 Weeks

With this collection of 18 easy-to-follow challenges, learn how to promote teamwork and collaboration, motivating your students to develop the skills they’ll need for the future.

Incorporating digital age skills into curriculum can be daunting for educators, and getting started can be the hardest part. In this book, author and education leader L. Robert Furman breaks down the process into 18 challenges so that teachers can improve student outcomes based on digital age skills and future-minded progress in a single semester.

This book includes:

Weekly step-by-step challenges designed to fill one semester.
Case studies by leaders in the field and examples of how to implement the challenges for each grade level.
Coverage of key topics such as digital citizenship, communication, problem-solving and integration of technology into learning.

The Future-Ready Challenge focuses on changing the classroom, your teaching style and the related procedures to increase opportunities for your students to engage in — and most importantly, adopt — digital age skills.

Audience: K-12 classroom teachers

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The Future-Ready Challenge: Improve Student Outcomes in 18 Weeks

Weekly step-by-step challenges designed to fill one semester.
Case studies by leaders in the field and examples of how to implement the challenges for each grade level.
Coverage of key topics such as digital citizenship, communication, problem-solving and integration of technology into learning.

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Overview

Weekly step-by-step challenges designed to fill one semester.
Case studies by leaders in the field and examples of how to implement the challenges for each grade level.
Coverage of key topics such as digital citizenship, communication, problem-solving and integration of technology into learning.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781564843852
Publisher:	International Society for Technology in Education
Publication date:	03/14/2017
Pages:	142
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

L. Robert Furman, Ed.D., is an educator, leader, speaker and the author of Technology, Reading & Digital Literacy. He has received numerous awards, including being named one of the National School Board Association’s 2015 “20 to Watch” in technology education. He is the principal at South Park Elementary Center near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Read an Excerpt

Week One
Implement Soft Skills into Your Lesson Plans
Plans are nothing; planning is everything.
—Dwight D. Eisenhower

To make the Future-Ready Challenge a success, you must start at the beginning, in the planning stages, because when changes aren’t structured, you can’t measure their growth. In other words, you have to know what you’re aiming for. And to do this, you must mindfully begin to implement digital age skills into your everyday lessons.

Challenge
Your challenge is to add a line to your lesson plans that includes the digital age skill(s) being developed. Aim to do this for every class you teach, every day you teach. Your awareness of incorporating digital age skills into your everyday lessons is simply the most effective way to impact your students’ understanding and learning of these skills. This simple addition to your daily lesson plans will benefit your students for years to come.

Example
Consider creating a lesson where students must collaborate in order to solve a problem. In other words, go beyond memorization and dive into problem solving. Design a problem that includes multiple parts in order to solve the problem or multiple ways to solve the problem.
A great example for the social studies teacher is Countable (countable.us), a government website and app that allows kids to look at active bills in Congress and choose a position. You choose an active bill and ask the students to debate whether the bill should be passed or opposed. Encourage them to choose a position, research it, and present their argument to the class. Using the Countable app, allow the students to write directly to their congressperson.
This is, by far, one of the most important weeks in the challenge, as you will begin building an awareness of digital age skills and ISTE standards and how implementing these standards will bring about positive change.

Future-Ready DETAILS

Digital Age Skills Used ISTE Standards Addressed

Global Collaborator
Empowered Learner
Digital Citizen
Creative Communicator
Digital Literacy
Critical Thinking/Problem Solving

Remember: The digital age skills you use will be what you want your students to adopt, and the ISTE standards are who you want your students to become.
Suggestions
Create a spot in your lesson plan where you can physically write down the digital age skills you will be touching on. You can then refer to these skills as you write out your lesson plan, even marking the areas in the lesson plan where each skill will be incorporated.

Reflection
After completing this challenge, ask yourself the following questions. This is an excellent opportunity to share with a peer who is undertaking the challenge as well.

In what ways did this challenge change/influence my teaching style? How have my students and I benefited from this change?
In what ways did the challenge change the way my classroom functions? How did this improve the learning process?
How did the use of technology and digital resources facilitate the implementation of this challenge in my classroom? Which resources were the most effective? How can I use these resources to further develop and advance my curriculum?

Contents
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
How the Future-Ready Challenge Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Preparing Today’s Students to Become Tomorrow’s Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Your Digital Age Skills Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Support for the Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The Future-Ready Challenge Part One Weeks 1–9
Week 1
Implement Soft Skills
into Your Lesson Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Week 2
Avoid the WRDR Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Week 3
Lights Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
The Future-Ready Challenge vii
Contents
Week 4
Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Week 5
Transcend the Classroom Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Week 6
Start a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Week 7
The Debate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Week 8
Toss Out the Textbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Week 9
Do What You Do Best . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
THe Future-Ready Challenge Part TWO
Weeks 1o–18
Week 1o
The Value of Research ......................................................................71
Challenge .........................................................................................................74
Example ...........................................................................................................74
Suggestions .....................................................................................................76
Reflection ........................................................................................................76
Week 11
The Art of Constructive Feedback ........................................79
Challenge .........................................................................................................81
Example ...........................................................................................................81
Suggestions .....................................................................................................83
Reflection ........................................................................................................83
Week 12
Let Them Be Creative ..........................................................................85
Challenge .........................................................................................................87
Suggestions .....................................................................................................87
Reflection ........................................................................................................88
Week 13
Discuss Entrepreneurship ............................................................89
Challenge .........................................................................................................91
Example ...........................................................................................................91
Suggestions .....................................................................................................92
Reflection ........................................................................................................92
Week 14
Digital Citizenship .................................................................................95
What Does Digital Citizenship Encompass? ........................................................96
Challenge .......................................................................................................100
Example .........................................................................................................100
Suggestions ...................................................................................................101
Reflection ......................................................................................................101
Week 15
Empower Student Voice ..................................................................105
Challenge .......................................................................................................108
Reflection ......................................................................................................108
Week 16
Create Student Scholars ............................................................109
Challenge .......................................................................................................110
Example .........................................................................................................111
Suggestions ...................................................................................................112
Reflection ......................................................................................................112
Week 17
Grading—The Big Change .................................................................115
Challenge .......................................................................................................117
Reflection ......................................................................................................117
Week 18
Looking to the Future ......................................................................119
Challenge .......................................................................................................120
Reflection ......................................................................................................121
References .................................................................................................123
ISTE Standards ......................................................................................125
2016 ISTE Standards for Students ..................................................................125
x The Future-Ready Challenge

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Editorial Reviews

The Future-Ready Challenge by Rob Furman has given us a sure plan to begin addressing future-ready skills in daily lessons. The strategies provided are easy to integrate into content areas and the scaffolding that’s suggested will begin to embed these skills in the planning and delivery of instruction.” — Len Ference, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Association for Middle Level Education

“This book hits the right balance between doing what one knows how to do and learning new things. It’s step-by-step and full of great ideas for introducing a new way of teaching and learning into our schools today.” — Peter Bishop, Founder and Executive Director, Teach the Future (www.teachthefuture.org)

“Furman’s writing is engaging, entertaining and insightful, and rooted deeply in a love of children and learning. Educators who feel the call to ‘futurize’ their practices will benefit from this one-step-at-a-time approach.” — Keith Reeves, Author of Insurrection: A Teacher Revolution in Defense of Children

“Furman has written a very practical book that has the potential to change how teachers teach. He provides websites, links and specific examples from practitioners that will support teachers on the path to teaching digital age skills.” — Bruce Vosburgh, President, The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform

From the Publisher

The Future-Ready Challenge: Improve Student Outcomes in 18 Weeks

The Future-Ready Challenge: Improve Student Outcomes in 18 Weeks

Paperback

Paperback

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Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Read an Excerpt

Table of Contents

Customer Reviews

Related collections and offers

Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Read an Excerpt

Table of Contents

Related Subjects

Customer Reviews