(By Kelly W. Hines, Keeping Kids First)
I am sitting here at my laptop, occasionally watching my Skype and Tweetdeck notifications in case I miss something from a family member or colleague, and I’m going to honestly tell you that learning in the 21st century is not about the technology. Blasphemy! my tech-savvy friends are saying. Six months ago I might have agreed, but today I’m more than willing to stand by my words.
We are hearing more and more talk recently about what learning and teaching will look like in the 21st century. What do we need to bring us into the future? What will our children need to know and be able to do? The first thing to comes to everyone’s mind is technology. We need computers. We need ipods. We need wireless connectivity. We need 1:1 initiatives. We need blogs, wikis and podcasts. While I completely agree with the fact that these are innovative tools for teaching and learning, I do not agree that these are the first things we need to initiate change in our classrooms.
Before anything else, the educational community (including state and national organizations, teacher preparation programs, and local systems) must recognize the need to change an overall approach to teaching and learning. The tools mentioned earlier, like netbooks, 1:1 initiatives, and web 2.0 tools, will not be effective vehicles for instruction without an evolution in mindset. Here is a list of four things that every teacher must recognize in order to effectively and positively impact students in a new generation of learning.
1. Teachers must be learners. As teachers, most of us have completed a specialised teacher preparation program. We have passed a test of proficiency in basic educational theory and child psychology. We have demonstrated mastery of our own content areas. Think about the teachers in your building. The years that these teachers have exited these initial requirements span decades. If you put them all in one room, you will probably find that their experiences in these areas were very different. Yet, they are all teaching children today. Teachers today must be perpetual learners who are invested in their professions. We must be up to date on current trends, research and tools. We must know what our students are doing and where they are coming from when they enter our classrooms. This learning cannot just include mandated workshops and occasional required readings. Teachers who want to be truly succesful must be voracious and self-motivated in their pursuit of evoloving understanding.
2. Learning and Teaching are not the same thing. How many times have we heard a colleague say, “I don’t know why these kids don’t get it. I’ve taught it a hundred times.” I equate teaching and learning to a basic physics principle. If an object does not move, no matter how much force has been applied, no work has been done. Therefore, if a student has not learned, not matter how much effort has been exerted, no teaching has been done. Teaching in the 21st century is going to be about working smarter and not harder. It is not about adding to our proverbial plates. We must look at learning as the product of a successful day. Learning will not look the same to all students or all teachers, but it must be the goal.
3. Technology is useless without good teaching. We have countless technological tools at our disposable today. These tools range in cost from free to thousands and thousands of dollars. When we put innovative tools in the hands of innovative teachers, amazing things can happen. If you put these tools in the hands of teachers who are not willing to innovate, money has been wasted. There are arguments against spending the money on interactive whiteboards for classrooms. At approximately $5000 each, you would think these boards would facilitate better teaching. It is not about the board. It is about proper training and mindset of a teacher who is already willing and eager to do amazing things. The lack of comprehensive and curriculum-related professional development for teachers is why schools have thousands of computers that are being used as game systems and word processors.
4. Be a 21st Century Teacher without the technology. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has published a framework for learning in the 21st century. The core outcomes for students include:
1. Core Subjects and 21st Century Themes
2. Learning and Innovation Skills
* Creativity and Innovation
* Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
* Communication and Collaboration
3. Information, Media and Technology Skills
* Information Literacy
* Media Literacy
* ICT Literacy
4. Life and Career Skills
Upon careful consideration, these are outcomes that can be achieved with little technology (excluding of course some components of the Information, Media and Technology Skills). If a teacher can find ways to prepare students with the capacity to be creative and innovative, those children will be well prepared to face the future. Teachers who customize the learning experiences of their students to involve critical thinking and problem solving are doing their students a greater favor than those who misuse technology as a means of facilitating learning. Those teachers who know how to foster communication and collaboration within their classrooms and school buildings are equipping their students with the abilities to apply these core skills to more areas in their own lives.
Now imagine a classroom where the teacher has embraced these principles. The teacher is a learner. The teacher teaches with learning in mind. 21st century skills are highlighted through facilitative leadership. These foundational components of a quality classroom experience will ensure that students value experiential and focused learning. Now if you take this teacher and introduce them to the wonders that technology offers for students, the possibilities are endless. But, it really is not about the technology.
No related posts.
Ms. Hines,
I enjoyed reading your post! If teachers are set in their ways and not willing to learn new ideas, they will never fully experience all that learning has to offer!! I too have read your post for an assignment in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at University of South Alabama. My blog and comments can be found at: http://bankscourtneyedm310.blogspot.com/
Mrs. Hines,
I am a student in Dr.Strange’s class and I could not agree more with you about what you have said in this post. I am going to comment on it on my blog. I really enjoyed it. http://chastainneileighedm310.blogspot.com/
Mrs. Hines,
I am a student in Dr.Strange’s class and I could not agree more with you about what you have said in this post. I am going to comment on it on my blog. I really enjoyed it. http://chastainneileighedm310.blogspot.com/
Mrs.Hines,
I am a student of Dr. Strange’s class at the University of South Alabama. I wrote a response on my blog and would enjoy it if you commented on it, Thank you. http://hughesedwardedm310.blogspot.com/
Mrs. Hines,
I have read your post as an assignment in Dr. Strange’s EDM310 class, and my comment can be found on my blog. http://blackmonkiaraedm310.blogspot.com/
I both agree and disagree with what you wrote here. I am viewing this as part of my EDM 310 class under Dr. Strange. To view more of my response to your blog, you can read what I wrote at http://kirbykatherineedm310.blogspot.com/
Mrs. Hines, I really like the way that you have described how teacher can become better educators by becoming better learners themselves. As you have noticed, no doubt, your blog post is being read by my EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I will be doing a short comment on this post on my EDM 310 blog at: http://daviswilliamprentedm310.blogspot.com/
Thank you for a great blog post!
http://brooksmattieedm310.blogspot.com/
Mrs. Hines,
I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am currently enrolled in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 course. I completely agree with your blog! I will be posting a short response to your blog on my personal blog. You can view my blog at the following link:
Hello Mrs. Hines,
I am here as part of an assignment for Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. I have read your post, and I completely agree about wasting money on technological tools. Why buy something so expensive when some teacher will never fully understand the technical difficulty the boards contain. Here is the link to my blog if you want to keep in contact. http://trantrieuedm310.blogspot.com/
Hello,
I am a student at the University of South Alabama, enrolled in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. I have read your post as a part of an assignment and my response can be found on my blog page at: http://grandquestkellieedm310.blogspot.com
Hi, my name is Megan Rymell and I was assigned your blog for my edm310 class. I enjoyed your blog and agree with what you have said. Technology does not make a good teacher. A great teacher is a teacher who does not stop learning. I have heard this so many times in my classes and I have to agree this statement.
Megan Rymell
rymellmeganedm310.blogspot.com
Hello,
My name is Crystal Raper I was assigned to read your blog for Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. I have to agree with what you said, with all the great teacher’s out in the world it would be a shame if they missed out on this opportunity to learn something new. Because isn’t that what student’s follow, a person who is willing to try new thing opportunities that come knocking.
http://rapercrystaledm310.blogspot.com/
Hello,
My name is Samuel Wicker. I was assigned to read your blog for Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. My response can be found at:
http://wickersamueledm310.blogspot.com/
Hi, My name is Catherine Soutullo and I have read your post as part of assignment for Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class and my comments can be found on my class blog at http//soutullocatherineedm310.blogspot.com
Hello, I agree with what you are saying, I think teachers need to be at the forefront of new innovations and trends. I am a student at the University of south Alabama and was assigned to read your blog for my EDM310 class. my blog link is http://flowersbradleyedm310.blogspot.com/
Hello Mrs. Hines,
I have read your blog as part of an assignment in my EDM310 class. You can find my comments on toddkendraedm310.blogspot.com. I really enjoyed your perspective on things.
Mrs Hines,
I have read you blog as part of Dr. Stange’s EDM310 class. To look at my comments from your blog you can go to
Hello Mrs Hines,
I am reading your blog as parte of me EDM 310 class with Dr. Strange. To read my comments about your blog feel free to look at my blog!
Hi Ms. Hines,
My name is Sarah and I am in Dr. John Strage’s EDM 310 class. He has required us to read your blog and to post about it on our blog page. Feel free to visit my page and read my comments about your post. http://davissarahedm310.blogspot.com/
My name is Brittney Jolly and I was required to read your blog as part of an assignment for Dr. Stange’s EDM 310 class. I really enjoyed reading your blog and felt connected to it because technology is important but it should not be our one main focus. The children and their learning should be our number one focus and it’s not a bad thing to incorporate technology in our classrooms. You can find my comments on my blog page at jollybrittneyedm310.blogspot.com
Hello, Ms. Hines! I really enjoyed your article about how technology isn’t everything. We often forget the teaching that goes behind the technology and how important that is. If you would like to hear some more of my comments, please visit my blog at http://buchanankathrynedm310.blogspot.com/ Thank you!
Ms. Hines! I wanted to also let you know that I read and commented on your article as an assignment for Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. Thank you!
My name is Khaela H. I am a student in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I must say that the most profound statement in this post has to be “. . . if a student has not learned, not matter how much effort has been exerted, no teaching has been done.” If you are interested, I will be commenting further on this post on my own blog: http://www.http://hueykhaelaedm310.blogspot.com/
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I am also part of Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 course. My comments on your article may be found at in my blog. http://www.blogger.com/profile/18349468973315693510
Hi Ms. Hines,
I am also a student in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I really enjoyed your post. If you wish to read my comments, they can be found on my blog at paveykrystinedm310.blogspot.com .
Hello Mrs. Hines. My name is Cassandra Steele, and I am a part of Dr. Strange’s EDM310 class this semester. I was required to read your post as part of an assignment for class. I am required to make a response to your post on my own blog. If you are interested in looking it up, my blog is http://steelecassandraedm310.blogspot.com Thanks for sharing your thoughts. They really opened up another perspective for me!
Hello, Mrs. Hines! My name is Tiffany Morris. I am a student of Dr. Strange at South Alabama. I am taking EDM 310. Your article is very inspiring. If you would like to read any of my comments on your article, feel free to visit my blog. http://morristiffanyedm310.blogspot.com/
Hi, Ms. Hines!
My name is Allie Howell, and I am an Elementary Education major at the University of South Alabama. As a part of EDM310, one of my teaching courses, I have been assigned to read your article and blog my response. If you are interested in my comments, please visit http://www.howellallieedm310.blogspot.com.
Hello Ms. Hines,
My name is Carrie Tucker and I am a student at the University of South Alabama pursuing a degree in secondary education. I am taking the EDM 310 course this semester, under the instruction of Dr. Strange. This article was very enriching and challenging as a future educator. It really helped me inventory my own experiences as a student and allowed me to see how I could become a better teacher through applying what you have written about. I completely agree with your above response and look forward to reading more articles. This is the link to my blog. http://tuckercarrieedm310.blogspot.com. I posted a response to the above article. I hope that you find the responses of students encouraging and productive!
Thanks for being innovative!
Carrie
Hello,
My name is Aaron Griffin and I am a part of Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I found your article to be very informative and interesting. If you are interested, you can visit my blog for a more detailed comment
Hello, Ms. Hines! My name is Marie Allgood, I am an education major at the University of South Alabama. As part of an assignment for my EDM 310 class was asked to read your article. I found it very interesting. I will be commenting about your article on my blog http://www.allgoodmarieedm310.blogspot.com please feel free to check out my comment.
Hi! My name is Brooke Broadus and I am an education major at the University of South Alabama. I am in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 and as part of an assignment we were asked to read your article and comment on it. I loved this article, and agree with you about how technology is no good without good teaching. I will be commenting about your article on my blog http://www.broadusbrookeedm310.blogspot.com. Feel free to read my comments!
Hello, Ms. Hines
My name is Zachary Poole I am Double Majoring in Secondary Education Science and Biology at the University of South Alabama. I have read her post as part of an assignment for Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class and my comments can be found on my blog http://www.poolezacharyedm310.blogspot.com
Sorry, I copied and pasted the last part and forgot to edit the part that said I have read her post. I forgot to change her to your and I apologize for the mistake on my part.
Ms. Hines,
I am a student in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. He recomended that we read your post which I found to be very interesting. I also believe that although technology is very important, it is not more important than teachers themselves. It takes a good teacher to make technology useful. If you would like to view my blog and more of my comments the link is http://dunawaystephanieedm310.blogspot.com/
Stephanie Dunaway
Hello, Mrs. Hines! My name is Caitlin Jaynes and I am also a part of Dr. Strange’s EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama. I read your blog as part of an assignment, and am so glad it was included. Reading your thoughts makes me think more and more about how technology should not be the main focus . You may find my comments about your article at my blog: http://jaynescaitlinedm310.blogspot.com
My name is Angelica Scott , and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am in EDM 310 and I was assigned to read your article , thank you for the information. I made a response to your blog on my blog page, scottangelicaedm310.blogspot.com
Hello Ms. Hines
My name is Jared and I am in Dr. John Strage’s EDM 310 class. He has asked us to read your blog and to post comments about it on our blog page. If you would like visit my blog page and read my comments about your post. http://datemajarededm310.blogspot.com
Hello Mrs. Hines! My name is Emily and I am in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. I just read your post and I really enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts! My comments are on my blog if you’d like to read them. http://pilotteemilyedm310.blogspot.com/
Hello Ms. Hines,
Thank you so much for posting this!
My name is Tiphanie and I am a student in Dr. John Strage’s EDM310 class. He asked me to read your blog and to post comments about it on my blog page. If you would like visit my blog page and read my comments about your post. http://owenstiphanieedm310.blogspot.com
Hello Ms. Hines
My name is Toni Parrish and I am a student at the University of South Alabama majoring in elementary education, and I’m just informing you that I will be commenting on your passage for my edm310 class on my blog page: http://parrishtoniedm310.blogspot.com; you are more than welcome to visit it!
Ms. Hines,
I am Kristi Bain and I am a student in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. I have read your blog as an assignment. If you would like to read comments I post related to your blog. You are more than welcome to view my blog at http://bainkristiedm310.blogspot.com/.
Ms. Hines
My name is Stephanie Belletty I am doing a blog on your post for Dr. Strange in EDM 310. You can find my comments at http://bellettystephanieedm310.blogspot.com
Ms. Hines,
I am Tierra Dinkins a student in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I have read your blog as a class assignment and will be commenting on your post in my blog ; you are welcome to read.
Ms. Hines,
I am Tierra Dinkins a student in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I have read your blog as a class assignment and will be commenting on your post in my blog http://dinkinstierraedm310.blogspot.com; you are welcome to read. Sorry about double posting I am new to HTML.
I just read your post and thought it was very interesting. This was part of an assignment for my class, EDM 310 with Dr. Strange. If you would like to see my comments you can go to my blog at: http://www.bosargewhitneyedm310@blogspot.com
As a student from Dr. John Strange’s EDM 310 class, I was assigned to read and respond to your post. After reading it, I realized classroom success really isn’t just about the technology. It’s more about how you use it. In some cases, a teacher may achieve maximum benefits from using all kinds of technology, and in other cases they are really only restraining it. I’m glad I was allowed to read your blog post. If you would like to join me in my blogging experience, I would be honored! My blog is located at http://alloulamaniedm310.blogspot.com.
Thank you sharing your point of view with us.
Ms, Hines
Hello, my name is Shawanda Bush and I am a student in Dr. Strange EDM 310 class. Please feel free to read my comment about your article on my blog. The URL for my blog is http://bushshawandaedm310.blogspot.
Hi Mrs. Hines,
I am a student at University of South Alabama and as a requirement for my EDM 310 we are to read your blog and make a comment on our blog. I will be posting my comments to my blog. My URL is hadawayjessicaedm310.blogspot.com