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A growing number of business leaders, politicians, and educators are united around the idea that students need 21st century skills to be successful today. But in fact, the skills students need, are not new. People on all sides of this debate often speak of skills and knowledge as separate. Skills and knowledge are not separate, however, but intertwined. In some cases, knowledge helps us recognize the underlying structure of a problem. There is no doubt that technology has changed the way children learn in the classroom. Technology has altered how students engage in learning activities, the format of learning materials they use, how tasks are completed, and how they demonstrate what they know. The way we as educators design and deliver learning experiences, and what instructional materials we use to enhance student learning, has also changed.
Despite increasingly widespread adoption of technologies in education, significant challenges are preventing widespread effective implementation. According to the researchers, teachers and school leaders often see technological experimentation as outside the scope of their job descriptions. Greater emphasis on technology also has important implications for teacher training. Our resolve to teach new skills to all students will not be enough. There is lack of adequate, ongoing professional development for teachers who are required to integrate new technologies into their classrooms yet who are unprepared or unable to understand new technologies. Even if you have the hardware, trouble shooting skills, and knowledge of how to use the software, it still takes time and experience to effectively integrate the technology into your teaching. We must have a plan by which teachers can succeed where previous generations have failed.
Most adoptions only plan as far as getting the devices into the classroom and providing IT support to ensure connectivity and device management. In general there is rarely any work done towards understanding how to integrate the devices in sound ways into day-to-day classroom instruction. One of the biggest challenges teachers face is accommodating varying levels of ability and paces of learning. We need to be careful to introduce technology in thoughtful ways or else we will be left with another generation of teachers who see technology as nothing but overpriced distractions rather than useful teaching tools. Without better curriculum, better teaching, and better tests, the emphasis on technology will be a superficial one that will sacrifice long-term gains for the appearance of short-term progress.
If we really want to create a healthier and safer school climate, we need to fully recognize and address the many ways information and conversations flow through school walls, hallways and classroom communities. As technology becomes an even more integral part of classroom learning, online interactions will more aggressively contribute to the overall school climate. Increased classroom Internet access can potentially bring devastating implications for our youngest and most impressionable students. Research suggests that males tend to focus more of their online efforts on gaming, while females tend to spend more time socializing.
Technology devices like iPads are expensive to purchase and can be even more expensive to maintain. Once the cost starts to dawn on Schools the iPads will really need to show their worth to justify their continuing use in education. Tools merely offer potential, the hard work of implementation and teaching still needs to be done. The current approach of just throwing tablets into classrooms and seeing what happens is poor and will have negative consequences. Schools with a well-developed vision for learning which lead and manage their use of technology are more likely to reap benefits.
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