I feel strongly that 21st century skills should be taught and 21st century tools should be used in the classroom. This will only be beneficial to students as they go through higher education and enter the real world.
Students need to practice analyzing information, critical thinking, communication, and decision making skills to be able to survive and thrive when they enter adulthood. That is not to say that traditional teaching methods are not useful in the classroom. They should be used appropriately along with more creative and various teaching methods to engage students and enable the students to connect the content to the real world.
Using 21st century tools is equally important as the teaching methods. The Tech and Learning website states that ”technology is, and will continue to be, a driving force in workplaces, communities, and personal lives in the 21st century.” By incoporating technology and education, it will teach students how to use technology resources outside of social communication. Also, I will probably learn a lot about technology from my students…considering my 20 month-old son already carries around my cell phone and Ipod.
I think you make a great point about learning from our students! I have two cousins (14 and 16) that live in Northern Virginia. I went up to visit them this past weekend, and I was talking about the stuff I’ve been learning to do in technology class – like editing photos and movies. They both already knew way more about these technologies than I do! Jamie (the 14 year old) actually showed me some movies she has made with her friends that she posted on her blog.
It’s really interesting though, because as much as these students use technology in their private lives, they may not be using it in the classroom. Neither of my cousins had the opportunity to use iMovie or Photoshop for a school assignment. Neither even thought teachers would ever assign that kind of project. I guess it just goes to prove that teachers need to be “with-it,” and know how to incorporate lessons into the real lives of students.