That’s right! The Gateway to 21st Century Skills is launching a brand new site September 15th 2009. The new Gateway will introduce a new look and feel, new technologies to keep you up to date and new features based on the things our members have told us are important to them.

Of course, to carry the weight of our increased memberships, even more features and our growing number of great learning resources means increased demands on supporting hardware and infrastructure. Our efforts would not be complete unless we are hosting all this good stuff on world class, state of the art servers that provide all the uptime, dependability and performance we can get. The capacity of the hardware and bandwidth needs to meet our present needs but also anticipate the kind of growth we have seen over the last eighteen months.

In anticipation of the new site launch, we posed the question to our stats people, “Just how long does it take for Gateway memberships to double?” We dug back through our archives and the answer is: Less than 18 months at the current rate of membership application.
With that question answered, we made our commitment to a new technology package to host the Gateway but also made sure that we had the flexibility to “dial up” more performance as the needs of our Gateway members grow.

You will still go to the old familiar site and will reach the new site via a link place squarely in the middle of the home page. That will launch you into the new Gateway to 21st Century Skills and you can start using our new tools immediately. If you joined the old site, your membership will be automatically transferred to the new site.

Once everyone is familiar with the way the new site works, about 30 days, we will retire the old site and convert to the new site. The new site will then be located at http://www.thegateway.org, just like now. The bookmarks or favorites link you have for the Gateway will automatically deliver you to the new site.

If you haven’t become a Gateway member already, you can automatically join through the new site. We have streamlined the process and automated the approval so there is no waiting to have you membership approved as in the past.

New technology has provided a convenient way to choose from any of 65 different ways to share without leaving the Gateway. You may send or share information you have found useful to someone else or to social networking sites of your choice with a single click.

If you are a member, you will be able to see, at a glance, what others have said about a resource. As a member, you can also choose to leave a suggestion or a comment about a learning resource right on the learning resource record itself. If you are logged in, just click on the “add comment” button. Other educators will appreciate your insights and inspiration and can easily add their own contribution. Try it! It is so easy and sharing comments adds so much value to the information about a resource.

We have developed a new way for members to search and to easily keep up to date on the topics of their choice. When logged in, Use the Search/Subscribe feature. You will find it on the top right of the Gateway homepage. You simply enter the word or words that relate to the resources you are interested in. If the search return meets your needs, just click on the “Subscribe” link. You will be given the choice to be notified whenever a new resource is added to the Gateway catalog that meets your search parameters. This feature uses technology called RSS to send you a message that a new resource has been added that may be of interest to you.

You can use the same method with the tag cloud labeled “What Educators are Looking For” on the home page. Just click on a term or terms that circulate in the cloud. The list of resources that returns will give you the same Subscribe option through RSS.

So look for our link to the new Gateway to 21st Century Skills!

We want to hear from… you! What improvements would you like to see? Send your suggestions, thoughts and observations on how we can make the Gateway to 21st Century Skills a more valuable tool for you, your students and your fellow educators. Contact Bruce Walker at brucew@jesandco.org.

What’s New?
We keep fresh lesson ideas and timely topics coming to you so you don’t have to search all over the Internet. The Gateway provides unique lessons that incorporate technology while addressing timely topics, unique perspectives and great diversity.

A 21st century education requires not only historical context but a reflection of the rapidly changing world around us. That’s why the Gateway to 21st century skills is such a valuable asset for educators. Engage your students like never before with free lessons like this sample from recently cataloged items.

Occupational Oxymoron: Examining the Circumstances of the Hidden Working Poor
In this lesson, students will consider their own notions of poverty, examine the life of a woman classified as "working poor" from a variety of perspectives, and present their findings to the class. Then, students synthesize their knowledge in a paper examining poverty and hardworking people.

The Rules of the Game: Comparing Concrete and Abstract Approaches to Problem Solving
In this lesson, students experiment with abstract learning methods and concrete approaches to problem solving and then reflect on how they best learn new mathematical concepts.

The Disappearing Fish: Investigating the Causes and Effects of the Vanishing Wild Salmon
In this lesson, students examine the theories behind the drastic decline of the wild salmon population and the ecological ramifications of this decline. Students will work in groups, each focusing on one theory, to create a 'campaign' to persuade the public to help end this destruction of the salmon population.

Invention Convention: Inventing and Marketing Products to Make Life Easier
In this lesson, students work in groups to create products that can help address everyday annoyances. They then design business plans for the manufacturing and marketing of their inventions.

Getting Personal: Writing a Creative College Application Essay
In this lesson, students consider and create their own creative college essay prompts, then write an essay in response to one of the prompts.

Robbing the 'Hood? Investigating the Origins of Legendary Characters
In this lesson, students consider the disputed origin of a historical figure, Robin Hood, and come to some understanding of the multi-dimensional roles that local history and legend play in tourism and regional identity

Sundae News: Celebrating Ice Cream Through a Student-Made Television Program
In this lesson, students research topics related to ice cream and create a news magazine program based on their research. Then students develop public service announcements promoting ice cream consumption.

Lifestyles of the Extreme and Adapted: Exploring the Adaptations and Habitats of Extremophile Species
In this lesson, students understand challenging theories about the evolution and distribution of microbes. They also investigate other examples of extremophile species, then create posters and write diary entries about them.

Discover the World of GPS and Geocaching
This lesson will be a creative approach to learning latitude and longitude, and will introduce the students to new technology. Seventh grade students will be given the opportunity to utilize GPS Handheld Tracking Units to understand latitude and longitude. Students will work in groups of four to complete a geocaching activity and a scavenger hunt around campus; they will be using the GPS units to guide them to the final destination. Students will answer questions about points listed on the handout provided by the teacher.

Can't Live With 'Em, Can't Live Without 'Em: Understanding the Role of Taxes in Society
In this lesson, students examine the concept of taxes in both the human and animal worlds, then debate whether taxation is critical to social survival.

NEA has partnered with the GEM Exchange, Gateway to Educational Materials, and JES & Co to support Gateway to 21st Century Skills, a website that combines state-of the art search technologies and a complete database of state academic standards for core subjects.

Did You Know?
Wednesday and Thursday were the busiest days for the Gateway in the month of August. In fact, the Gateway is such a valuable and powerful tool that in August 77.2 % added the Gateway to their browser Favorites or Bookmarks! In the last month alone, over 46.3% of visits came from people who have already bookmarked the Gateway to 21st Century Skills.

Gateway to 21st Century Skills Statistics for August 2009
Lots and lots of educators are finding and utilizing the Gateway as in each month since we became sponsored by the NEA, we have experienced double digit percentage increases over the previous year’s figures. The Gateway Community keeps getting bigger. August 2009 traffic to the Gateway hit approximately 22,134 visits. In the month of August, adjusted measures of traffic showed that visitors viewed 79,440 pages and created 703,111 hits.

Meet some other Gateway Members
As we mentioned earlier in this article, the Gateway community is growing rapidly. Here are a few of the recent applications made by new Gateway members. Anyone you know?

D.K. - NC
Aspiring middle grades science teacher from North Carolina. Worked in the pharmaceutical field for over 20 years and now I want to teach. Am currently enrolled in a program to get me into teaching called NC TEACH. Designed to get people with experience into the teaching field more quickly than by going back and doing college all over again. Wish me luck!

M.A. - CA
I am a science teacher with interest on Ecology, Environmental Conservation, and Sustainable Management. I have worked in several fields of science as a researcher before deciding to teach Science at high school level. My main interest is to try to help students to become scientifically literate and teach them how to understand Science on its pure form avoiding pseudoscience to take over.

S.S. - TN
I am a Nationally Board Certified creative writing teacher, capstone project coordinator for MCS, member of the Memphis Literacy Council and Memphis Reads, MCS Literacy Specialist, and a frequent presenter and advocate of professional development for teachers. My passion is Service Learning where high school students use their time and talent to mentor elementary children in literacy and math development.

T.C. - NY
I am an undergraduate student that is preparing to become a childhood educator. I truly believe I can make a valuable difference in our world one student at a time. Literacy is extremely important to me. I feel this website can work as a great tool in aiding my goals.

R.B. - CA
Professional Development Mentor teacher for all teachers in the district with a focus on technology. Also work part-time teaching in a fourth grade classroom. 20 years of experience in K-8 classrooms.

T. D. - AZ
I am studying to be a teacher. I am researching lesson plan sites for an annotated bibliography. I can't look at content in this program without registering. I sincerely hope that I can update this someday.

A.B. - WA
I am the Education Director of the American Museum of Radio and Electricity. We offer various programs for children and adults which include assemblies, tours of the collection, outreach classes and after school programs, camps, and workshops. Science is a primary focus of our education programs, though art, mathematics and history are often incorporated in some way.

D.S. - CA
I am a lead teacher/co-Director of the Green Academy at Oakland Technical High School in Oakland, CA. We are just beginning this year with one cohort. I am looking particularly for materials for the Lab class and to supplement the English and World History classes. At present I am a Spanish teacher also working on setting up a Language Lab, and I will be an English teacher next year.

We want to hear from you! What would you like to see added to the Gateway? What improvements would you like to see? Send your suggestions, thoughts and observations on how we can make the Gateway to 21st Century Skills a more valuable tool for you, your students and your fellow teachers. Contact Bruce Walker at brucew@jesandco.org.

You can share those observations with your peers or make comments that are only for your use. It’s like your own personal Gateway to over 50,000 quality learning resources.

Are Your Members Using the Gateway?
The Gateway to 21st Century Skills receives thousands of visits a month from dedicated educators all over the world. The community is developing into a diverse and interesting group with tremendous talent to share! Come and join us as we pioneer the way to the vision of a 21st century education. Become a member and network with other educators. Use the information from the Gateway learning resources in other Web 2.0 friendly applications, your portfolio, store it on your calendar for easy planning or share it with your student, parents and administrator. The Gateway is here to help you easily meet your needs and make your teaching day easier!

If your NEA state affiliate website doesn’t link to the Gateway to 21st Century Skills as a resource on your state website, they are surely missing the 21st Century. Tell them you need resources and a link to the Gateway! In terms of a teaching tool, it is one of the greatest benefits that NEA has ever made available to its members.

Iowa and Georgia are the newest additions to our growing list of states and organizations that display their logos on customized versions of the Gateway! Both of these new states and Connecticut Retired Education Association, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Wyoming, Wyoming Student Education Association, Hawaii, Maryland, Colorado, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Washington, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, South Dakota and Tennessee and have all created versions of the Gateway that displays the state affiliate logos.

And now, not only will your affiliate members be greeted with a view of your logo but anyone who declares that they hail from your branded state will also see that affiliate’s logo. This will underscore your local commitment to provide the members of the profession with the tools and resources they need to succeed in driving improvements to student achievement.