Keys to building a new generation of courses and schools

While many futurists tout the value of teaching students 21^st-century skills, bridging the concept with the practice is best accomplished by professional educators. Authors Bruce Joyce and Emily Calhoun know how to actualize the critical reforms that enable schools to prepare students for today's workforce. They outline a clear vision for advancing school reform that emphasizes infusing technology across the curriculum. Specific steps include:

• Providing technology access to all students to promote equity and engagement
• Developing hybrid courses that prepare students to meet 21^st-century needs
• Designing professional development that connects technology to teaching
• Improving literacy instruction
• Changing the high school paradigm
• Involving teachers, parents, and community members in school leadership

We have a tremendous opportunity to bridge education with the information and communications technology revolution. Joyce and Calhoun show how to deliver on the promise of a 21^st-century education by teaching students the skills they need to achieve in their careers and in life.

1. Unique focus on implementation – refining, renovating, and redesigning professional development to better equip teachers (and, ultimately, students) to meet the demands of 21^st century workplaces and communities.

2. Clearly articulates the goals of 21^st Century teaching and learning with the addition of a new goal: infusing ethical and moral considerations into all aspects of personal and organizational life.

3. Case scenarios based on actual schools and districts depict "what it looks like" in practice.