Good morning all,

Thanks to a tip from my supervisor, Dr. Carol Ferguson, I learned that on Friday, the NJDOE released their proposed changes to the Core Curriculum Content Standards (NJCCCS). Literally oozing with references to the future, global collaboration and digital technologies, these proposed changes are some of the most substantive I’ve seen in the six years I’ve been teaching. Quoting from the press release (emphasis added):

• All content standards now require the infusion of interdisciplinary connections, technology and global awareness.
• The revised standard nine, 21st Century Life and Careers, includes new standards on life and career skills and personal financial literacy designed to help students in all grades learn about money, credit and debt management and planning, savings and investing, and a new career and technical education standard.
• The Math standard incorporates best practices from other states and countries where students have shown high levels of achievement.
• The Language Arts Literacy standard adds a focus on the use of digital technologies in reading, writing, listening, speaking and viewing.  It also incorporates world literature to develop students’ cross-cultural perspectives of authors and audiences from other regions of the world.

How cool is this? Seems to me the NJDOE’s 2009 Standards Revision Project has made enormous progress here (what do YOU think?).  In their introduction, the NJDOE lays out their vision for the 21st century classroom including mission and vision statements that are clear, inspirational and outwardly focused. Evidence of new thinking is rampant throughout. In particular, standards 8.1 and 8.2 have been integrated with several very different bodies of work: the International Society for Technology Education Standards, the Partnership for the 21st Century Skills Framework, and the International Technology Education Association. Phew. That’s a lot to even have to SAY.

THE FINAL STANDARDS FOR THE TECHNOLOGY STRAND ARE NOW LIVE – CLICK HERE!

The Buzzword Bingo players will note there are more than enough references to “21st century skills” to go around, but to me, as a classroom teacher, the rubber meets the road with the Cumulative Progress Indicators (CPI’s):

I’m very, very pleased. Here’s one especially interesting – BY THE END OF GRADE 2:

8.1.2.A.5: Demonstrate the ability to navigate in developmentally appropriate virtual environments.

The NJDOE defines virtual environments: as “games, simulations, websites, blogs.”

Grade 2! T-W-O! Folks, this is HUGE! And it’s just one example. Think of the possibilities. Need support for an elementary blogging project? It’s in the standards now. Have an idea to leverage web-based virtual environments, like, say, Webkinz, Club Penguin, Imbee or Dizzywood in your curriculum? It’s in the standards now. Looking for support of your implementation of Quest Atlantis? IT’S IN THE STANDARDS NOW. Or, it will be, presuming that CPI makes the cut.

So what does this mean to you, the New Jersey educator? In my -opinion- at least, it means that New Jersey has caught up in a very big way with some of the latest developments in the educational technology space, and guess what: all your hard work (and mine too) is about to pay off. Why? Because if you’re reading this blog, chances are, you already know these things are important. Your students already blog, or build wikis, use Skype, or make Voicethreads with abandon. And if they don’t, you’re ready to, as soon as you get the green light from your administration.

Well, guess what. You’re about to get the go-ahead. So prepare to lead the way. All I can say is, it’s about time!

-kj-

Image credits: “So happy =)” by horizontal.integration on Flickr | “Traffic Signal” by Hartnell 19 on Flickr