One of the most "C's" of the 21st Century Classroom is Critical Thinking ... the the avalanche of information available on the web (described by David Weinberger in his book Too Big To Know) with little or no "gatekeeping" function requires the ability view this data with a critical eye. One definition of critical thinking is "the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action." (This definition appears on the website of The Critical Thinking Community.)
The definition above doesn't sound much like memorizing dates, terms, and responses to fill-in-the-blank questions. You might find his link from the Educational Technology and Mobile Learning website helpful as provides a number of resources for incorporating critical thinking in the classroom.
The definition above doesn't sound much like memorizing dates, terms, and responses to fill-in-the-blank questions. You might find his link from the Educational Technology and Mobile Learning website helpful as provides a number of resources for incorporating critical thinking in the classroom.