Technology Thoughts for Teachers

One of the most compelling videos I have watched that emphasizes the importance of integrating technology into the classroom is the “Did You Know 2.0” video. This video was originally created by a school to start a discussion about 21^st Century Skills and technology integration. Not long after the release of the video, educators all over the world began to watch the video and create different versions of it.

Unfortunately, there are still places I visit today at home and around the country that have never heard of 21^st Century Learning skills. The busy lives educator’s lead often get in the way of staying on top of the latest methodology and technology in the classroom. However, the 21^st Century Skills are a vital part of the educational environment and vital for students to become a 21^st Century Learning. Although technology is a major part of 21st Century Learning, the focus is on a change of methodology and the way we teach. Technology of course can facilitate this process and at times make it much easier to do, but technology is not the focus. As always, the curriculum, teaching and learning is the focus. Certainly a classroom heavily engaged in 21st Century Learning will contain heavy use of technology to facilitate that process, but lets not confuse the fact that curriculum is the focus and the technology is a tool used to get to the meat of the curriculum as well as a way to engage students in the learning process.

Are there skills required today that were not required ten years ago? Of course! Think of all the new technology. Someone has to create, maintain, and improve upon the new technologies today if we are going to continue to lead the world in medical, technological, and scientific advancement. The video mentions the fact that today’s educators are preparing students for jobs that aren’t even available yet, for majors that haven’t been put in place yet, and for technologies that haven’t been invented yet. How do you prepare students for something that hasn’t yet been invented? By teaching the technology skills necessary to perform today’s jobs and functions. It is hard to look into the future, but learning the skills necessary to succeed in a technological world today, will help students prepare for the skills needed in the future—the skills we don’t even know we need yet! How many of us had to learn the skills to research on the internet in college? Yet today, the internet is a vital part of our lives and without those learned skills, many aspects of our lives would be much more difficult.

Information and technology is changing at such a rapid pace that it’s almost impossible to keep up. It is important that we as educators do not assume that the students will get the skills necessary somewhere else. Each teacher is responsible for teaching the skills appropriate for the grade level.

Of course, in order to produce 21^st Century Learners, you must be a 21^st Century Teacher. Where do you fall as a classroom teacher? Traditional or 21 Century? Take a moment to look at the chart below. Find the words or phrases that describe you most in each of the columns.

source :tcubed.wordpress.com