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ASSIGNMENT
Review the paper ‘Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century‘ (Hallissy, Butler, Marshall, Hurley, 2013) and consider what learning should look like in today’s classrooms so learners are ready and equipped for the workplaces of tomorrow and develop the necessary (21st Century) skills Choose one of these skills and use one of the Workspace apps to document your ideas on possible learning opportunities to enhance that skill with your pupils.
Write a reflective piece (150 words min) as a reply to this post on how you are going to focus on the particular skill in your classroom. Include a sharing link to Workspace document.
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After reading Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century, I’ve been thinking about how I can help my pupils build important 21st Century skills—especially collaboration and problem-solving (6th class).
One idea I’m planning is a fun project where the children work in groups to redesign the Principal’s office. They’ll need to think about what an office needs (and they can be as creative as they like!), research items online, and decide what to include—all while sticking to a set budget. Each group will use Google Docs to list their chosen items, include prices and pictures, and explain why they picked them.
They could also use Google Sheets to keep track of their spending and compare options. To bring it all to life, they might even use an AI image tool to create a picture of what the new office would look like. At the end, they’ll present their design ideas to the Principal.
I think this will be a great way to get them working together, making decisions, and solving problems—just like they’ll need to do in the real world.
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Hi Colm,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Redesigning Education piece with us. I love the idea of redesigning the principal’s office. The criteria you have provided shows just how many cross-curricular links are available. I’m thinking of some of the pedagogical practices from the maths curriculum, with dialogue and playfulness clearly embedded in this suggested task. There is also a clear emphasis on how digital tools can be used to enhance the learning in this task – the use of spreadsheets for tracking and organising information is a clear skills that is used in so many jobs, and one which certainly could be considered important for lifelong learning.
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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WvQbRP5H_jydxt8n_EqRxNLy54sT69RrfQMxgH2MJ5Q/edit?usp=sharing
Here is the link to my google slides presentation.
The skill I will focus on is helping children develop the ability to solve complex, multidisciplinary, open-ended problems is crucial in preparing them for a world that values creativity, systems thinking, and adaptability. This is not something that can be taught through rote instruction; it requires an intentional, long-term approach across several areas of learning. I will meet these expectations in my teaching by introducing cooperative group work from an early age.
Teach active listening, turn-taking, and negotiation skills.
Help them reflect: “How did you solve that? What was hard? What helped?”
Use learning journals, reflection time, or think-alouds. This will also link with the New Primary Language and Maths Curriculums. -
I love this idea of working in groups to re design the principal’s office. the children would see this as a very funny, engaging activity. It is also very much a real world problem, using all curricular areas and is preparing the children for when they have a house etc. to design, source materials and do costings for.
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I really like this project idea, it combines creativity, problem-solving and collaboration. Redesigning the Principal’s office gives pupils a real-world challenge they can relate to, while the set budget builds financial literacy and decision-making skills. Using Google Docs and Sheets encourages teamwork and mirrors professional tools and the AI image tool adds an exciting visual element.
In my school, I could adapt this to redesign the library, playground, or staffroom, allowing students to research, budget and present ideas for spaces they use daily. It’s active, purposeful learning that makes pupils feel their ideas matter, while building essential 21st-century skills.
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Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century focuses on the child as an active learner and encourages them to take ownership of their learning. Learning must be meaningful for children to gain a proper understanding. The emphasis is on skills development. ICT plays an important role in gaining and sharing knowledge.
As a teacher in a junior school, many workspace apps would be too difficult for children to use independently but I think Google Slides would be a good starting point as it would provide them with an opportunity to gather and share information with their class and others.
I will use Google Slides with my 1st Class children in September where they will gather evidence of seasonal change within the school garden. They will take 3-5 photos which show Autumn, upload them to slides and then label or add a short caption and present to the rest of the class as a group.
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This is a lovely, hands-on idea that really suits 1st Class – simple, meaningful, and a great way to get them noticing the world around them. Google Slides is a nice choice too. One small suggestion would be to let them record their voice instead of (or as well as) writing captions. It can be a fun way to build confidence, especially for those still finding writing tricky, and it adds a nice personal touch to their work when they share it with the class.
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I love this idea. The children will love getting outdoors and having the freedom to take photographs. I know from my own class sending in videos on seesaw, that they love watching each others work/videos, so watching each others presentations on google slides will go down very well (especially if adding in voices too).
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That’s a brilliant way to bring Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century to life. Using Google Slides as an entry point for younger pupils makes perfect sense, as it allows them to create something meaningful and visual while developing digital skills. I like how you’re connecting it to seasonal change in the school garden — it’s real, tangible learning. The combination of photography, captions, and presenting will really support their confidence, creativity, and collaboration from the very start of the year.
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Collaboration skills are really important for the pupils going forward. The skills involved such as negotiation, conflict resolution, distribution of tasks, listening to the ideas of others and integration of ideas into a final product are very important skills for all children to learn. These are valuable skills children will use in secondary school and eventually in the workplace.
Collaborative projects in history / geography provide many opportunities for collaborative learning. The new maths curriculum involves solving real life problems and therefore provides real opportunity for collaborative learning. Therefore I have chosen a topic in maths.
For this activity I have given the pupils the challenge of deciding what cake/ buns to make to sell for a profit at a class bake sale. Pupils would have to research recipes, buy the ingredients within a budget. They would then have to decide how to divide/ package their product in order to make a reasonable profit at the cake sale. Pupils would work together sharing the responsibility, work together on making important decisions. They work collaboratively and each individual is accountable for themselves within the group. The children would present their solution in a google doc adding pictures to enhance their work.
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A great activity for senior classes Norma. I have always found when pupils are given agency over an activity such as the bake sale, they embrace it with such a high level of enthusiasm and collaborate so well to achieve their agreed goal. I really like the inclusion of the individual accountability piece where pupils report to their team on their work. By holding each other mutually accountable, they are learning that collaboration equals success!
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Absolutely agree with you. Collaboration is such an essential skill for pupils to develop early on. I love your idea of using a real-life maths task like a bake sale to bring those skills to life. It’s hands-on, practical, and really makes the learning meaningful. The fact that they have to budget, make decisions as a team, and think about profit makes it so much more engaging than just solving textbook problems. Plus, they’re learning to listen to each other, share responsibilities, and work through any disagreements—which are all key skills they’ll use well beyond the classroom. I also like how they’ll present their work in a Google Doc with pictures that adds a nice tech and creativity element. Activities like this are such a great way to make maths feel relevant, and collaboration becomes a natural part of the process. Definitely something I’d like to try with my own class too!
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Firstly I love all the ideas mentioned so far, especially about redesigning the principal’s office. I think this is definitely something the children would really enjoy and would be relevant to the real world.
After reading the article I really focused in on how the children’s learning should be relevant to them and to the world they live in. I also paid attention to the characteristics of the 21st century teacher and how important it is to keep upskilling and learning as a teacher in the ever changing world we live in.
For the activity I am hoping to get the children to use google slides in a collaborate project. We are currently re vamping the school garden, I will get the children to take photos of the garden as it currently is and to plan how they would design the new garden and what they would include and why. Each group can present to the class and the principal. I will integrate the project with other areas of school life ie art/ green schools/ maths/ science. -
Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century is a very interesting read particularly when reflecting on the new Primary Curriculum Framework. The Primary Curriculum Framework acknowledges and contributes to the learning journey that all children are on. The framework builds on the principles and themes of Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (NCCA, 2009) and connects with the learning experiences provided in Junior Cycle (DES, 2015). The curriculum framework therefore is a response to the changing lived experiences of children and therefore the changing needs of children in Ireland since 1999.
The Preparation for Teaching and Learning for Primary and Special Schools guidance document published by the Department of Education in 2021 addresses one of the key elements of the Hallissey, Butler, Marshall and Hurley (2013) paper – that ‘educators are attentive to students knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs’. As educators, we agentically consider relevant knowledge of the children and their prior learning, which curriculum areas we prioritise and progress day to day in our classes, and we agentically choose our pedagogies.
Marc Prensky is an internationally acclaimed speaker and education consultant. Known as a ‘practical visionary’ and coiner of the terms ‘digital native’ and ‘digital immigrant,’ his paper ‘The World Needs a New Curriculum’ is well worth a read (link below)
https://marcprensky.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Prensky-5-The-World_Needs_a_New_Curriculum.pdf
The Tapscott (2008, pg 26) quotation speaks to pupil agency which is a central feature of our new PCF. In all recent DE communications, the terms pupil voice, pupil agency, pupil participation and pupil leadership are all front and centre.
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The skill I have identified as an area of focus for 5th and 6th class level is collaboration. This will be done through a class debate on the theme: ‘Shopping Local Can Co-Exist with Big Retail’. The school is located in a suburb with a small local shopping centre. Less than 2km away is one of the largest shopping centres in the country. Once pupils have been assigned their side, they will be invited to generate a document individually where they note their ideas/reflections for key arguments. Pupils will be further subdivided into smaller groups and then asked to share their ideas with their group. Team members will be invited to comment on the documents created. Once the team have agreed 6 key arguments they will then be required to source supporting evidence using Google Chrome and Google Meet. It is intended that they would use both synchronous (GMeet) and asynchronous (email) communication methods to set up and host an interview with a local retailer and/or a national or international retailer. Once both teams have identified their key arguments and gathered evidence to support these arguments, they would then set about preparing their speeches. An extension of this activity would be to use powerpoint to support their debate and use multi-modal communication such as integrating clips from a video of the interviews conducted.
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This was a very interesting read. I like the idea of setting students task that is so relevant to their local area as it makes their learning feeling worthwhile. Using google workspace to allow the students to reach out to the local community is a clever way to get the students using the different apps purposely.
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When reviewing the paper ‘Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century‘ (Hallissy, Butler, Marshall, Hurley, 2013) I decided to focus on the best practice and predictions for the future. I looked at the International Comparison Korea / Japan where they were and contrasted them to where we are now. It is unfortunate that in many areas no change has been made in the intervening 8 years
Teacher Working Conditions: International Comparison
📊 Comparative Model (Korea/Japan/Singapore):– Teachers spend only 35% of time directly teaching: This has not been achieved in Ireland
– Shared office spaces encourage: Time allocation has not improved for this.
Resource sharing : This has improved with the use of Instagram to promote teachers sights, TPT, Twinkle
Collaborative planning: Very much dependent on the school. In some schools teachers are actively encouraged to plan together, Unfortunately this is not the mindset in other schools. This results in teachers working by themselves with no possibility for shared learning or planning.
Supporting new educators: Droichead is now in nearly every school. Again the format can change from school to school. Some schools will have students sign off after the minimum required days while other schools require a full year.
Challenges in Modern Education
⚠️ Critical Observations:– Rapidly changing societal contexts
– Increasingly diverse classrooms: Yes
– Limited teacher support and reflection time
– Need for systemic educational redesign: Has happened with the new Primary maths and language curriculum
Student Learning Goals
🎯 21st Century Learner Expectations:– Self-directed learning: There are some improvements in this area
– Technology integration: I believe covid lockdown had a positive effect in expediting the integration of technology in education
– Multilingual capabilities: Work currently in progress in this area
– Cultural adaptability: yes, Immigration has encouraged adaptability
– Proactive learning approach: Yes, but resources must be put in place for educators
I have used google slides in my special education class. I have created a choice board which can be adapted from 2 to 6 choices for students to decide the order of the songs we will sing for a particular activity.
The template I created is quite simple and I can have a days lessons available for myself or a sub teacher at short notice
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Your international comparisons really highlight how much potential there is for improvement in our system, especially around collaborative planning and teacher support. I agree that while Droichead is a step in the right direction, its implementation still varies greatly between schools.
I also appreciated your honest take on how little progress has been made in some areas over the past eight years. It’s encouraging, though, to see positive developments like the new primary curriculum and the role of technology post-COVID—particularly how it helped move digital learning forward more quickly than expected.
Your use of Google Slides in a special education setting is a great example of putting 21st-century learning into practice. The choice board idea sounds brilliant for supporting student agency and flexibility, and it’s great that it can be adapted so easily for different needs or substitute teachers. Thanks for sharing!
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I think an important 21st Century skills to develop is “Skilled Communication” as in today’s world is so important for sharing knowledge and opinions while engaging in discussion. I think I would develop this skill with the senior classes by setting them an assignment via Google Classroom (GC) to collaborate with peers on producing a podcast using a voice recording tool and posting it to GC. I would challenge the students to produce a podcast on how students can reduce their carbon footprint in schools. This provides the students with a target audience for their communication. Students will use google docs to prepare their scripts and document evidence. This allows me to also provide feedback via GC. An extension could be a story board produced on google slides to accompany their podcast. This will encourage multi-modal communication.
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After reading Hallissy et al. (2013) vision in Redesigning Education, I’m focusing on collaboration as a 21st‑Century skill. The article states that learning environments should be socially rich, problem‑based spaces where students co‑create knowledge. To try to improve this, I will plan on restructuring lessons around team-based projects—for instance, class research on renewable energy where small groups collaboratively gather data, design mini-experiments, and share findings.
I’ll set clear group roles (e.g., researcher, presenter, recorder, designer) to ensure accountability. Students will use digital tools like shared slides and interactive whiteboards in Workspace to brainstorm and draft their ideas together in real time. I’ll integrate peer‑feedback : groups evaluate each other’s work using checklists and reflective prompts (e.g., “How did our communication help solve problems?”).
Link to wiki docand google form for lesson feedback.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rCzR0jLlhnpaIcukvFsctn6irXwVEk6cjTkneoNmMwY/edit?usp=sharing
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Hi Helen,
Thanks for sharing these links. I really like how you’re translating the shared vision in ‘Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century‘ into practical classroom strategies. The idea of socially rich, problem-based learning spaces is so important, and the renewable energy project you’ve outlined sounds like a great way achieve this.
Working in teams with defined roles will definitely help foster collaboration and pupil agency. Using digital tools like Workspace for real-time brainstorming and drafting is an excellent plan. You could further build on this by including opportunities for inter-group collaboration, where teams share findings and challenge each other’s ideas. This not only deepens understanding but also mirrors the realities of the modern-day workplace.
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Having looked at ‘Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century‘ (Hallissy, Butler, Marshall, Hurley, 2013) I decided to pick the skill of Collaboration . The learning opportunities are documented in the link below.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xXVEhW_Lfpf9DBf_88hApOnAXuSWDeuxPRUoI17rb4/edit?usp=sharing
I think the skill of collaboration is extremely important especially in the younger classes as it sets out how they learn and work with other pupils in the class. It is a skill that needs to be explicitly taught. I like the idea of giving roles to children when they work in groups eg timekeeper, recorder, leader, presenter.
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Hi again Brid,
Just to flag the link shared is returning a ‘page not found’ error. You might want to double-check the sharing settings on the document to make sure it’s accessible to us. If it’s restricted, updating it to ‘Anyone with the link can view’ should do the trick. Let us know once it’s updated.
Thanks in advance.
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After reading Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century, one skill that really stood out for me is real-world problem solving. The paper explains that future jobs will need people who can think for themselves, work through tricky problems, and come up with creative solutions – not just follow instructions.
I think school is the perfect place to start building these skills.
In my classroom, I plan to give pupils more chances to solve real-life problems that matter to them. One area I would like them to focus on is litter around the school. We could look at this together and ask, “Why is this happening? What could we do to fix it?”. This discussion would give pupils ownership of the problem. I would create a topic in google classrooms and divide the class into groups to focus on a different part of the project. Pupils could design posters, make a video message using Google Slides, or create a rota system and share it on Google Classroom. The groups can present their findings and ideas to the class, and let the class decide on which ideas to move forward with.
These tasks are meaningful, and they help pupils to learn how to work in teams, listen to each other, think creatively, and take action. I’m also using Google Classroom to let pupils share ideas and reflect on what worked and what didn’t.
By giving pupils the chance to solve problems in school, it helps pupils see that their ideas matter. It builds confidence, independence, and a real sense of purpose.
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Absolutely agree with you. Collaboration is such an essential skill for pupils to develop early on. I love your idea of using a real-life maths task like a bake sale to bring those skills to life. It’s hands-on, practical, and really makes the learning meaningful. The fact that they have to budget, make decisions as a team, and think about profit makes it so much more engaging than just solving textbook problems. Plus, they’re learning to listen to each other, share responsibilities, and work through any disagreements—which are all key skills they’ll use well beyond the classroom. I also like how they’ll present their work in a Google Doc with pictures that adds a nice tech and creativity element. Activities like this are such a great way to make maths feel relevant, and collaboration becomes a natural part of the process. Definitely something I’d like to try with my own class too!
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One of the key 21st-century skills highlighted in ‘Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century’ is collaboration. In a future-focused classroom, the ability to work effectively with others, contribute meaningfully to group tasks, and build on shared ideas is essential—not just for academic success, but for life and work beyond school.
To foster this skill, I plan to use Google Docs with my pupils as a way to support real-time collaborative learning. Pupils can work in small groups to co-write stories, create joint reports, or compile research. I believe this approach allows them to develop not only digital literacy, but also communication, negotiation, and teamwork skills. It encourages participation from quieter voices and creates a space for constructive peer feedback.
Using Google Docs also teaches accountability, as individual contributions can be tracked and discussed. The collaborative environment mirrors the type of teamwork expected in modern workplaces. Furthermore, pupils can engage with classmates’ work both in class and at home, supporting a blended learning approach. As I work in a junior primary setting, I will scaffold the use of shared documents through templates and visual cues, and gradually build up independence.
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Collaboration is such an important 21st-century skill, and I really like your use of Google Docs to support it. The fact that pupils can contribute in real time, give feedback, and see each other’s work mirrors exactly the kind of teamwork they’ll need in the future. I especially like how you plan to scaffold the process for younger pupils with templates and visual cues , that balance of support and independence is key. It’s a great way to combine digital literacy with communication and accountability.
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fully agree how collaboration is such an important aspects of the classroom and will help the children for their jobs in the future. Working an a shared document as you suggested can be challenging and will force the children to work with one another in order to create a piece of work that is up to the standard of the group.
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After reading Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to better prepare my students for the world they’re stepping into. One of the key 21st-century skills that really stood out to me is critical thinking, the ability to think clearly, question ideas, solve problems, and make good decisions. It’s a skill that’s important no matter what career or life path they choose.
In my classroom, I’m going to focus more on real-world, problem-based learning. That means giving students open-ended tasks without one “right” answer like tackling local issues or exploring big topics such as artificial intelligence and climate change. I also want to include more class discussions where students respectfully challenge each other’s thinking and build confidence in sharing their own views. Through regular reflection and project work, I hope to help them grow into more thoughtful, independent learners who are ready for the future.
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Skilled communication is an extremely important skill to develop in children. Accurate assessment of learning and for learning isn’t always possible through written tasks, questioning or oral feedback.
Creating a Google slide requires the child to partake in extended communication as it requires a number of different aspects, for example a written article, a vlog, a voice recording, or the use of graphs and images. These need to be developed and collated over time. This allows the child to be self critical and to review their work as they develop their site.
Using a multi modal approach allows a child to showcase their learning in ways they may be more comfortable with. For example, a presentation may cause anxiety as the student is not comfortable speaking live to an audience. A pre recorded presentation can allow the student to showcase their knowledge, while allowing them to stay calm and concise. Graphs and images can be much more effective than written pieces.
Supporting evidence can easily be provided using sites. For example graphs from a google form or links to supporting websites are easily presented here.
Finally the site can be formatted to target a specific audience. Imagery, vlogs, videos, voice recordings and graphs can all target different types of letters. The layout or design may be of interest to certain students, thus motivating them to invest more time and effort into their site.
I will use Google Sites with my 4th class to put together projects throughout the year, focussing on different aspects of communication. From audio recordings, vlogs, the use of graphs and written articles. Some topics may be specifically chosen by myself, or there may be open topics, where the focus is on the media used rather than the topic itself.
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Hi Eoghan,
Skilled communication is a key 21st-century competency, and the approach of getting pupils to develop their own Google site as you’ve outlined here provides meaningful practice. Using their site as a hub for different media types, or multimodal content as you refence, including written material, audio, video, and images, provides pupils with multiple ways to express themselves and build confidence. Which leads me to your point about pre-recorded presentations. This is a great way to reduce anxiety while still allowing pupils to demonstrate understanding.
I also like how you’re planning to vary the focus, sometimes on content, sometimes on the mode of communication, which gives pupils a chance to develop a broad range of skills.
Just one thing to keep in mind as your pupils will be publishing content online, it’s important to check your school’s Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) beforehand as some schools require prior permission for this kind of internet activity, even if a general opt-in is in place.
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I also like the idea of placing the focus (occasionally) on the mode of communication, given the importance of this skill. Children should be allowed to explore various methods of getting their ideas across – be that in illustrated/graph format or live speaking/recorded message and critically evaluate the pros and cons of each method for themselves.
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Google slides with accompanying voice recordings is something that i am going to explore this year. I am in the Infant classes and this is something we could put together and showcase to other classes by sending the link! This I feel would be excellent at the end of covering a topic in SESE or science .
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he paper Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century (Hallissy, Butler, Marshall, Hurley, 2013) advocates for learning that equips pupils with skills to solve real-world problems creatively and collaboratively. A key 21st-century skill is problem-solving—the ability to analyse needs, develop solutions, and evaluate outcomes.
To foster this, 6th class pupils are tasked with redesigning the school play space to meet the diverse needs of all pupils. Working in teams, they gather input from each class using age-appropriate methods such as drawings, surveys, or short interviews. They must consider factors such as inclusivity, aesthetics (as the area is in a public village setting), existing natural elements, and opportunities for new planting—including trees, flower beds, or sensory gardens.
Pupils use Google Sheets to track costs and manage a simple project budget. They explore AI tools to generate visualisations of their proposed play spaces. Finally, they present their ideas to the principal and Board of Management (after some feedback on initital draft presented to teachers) using Google Slides, advocating for solutions that reflect the collective voice of the student body.
This integrated project empowers pupils to engage in meaningful, authentic problem-solving—developing their capacity to think critically, plan effectively, and propose thoughtful, creative solutions for the real world.
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This is a great idea and it touches on a wide variety of skills needed in todays world. Communication and planning are huge parts of it and will be greatly developed. I also like the creative aspect and the use of AI to help envisage how the space may look. It also gives the students a genuine opportunity to make a lasting impact on the school environment, which would mean a lot to 6th class students. For this to happen though, they have to be critical of their plans, ensuring they are both feasible and practical. This self evaluation is a fantastic skill to develop.
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I forgot to include the link for my plan for this assignment, apologies.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NaEURRCwL6ewuDsUHGx0ukmSUho80jDhOO1m0jLYpNM/edit?usp=sharing
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The paper by Hallissy et al. (2013) makes a strong case for moving past old-fashioned teaching methods, and I agree completely that building 21st-century skills is really important. In our 4th-class DEIS school in Dublin, I’ll use the hurling project to do just that. My main focus will be on the skill of collaboration, which I think is a basic skill everyone needs to have.
For this project, my job will be to guide the group work, not just give out facts. In a DEIS school, it’s especially important to help kids feel like they’re part of a team. By giving them specific jobs like ‘Project Manager’ and ‘Marketing Strategist,’ I’m making a situation where they have to depend on each other. The iPads and Chromebooks will be a big help here. They can use them to look up information on hurling, create posters or short videos, and work together on the shared Canvas document. I’ll walk around the classroom and ask questions to get them thinking, like, “How can you help your teammate with that?” or “What’s the best way to sort out this disagreement?” I’ll be looking at how they work together—how they listen, share ideas, and solve problems as a team—not just at their final project. This way, the kids won’t just learn about hurling; they’ll get better at the important life skill of working with others to get things done.
Here is a link to the google doc of the project guidelines:
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In my opinion, Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century is all about the child as an active learner and encourages them to take ownership of their learning. This is of course what we are aiming to develop in all our students to prepare them for their adult life. Learning must be meaningful for children to gain a proper understanding. The emphasis is on skills development. Nowadays , ICT plays an important role in gaining and sharing knowledge.
As a teacher moving from 6th class down to senior Infants l feel that many workspace apps would be too difficult for children to use independently but I think Google Slides would be a good starting point as it would provide them with an opportunity to gather and share information with their class and others.
An idea for using Google Slides with Senior Infants children in September would be to gather evidence of seasonal change within the school garden and grounds. They could take 3-5 photos which show Autumn, upload them to slides and then label or add a voice message and present to the rest of the class as a group. However I do not agree with email addresses for senior Infants, so I will probably do this on the Seesaw app.-
I really like how you’ve connected the ideas in Redesigning Education to your own teaching context and highlighted the importance of active, meaningful learning. Your focus on children taking ownership is very clear, and I think it’s great that you’ve considered how ICT can be used appropriately for younger pupils. I especially like your seasonal change project idea — it’s age-appropriate, hands-on, and links beautifully to the real world, which helps make learning more meaningful for Senior Infants. Using photos, labels, and voice recordings caters to different learning styles and abilities, and presenting as a group helps build confidence and communication skills. You’ve also shown good awareness of online safety and the developmental stage of your pupils by questioning the use of email addresses at this age.
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In re-designing learning experiences, the 2013 paper Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century asks us to rethink our approaches to depth, relevance, and pupil engagement. Among the key 21st-century competencies—such as creativity, collaboration, digital literacy—I’ve chosen to focus on collaboration for my class. To develop this, I will design open-ended projects where pupils will gather evidence, look at different sources and work together in groups of four to put their ideas together. Using Google Workspace, I’ll create a collaborative digital Journal slide where pupils will document their information and ideas. Pupils will be asked to submit a weekly entry and they can work together in class.I will share the google document with the pupils and this keeps learning visible and encourages the pupils to research and work together with their group. Each week I will add a new question- week 1- signs of summer, week 2- activities in summer etc
https://classroom.google.com/c/NzkxNTMwOTU3NDEx/a/NzkxNTQyNjczMTQ0/details
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In Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century (Hallissy, Butler, Marshall, Hurley, 2013), the authors highlight the need for classrooms to prepare pupils with skills for a changing world. One key skill is critical thinking, which helps learners solve problems, make good decisions, and adapt to new situations.
To build this skill, I would use design-based learning and challenge-based learning. For example, before Christmas in my own school the 5th/6th class pupils hosted a coffee morning. We used the a number of the Google workspace tools to help. The students needed to research, think about different options, choose the best ideas, and test their solutions. We also used Google Docs for planning, Jamboard for brainstorming, and Google Slides for sharing results. These tools make it easy for pupils to work together, give feedback, and reflect. This approach helps prepare them for the teamwork and problem-solving needed in future workplaces.
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After reading Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century (Hallissy et al., 2013), I’ve been thinking more about how we can help younger learners build the skills they’ll need in the future. One key skill I’m focusing on is critical thinking—helping children to ask questions, solve problems, and make good decisions.
In my classroom, I want children to become confident thinkers who don’t just look for the “right answer,” but explore why something happens or how something works. To support this, I’ve created a Google Doc where I’ve planned fun, age-appropriate activities like mystery stories, “what if” questions, and mini science investigations. We’ll practice thinking deeply, working in small groups, and explaining our ideas clearly.
One activity includes reading a short story and asking, “What could the character have done differently?” or “Was that a good choice?” These kinds of discussions help pupils start thinking for themselves.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dSQbNJdTk2qTQOeX43wh_E_h3U2GOkbFJkIFaXjwGvs/edit?tab=t.0
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“Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century” (Hallissy, Butler, Marshall, Hurley, 2013) advocates for transforming education to develop critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and digital literacy. It emphasises student-centred, inquiry-based learning, integration of technology, and fostering skills for lifelong learning to meet rapidly changing societal and economic demands.
I have chosen to focus on critical thinking, as outlined in “Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century” (Hallissy, Butler, Marshall, Hurley, 2013). In an age of rapid information growth, the ability to question, analyse, and evaluate sources is essential for lifelong learning and informed citizenship.
In my classroom, I plan to embed critical thinking into daily lessons by moving beyond rote recall to activities that require analysis, comparison, and reasoning. For example, when exploring historical events, students will examine multiple perspectives, identify bias, and justify their conclusions with evidence. In geography, I could pose the real-world question: “How should our local community address the impact of climate change?” Students would work in small groups to research causes, examine data, evaluate potential solutions, and present a recommended action plan. They would need to assess the credibility of sources, weigh short- and long-term consequences, and consider different stakeholder perspectives (e.g., environmental, economic, social).
I will also encourage metacognition by asking students to explain their thought processes and decisions. Tools like Google Classroom discussions and Google Forms reflective prompts will help capture and share these insights, supporting peer learning and deeper understanding. This sustained focus will empower students to become insightful, independent thinkers.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GE9W5sBNOsPT4-ev8dItshkEsOrJ6Gj5odUJQ4lID5E/edit
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After reviewing the paper ‘Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century‘ (Hallissy, Butler, Marshall, Hurley, 2013) one of the main points I took from it was from the ‘Empowering minds project’ where one of it’s core principles was ‘to encourage children and teachers to develop their technological fluency with project based learning.
One of the ways I could use this principle is to get children to come up with an idea that will enhance the school. Children will use google docs to record their research and use it to present their idea when completed.
Children would use Google sheets to plan a budget for their idea such as materials needed, items cost.
When complete children would present their idea to a small panel of judges (teacher and principal) and they would be asked questions and given feedback.
I think this is what a 21st centaury classroom look like as it benefits the children in the following ways.
1. Encourages creativity & problem-solving
2. Teaches real-life skills like budgeting, planning, and persuasion
3. Equips children for the workplace of tomorrow.
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The Empowering Minds project sounds great John and is a useful way of using technology ,as a tool to get young people thinking and doing. Asking pupils to identify a need in their own school and then plan a solution is a brilliant way to bring that to life. Using Google Docs and Sheets to support their work allows for collaboration and peer work.One thing you might consider is encouraging them to involve a wider audience during their research, maybe surveying classmates or parents using Google Forms to create a survey.
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This is a great example of how project-based learning can be used to develop 21st-century skills in a meaningful and engaging way. I really like how you’ve incorporated Google Docs and Sheets to support both research and budgeting—two real-world tasks that help pupils connect learning to life beyond the classroom.
Your idea also encourages creativity, critical thinking, and communication, especially through the presentation and feedback stage. It’s great to see how pupils are given ownership of their ideas and the opportunity to present them to a panel—this adds authenticity and builds confidence!
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To encourage problem solving and collaboration in primary school, students could be given the challenge of designing a cheaper yet practical alternative to an expensive Chromebook trolley. The school currently owns 30 Chromebooks, but the cost of a commercial trolley that stores, charges and transports them is beyond the budget. Instead of purchasing one, students will work together to find a creative, affordable solution using only items available from the local office store catalogue.
The project could begin with a group discussion about the purpose and functions of a Chromebook trolley. It must store the devices safely, allow for easy transportation between classrooms and provide charging capability. This stage builds understanding of the problem and the essential requirements. Students will then be divided into small teams, each responsible for researching different aspects. Such as storage design, mobility, charging solutions and cost comparison.
Using the office store catalogue, teams will explore available items like storage cabinets, plastic drawers, extension cords, cable organisers and trolleys. They will evaluate materials for durability, portability and affordability, keeping a record of prices to stay within a set budget. Teams will brainstorm possible combinations of items, sketch designs and present their concepts to the class.
Collaboration will be encouraged through a ‘design marketplace’, where teams can share ideas, swap components of their designs and merge concepts to improve functionality. Students will then agree on the best final design, which meets all requirements and is the most cost-effective.
The class will prepare a proposal for the school leadership, including diagrams, a budget breakdown and a written explanation of why their design is practical and affordable. Hopefully this activity promotes teamwork, problem-solving, budgeting and communication skills.
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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GOB7GXG1gB22QHJzstN8F2P_rfCM7uiZ1vAHcI1HZRc/edit?usp=sharing
I believe collaboration and problem solving are the most important 21st Century Skills we can develop in the classroom.
While it’s important that we endevour to develop modern skills in our students because this is the future of education, it’s also conveniently the most effective way for our students to learn.
I’d set the children a task in which they get to work in groups to redesign our school playground. They’d need to use a hybrid of paper and digital resources and then present their work by making their own website using Google sites. They’d be encouraged to collaborate via Google Meet.
I’d provide a blank template of the school playground to help the students get started. They’d also have a list of criteria to include in order to give some structure to the task. These would be shared via Google docs and sheets.
This task will involve the students to work collaboratively by proposing ideas, agreeing and disagreeing, drafting and editing designs and making a website. The opportunities for collaborating and problem solving are endless.
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Hi Anna. The project you’ve outlined gives pupils a great chance to practice key 21st-century skills. Collaborating and working as part of a group, swapping ideas and finding ways forward when they don’t agree, researching and exploring how other schools have created sustainable playgrounds, creating plans, keeping track of costs, or putting together a basic website, all give them time to develop a range of key skills. And when they present their finished ideas to the class, they’ll be drawing on all that teamwork, research, and creativity without even realising it.
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In Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century (Hallissy et al., 2013), the authors highlight how today’s classrooms must prepare learners to navigate an increasingly digital and information-rich world. One essential 21st-century skill that stands out is Digital Literacy — the ability to locate, evaluate, create, and communicate information using a range of digital tools responsibly and effectively.
In my classroom, I want to move beyond treating technology as simply a presentation or research tool. Instead, my focus will be on teaching students how to think critically about digital information and use digital tools to create authentic work. For example, pupils will work collaboratively in Google Slides to present balanced perspectives on current issues, using reliable sources and citing them correctly. We will also explore digital citizenship by discussing how to stay safe, respectful, and ethical online.
My aim is for pupils to leave 6th class confident not only in using technology, but in evaluating online content, communicating responsibly, and becoming thoughtful digital citizens.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XCX5qhp8aZg-hvzGGL8O1ad9-o75CwNmY41Z2VQZHiY/edit?usp=sharing
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Inspired by Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century (Hallissy et al., 2013), I’ve chosen to focus on collaboration as a key 21st-century skill in my 4th class history lessons. Collaboration helps pupils learn to work together, share ideas, and solve problems—skills that are essential for both school and future workplaces.
Using the topic of The Vikings, I plan to integrate Google Workspace tools to create engaging and collaborative learning experiences. Pupils will work in groups using Google Docs to write reports on Viking life, Google Slides to create presentations on Viking longships, and Google Forms to design quizzes for their peers. Google Classroom will be used to manage tasks, share resources, and facilitate discussion.
Learning Opportunities Using Google Workspace
1. Google Docs: Pupils work in pairs or small groups to write a short report on Viking life, including homes, food, and clothing. They can use comments to suggest edits and improvements.
2. Google Slides: Groups create a presentation on Viking longships or raids, with each pupil responsible for one slide. They can add images and facts from their research.
3. Google Forms: Pupils complete a quiz on Viking facts and then create their own questions to test classmates, encouraging peer learning.
4. Google Classroom: The teacher posts group tasks and resources. Pupils submit their work and receive feedback. Classroom threads allow pupils to ask questions and share ideas.These activities will not only enhance collaboration but also provide valuable evidence for our School Self-Evaluation (SSE), particularly in areas like pupil engagement and digital learning.
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After reading and evaluatiing Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century, I am confident I can develop and empower my pupils to promote and build important 21st Century skills—especially collaboration and problem-solving.
Love the idea of asking the children to redesign the peincipal’s office/ school library. Creativity, problem solving, mathematical skills, collaboration, critical thinking will all be required. No doubt, conflict and compromise will crop up too as they will all have varying ideas. Google Docs could be used to work collaboratively. Google Sheets to keep track of their spending and compare options.Ths type of activity will encourage them to apply their skills to the world around them…what its all about really, it makes it relevant for them. Using A1 image tools, they can bring their ideas to life, the children will love this notion and may spark an interest in some pupils for engineering/ architecture in the future. Spatial awareness and budgeting in maths will also be promoted in the area of maths..all 21st century skills that are required for the workforce in todays modern world.
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From reading the document ‘Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century‘ (Hallissy, Butler, Marshall, Hurley, 2013)
It is evident that todays children require a different setting and opportunities for learning to strive in todays’ world. Our world is changing at a rapid rate, and education needs to reflect this.
The more traditional methods of teaching have started to gather dust and children today need learning experiences to be tailored to their learning needs.
One area that is continually being mentioned is that of collaboration and its unmistakable contribution it can make to children’s journey. When kids collaborate together on set tasks, they can learn from each other in a fun memorable way.
The workplace has changed in recent years and children need to be strong in their collaboration skills and problem skills. Older teaching methods that have been less interactive have possibly limited children to be able to think outside the box and approach problems with a different lens.
The skills of global awareness and cultural sensitivity are paramount for the modern 21st century. Digital literacy is now a non-negotiable to thrive in this changing world.
The task that I have chosen to include is that of a weekly problem solving task. We as a school are working on problem solving as our area for maths. It is also an area that feeds into literacy.
The challenge involves creating pictures to match a problem solving exercise. I would use cubes as a sample for them in the class . I would pose a question and the children would try to solve it with concrete materials. For example –https://docs.google.com/document/d/15XiCHXqQpptUJBnQgg13w7n9OjH6NE-wOwPbNabfNgk/edit?usp=sharing
This will be uploaded to google classroom as a google document and the children have to make pictures using concrete materials to solve it. They can email a picture of their working out if they can.
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https://docs.google.com/document/d/17WGD3aPLIHgdbYakuafm23Go8Jkao3TIEGuErUZ2agA/edit?usp=sharing
The 21st Century skill I focussed on was Communication through my workspace task document. This skill supports how children, learn, collaborate and express themselves. ‘Redesigning Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century’ really highlights the topics that Dr. Deirdre Butler spoke about in our ever changing society. The idea that students must be prepared not just with knowledge but with the ability to access it, interprete it, analyse it and evaluate it in our ever changing environment. It’s important to recognise the skills that society require now and into the future, as the society we are preparing our children for will look very different.
While this task focussed on Communication, many other skills were also involved like collaboration, knowledge construction, self regulation, real world problems and the use of ICT for learning. I feel many students lack confidence to express their ideas and opinions clearly. I aim to continue to support children to develop their confidence in sharing their ideas, working with others and becoming effective communicators who can meet the challenges of the 21st Century.
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