Let’s face it. We all come face to face with the our shortcomings around this time each year. The prospect of a new year fills each of us with thoughts about how we can improve ourselves in one way or another. For many, this will include joining a gym or finally making the commitment to eat healthy. As educators, I would like to suggest that this is a great time to take stock of ourselves as teachers and learners. Ask yourself some hard questions. For those of us who take seriously our profession, we know that to get comfortable in our classroom and our preparation--to keep using the same old lesson plans and same old activities--is a sign of regression. With new year resolutions in mind, I want to take a moment to suggest that this be the year you overcome your fear of technology in order to make teaching 21st century skills a priority in your classroom.
I already see the hands of my colleagues going up across the room. “Why should technology or 21st century skills be a priority for me? I have other things I could focus on.” The best reason I can give for facing those fears and adding technology tools to your teaching and learning is that you are doing your students a major disservice if you are not utilizing technology to enhance and drive learning in your classroom. It is not just content that you are teaching in your classroom. Think about the world that your students must face when they leave school and try to start a career or pursue a higher degree. As you do, think of all the ways your own profession and personal life have changed over the years. A teacher without the ability to research effectively will never provide their students with the material they need to be successful. A teacher who is not willing to collaborate with others to learn and create more effective and engaging lessons--including those outside of their own school--cannot call himself or herself a lifelong learner.
The truth is this. Technology is not the solution. Adding computers and tablets does not make learning better and create better students. Technology will always change, and we, as educators, will always need to adapt to the tools at our disposal. What technology allows us to do is give students the means to communicate effectively with others, collaborate on work, research to find their own information and learn to differentiate between valid and invalid sources, and take ownership of their own learning process by empowering them to create in different ways and with a variety of tools. If you get excited thinking about a classroom where students investigate content claims rather than take notes and memorize them and then work together to create (papers, videos, websites, presentations, podcasts, etc.), then it is time for you to make a resolution.
In this new year I resolve to...
- Embrace my status as a lifelong learner by investigating technology tools and how they can transform teaching and learning in my classroom.
- Face the fear of innovation and change and finally start allowing students to use technology to take ownership of their learning.
- Stop thinking that using powerpoint for notes and word or google docs for the same old tired worksheets or study guides makes me an innovative educator.
- Learn about the ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Students and Educators so that I can instill 21st century skills into student learning.
If you have made this your resolution for the new year, remember that we are here to help you keep that resolution. Browse our website for information on technology tools that you can use in your classroom. Find step by step directions and screen-casts that will enable you to start using these tools now. Join our community of professional educators who are dedicated to moving teaching and learning forward by following us on Twitter and Facebook. Send us questions or requests for help. We will be here as a resource. It is our goal to increase the number of blog posts and how to videos we have archived on our site. Look for more resources weekly. We are also planning to start a YouTube channel and begin our very own podcast/vidcast. There may even be some live google hangout trainings and discussions in the near future. We are embracing the innovation required to make this professional learning community more effective. Join us in our new year’s resolution!
Happy New Year!
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