Teaching 21st century skills

Keeping up with our ever- changing world and skills has forced more teachers to restructure the classroom and better prepare our students.   With many of the new approaches to teaching, I feel I am equipped to teach 21st century learning.   I am already encouraging my students to become critical thinkers, while discussing themes or issues within the classroom.  Collaboration is another skill I have already incorporated into my classroom.  Students know they are expected to not only collaborate but also provide meaningful contributions to the group.  I feel equally prepared to incorporate technology into my classroom.  Students are expected to learn new programs.  After this week, I plan to find ways to ensure students are able to connect the programs and content learning to situations outside of school. 

Students in my classroom are more prepared to have success utilizing 21st century skills as they leave.  However, I do not feel students are as prepared as they should be.  With shortened class periods and standards that must be taught, sometimes the skills being used are not conducive to 21st century skills.  In my ideal world, I would have a balance that provides me with enough time to do it all.  As I continue on my journey, I hope to find ways to achieve success with this issue.

Reflecting on my classroom this year, I would say I have experienced success while teaching students to become problem solvers.  Many students have not been exposed to higher order thinking and become frustrated with questions that do not involve basic comprehension.  I even had one student tell me he does not want to think or conclude what the answer is, it should just be given.  Of course we had a class discussion on how this applied to his life in general! 

While I encourage students to become critical thinkers, it is an ongoing process.  I feel I have had some success because I can see their growth.  My students are required to complete literary analysis throughout the semester.  At the beginning of the year the students did not possess the skills to think about themes or ideas critically.  After working with my students, writing and re-writing I have seen improvement.  The challenge is even with improvement they are far from being able to apply this skill without proper guidance.  I also feel limited resources with technology hinders student's learning. With many websites blocked for students such as; YouTube, blogs and many images, students are unable to fully learn what the entire Internet has to offer.  Especially students that are unable to afford computers or Internet in their home.    

The beginning...

As I begin reflecting on the use of technology in my school and my classroom I cannot deny there is much work to be done.  My school system does provide updated computers and Microsoft applications for students to utilize.  However, I realize I have missed the mark at meeting the NETS for teachers standards.  I try to include technology into my curriculum, but I realize I am still not truly preparing my students.  My activities are usually tailored for the classroom and students may not see how this transfers into the real-world.  I also have not provided my students with a learning experience that allows for their individual growth within technology.   There are many things I can change to help my students. 

There are many barriers to technology use in my school.  To begin, I only have five computers in my classroom.  I'm grateful to have these computers but it really limits what I can do with my students in regards to technology.  I have to be very creative in finding time to rotate all students through the computers.  The economic situation within my community is another barrier for technology.  We are not offered laptops with video cameras for every student or even simple things such as scanners for students to use.  Lastly, many websites that could be used to collaborate with students and others are blocked.

While beginning this journey through technology I will not allow fear to rule me.  There are many web applications that I am unfamiliar with, but as I focus on the directive "fear not" I am determined to embrace them.  I plan to take this technology journey as an opportunity to learn new things by challenging myself.  I will not be afraid to make mistakes or present new activities to my students.  I know that God has everything in control and I know he will give me wisdom and peace to overcome fear and learn more about technology.

As I continue through my technology class I hope to learn a variety of ways I can begin incorporating technology into my classroom.  There are many new programs available and I want my students to have the opportunity to learn them while growing through assessments and projects.  Another goal is to learn new technology that I can present to my co-workers, so students have more opportunities to develop technology skills.