21st Century Animoto

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Reflection

I must admit that I learned more from this book than I had had expected to gain. I really did not have the best attitude when I began the book. I must say now that I feel better informed and more ready to try to challenge my students more.
I am both excited and fearful for my students as they face new challenges and new problems moving through the 21st century. I don't believe that schools (I mean teachers and administrators) do enough to prepare our students as a whole for what they are about to face. Some things that really caught me attention while reading this book were companies/employers having to train/re-train employees and the expectations that they have for students coming into the workforce.
I don't think that many of our students in rural South Dakota understand what will be required of them in the future. I think that by trying some of the strategies in this course I can help them, but I am not a digital native, and so my history differs from theirs.
There were several references to the SARS project. I applaud the young people who took part in that. That being said, I don't know many students who are ready now to undertake something of that magnitude. They may be intrigued by it, but are not prepared to do it.
I hope that what I gained was the direction, the motivation to help my students embrace the use of technology to learn. They are not afraid of technology now they just need to harness it for productive use.

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My insight as a result of reading this book

As I was reading this book my mind kept remembering a phrase stated this past year by one of the veteran teachers in my school. It was stated to the whole elementary staff during an inservice. It bothered me that day and continues to bother me to this day. I cannot repeat her exact words, but it was a comment that was directed towards the “non-traditional” teacher(s) of my school. She expressed her concern for the students that leave her “traditional” classroom, whom have had the traditional memorized spelling tests, basal reading instruction, and penmanship books, etc., and travel into a more “non-traditional” classroom as they progress into the next grade level. My impression of her comment was, that without continuation of these “traditional” skills her former students were not getting the education they needed, because the “non-traditional” teachers were choosing to spend their learning time outside of the box of “tradition." While I was reading this book I kept thinking, she can’t be serious, because as this book stated education has and is evolving and it is no longer “traditional.” How can we prepare students for a “non-traditional” future teaching in a traditional manner. It is such a closed minded way of thinking, and one that will not help our students reach their potential. I do agree with the book that there needs to be a healthy balance between skills, technology, and collaborative group work etc. Yes we still need to teach the basics, but these students must know how to take taught skills to another level, even at early ages. This is a challenge within not only my school but schools across our nation. I don't feel this is the pendulum swinging but an actual change that we all need to embrace. If we don't, our children will not be prepared for the future and our great nation will not lead but follow in other nations footsteps.

21st Century Skills

21Century Skills - Learning For Life In Our Times

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Summary One Reflection

This section really opened my eyes to how different the"work world" has become and how it continues to grow and change. It makes it an exciting yet scary time to be an educator, because we are the ones that must prepare our students for this future.