As I complete another course in my Masters of Education program, new revelations, responsibilities and professional goals arise. As our culture becomes more and more dependent upon technology, teachers must learn to grow and adapt. An educator must ask the questions, "Am I preparing my students for the future, what do I do with knowledge of new technology, and how do I keep pace with the constantly changing technological realm?" As the educator is able to reflect upon lessons learned, how to enhance their students' education, and how to continue their own growth, the classroom and larger society will reap the benefits.
My most recent class opened my eyes to the 21st century skills that educators must instill in their students (Jukes, 2007). The most significant personal revelation I found is my need to focus on Dr. Douglas Hartman's (2009) statement "prepare [students] for their future and not our past." This statement caused me to take a long hard look at what I require my students to do on a daily basis. I find myself questioning something like cursive handwriting, which is a source of debate for some. Will teaching my students cursive writing really prepare them for a world in which people communicate mainly via email, text messaging, and other social media platforms? I am required to teach students how to write a friendly letter, yet most members of society type emails. One of the teacher's many goals is to teach their students how to be productive members of society. One cannot do that if what they are teaching is irrelevant or obsolete. I hope to teach my students how to consume, critique, and create in ways that prepare them for the rapidly changing future. As technology changes so must those who are preparing the future generation.
After coming to the realization that not all of the my school district's mandated competencies will aid in preparing students for the future, I need to learn how to merge those 21st century skills (Jukes, 2007) with those that are currently required. I must remember that the new skills are not diametrically different from our traditional competencies, but rather they build upon what we have already deemed as essential. Just as teachers use subject specific vocabulary with their students, so will be the case with technological terms. As students become more familiar with terms such as "URL," "hyperlink," "blog," "multimedia" and so on, they will be more prepared for the work world. Another major change in my personal teaching will be how students are required to consume information as well as how they display their learning. I want to create an atmosphere where students do not feel chained to the textbook. With today's technology we can go straight to the source or collaborate with other students who had a similar question. Technology has enabled us to create seekers. Though the Internet is an invaluable tool, along with it comes a need for a new set of searching and evaluative skills, which will become an integral part of my instructional practices. My students will learn how to ask questions, seek out the answers with efficiency, and evaluate resources. The final major change in my instructional practices will be how I require my students to display their learning. Email accounts, PowerPoint presentations, podcasts and blogs, can take the place of some of the pen, paper and poster board products that I previously assigned. As my students learn about these news modes of expression, they will also learn about the importance of fair use and copyright infringement. I look forward to implementing these forms of technology, not just for the future benefits, but also for the added engagement that my students will experience in the present.
An effective teacher is one who continually grows and learns. One professional goal that I would like to pursue is learning how to effectively teach students to use multimedia tools such as digital cameras and video cameras. The visually stimulated culture we live in lends itself to acquiring basic skills with multimedia. Students today are already using camera phones and watching videos online. It seems necessary to stay abreast of a skill that will not only engage the students, but also allow them to use their personal forms of expression as an opportunity to grow and learn. In order to meet this professional goal I plan on researching what opportunities my school district offers in regards to multimedia use such as digital storytelling, PowerPoint, and i-movie. Websites such as Edutopia (http://www.edutopia.org), and Discovery Education (http://www.discoveryeducation.com) will also serve as sources of professional development in the technology arena. I hope to pursue this goal as soon as possible. As I continue to learn so will my students.
I am grateful for the opportunity to become aware of new skills that will not only help my students but also myself. The 21st century skills (Jukes, 2007) cannot be ignored simply because educators have been used to teaching a particular way. As we ask our students to keep an open mind so should we. I look forward to teaching my students with more dynamic resources, and learning more about how to tap into some resources that my students may already be using. It is exciting to think about what will come about in the next few years, and how the role of the teacher may once again shift.
References
Jukes, I. (2007). 21st century fluency skills: Attributes of a 21st century learner. Located at http://www.committedsardine.com/handouts/twca.pdf
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom. Baltimore: Author.
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