Week 3 Homework Post - Preparing Students for the 21st Century

After reading both chapters and watching the video, it became inherently clear just how crucial technology is in the learning process for students of all ages. One particular element that took me by surprise was how quickly the children of India acquired computer literacy skills, even with limited access to the actual computer. Mitra made it very obvious that children can easily self instruct themselves in basic computer literacy skills, even overcoming language barriers, as long as they have access to a computer. He stated that the children of the remote communities could learn all the computer basics simply by watching each other and exploring through hands on, trial and error endeavors.

At first I found this process of self instruction to be amazing; however, upon second thought, I realized I had gone through a similar experience as a student. As a high school student, Microsoft Office was growing in popularity in the educational world. I had never been exposed to power point until my sophomore year of high school, when I was thrown into a “sink or swim” situation where we were required to use the program in a group project. Through my own self instruction, I figured out exactly how to use the program. To this day, I have never received any formal instruction in power point, yet I am extremely proficient in it and use it as a primary tool for my classroom instruction. The forward of 21^st Century Skills written by Ken Kay reinforced this belief. He states that “it is more likely that young people pick up these skills by chance in everyday living and job experiences and, yes, sometimes in school – if they are lucky enough to have good mentors or are astute enough to recognize and build these skills on their own” (Kay, xx).

One point discussed that I strongly agree with is that as educators, we need to develop a rigorous and demanding curriculum that focuses equally on content and skills. Unfortunately, the current climate of education does not foster this belief, as many politicians and members of the business world are consistently pushing towards the “teach to the test” method, a highly ineffective, bureaucratic practice that hinders student performance. I personally stray away from this awful teaching practice, and push towards the higher order thinking lessons, as I strongly believe that it is my job as an educator to prepare students for the real world one day.

Another aspect of the reading I strongly agree with is utilizing social networks as a learning tool. I actively promote this in my classroom, and use a variety of technologies to support my in-class instruction. Sites such as youtube, turnitin.com, moodle and oncourse (just to name a few) are regularly used in my classroom. I hold online scored discussions, give online quizzes, maintain a website filled with a variety of student resources and even assign video projects that the students must post to youtube. All of these technologies enhance the classroom experience, and help the students acquire the 21^st century skills that will enable them to be successful adults in the work force one day.