When I began this post, my first inclination was to discuss the importance of integrating technology into the classroom. But as I continued to think about my inquiry question, I realized that an argument strictly on technology integration is short-sided. True, technology should be integrated into the classroom, but more importantly, learning and utilizing 21st century literacy skills should be the focus, since today's student is wired differently than students of generation's passed.
The educational landscape of today revolves around the Common Core State Standards, which are devised to "establish clear, consistent guidelines for what every student should know and be able to do in math and English language arts from kindergarten through 12th grade" ("What Parents Should Know," 2015). The emphasis on "be able to do" means "skills." For this reason, in order to become competent and competitive in today's educational and professional world, teachers and students must develop and utilize 21st century literacy skills such as collaboration, communication, creativity, and divergent thinking, as mentioned by the Paul Hamilton (2012) YouTube video from my previous post. In order to acquire these skills, teachers must embrace 21st century, digital literacy skills in the classroom to not only engage their students but to enhance learning and empower them as well.
- "Students retain about 70% of what they hear in the first 10 minutes of class - and just 20% during the last 10 minutes"
- "...in a typical lecture class, students are attentive just 40 percent of the time"
- "Adding visual aids increased retention from 14% to 38%".
In the article "21st Century Skills: The Role of Technology in Education Today," Ian Jukes and Lee Crockett (2012, May) assert that:
This is especially poignant to my initial argument that it is not that classrooms need more technology integration, rather they need more authentic and meaningful opportunities to utilize it. Children these days are chronically exposed to digital technology and media, and this has led their brains to adapt and evolve in a manner to which they are neuorologically wired differently than we are. "And because they are wired differently than we are, they not only see, but they also interact with the world in a very different way than we do... the digital generation has developed what we like to call “hyper-linked minds” and what we mean by this is that far more of the time their brains choose to process information in a parallel or simultaneous manner, not in a sequential linear manner that our brains process information. And you’ll see because of this chronic and this pervasive digital bombardment it’s caused their brains to become “neuroplastic.” Literally, their brains are plastic and malleable" (Jukes & Crockett, 2012, May).
Therefore, in order to actively engage them, lessons and activities must stimulate them in more than one way, and to borrow a phrase from Juke & Crockett (2012, May), "in a parallel or simultaneous manner, not in a sequential linear manner." When Juke & Crockett *2012, May) refer to a "parallel or simultaneous manner," they mean that the modern student must not only be given brief instruction but actively engaged and immersed in an experiential or project-based activity as well to scaffold purpose with process. The "sequential linear manner" to which they allude to is the lecture-style mode of the past, which is now obsolete due to the the brain-wiring of modern adolescents. This is a fancy way of saying that the attention span of students has changed, and therefore to remain effective in the classroom, teachers need to incorporate many mediums and opportunities into a lesson and teach them within context of a bigger picture - in other words, less lecture and focus on isolated facts and skills, and more hands-on opportunities with a focus on interdisciplinary connectivity. This doesn't directly spell itself towards technology, but in terms of these new aged students, technology sure does help.
Being a product of mid 90's and early 2000's public education, I think back to the teachers that really captivated me and took into account the way that my millennial mind needed instruction. Some 20 years ago, the answer was PowerPoint presentations and YouTube clips. The use of those visual aids and the bells and whistles of a video clip. animated slide transition, and sound effect was enough to refocus me. However, when I reflect on the nature of the lesson, it was still mostly teacher centered and lecture based. I wonder aloud, where was the active engagement? Was a merely the product of an academic assembly line where I was given the "correct parts and skills," as well as the "correct information and facts" to pass standardized tests and become a productive and massed produced white-collar or blue collar worker bee?
The below video, "A Vision for 21st Century Learning" by Ameyers3727 (2009, February 27), juxtaposes my previous sentiment with the diatribe that follows.
Now, to be fair to my former teachers, wireless Internet or even consistent Internet connectivity was an issue back then, and the thought of some kind of 1:1 device deployment was a mere pipe dream. There were fewer resources, and in the days of AOL and Yahoo!, a more refined and closely curated list of web results was unavailable, as this was pre-Google. The point that I am driving at is that teachers during my primary and secondary education were limited in resources because they were the pioneers of this new age in learning. They simply conformed technology to put a fresh spin on their tried and true lessons. Looking back on my experiences and the needs of my current students, I realize that educators of today are in a position to do better, to do more. With the full expanse of the Internet and resources such as TeachersPayTeachers.com, Pinterest, Skillshare.com, etc., there is myriad ways for teachers to swap or even purchase best practices and ideas to create an engaging classroom for the active learner. In addition, teachers have many options for creating media rich classrooms with, utilizing QR Codes, JeopardyLabs.com, Prezi, FlipBoard, Wordle, etc. to engage students in more doing (action) and less passive note-taking and listening.
Take a look at the two images below:
Please click on this link for additional resources on the topic.
Ameyers3727. (2009, February 7). A Vision for 21st Century Learning [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mirxkzkxuf4
Hamilton, P. (2012, November 21). Technology in Education [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXyCECMxhOs
Jukes, I., & Crockett, L. (2010, May 1). 21st Century Skills: The Role of Technology in
Education Today. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
What Parents Should Know. (2015). Retrieved from
http://www.corestandards.org/what-parents-should-know/