A Vision of K-12 Students Today

Good day to all you "learners" out there!

Today, my educational post will be focused around a YouTube video titled, A Vision of K-12 Students Today. You can view this video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8.

I first saw this video at a staff meeting at our school to promote 21st Century Teaching in the classroom. I clearly remember how I initially felt at that moment as a teacher.....frustrated. Frustrated, mainly, because it all makes sense "on paper" or in a "perfect world". If you give your students more opportunities to learn through the use of technology, it is a "no brainer." OF COURSE they are going to be more engaged and most likely walk away with a higher level of understanding of the content whether it be reading, writing, math, science, or history.

However, the part that made my frustrated was the reality of what teachers are really up against everyday. That reality is TIME, MONEY, and RESOURCES! I work at a fairly "middle of the road" school in Adams County. A large majority of my students, 4th graders, have computers, iPods, and cell phones and we often have technology day. This is a day when they are allowed to bring in their "technology" to use for a portion of the day. They bring in all sorts of "gadgets" like DS's and Ipods. I must say they get a real kick out of "teaching their teacher". I honor that world they live in and agree we need to get these 21st Century Learners involved with technology throughout the course of their day at school.

To make that happen, educators need RESOURCES. Most schools only have a few computers in the actual classroom and ONE computer lab. At my school, the computer lab is a very popular place to be these days, making it hard to get those technology lessons in.

We also need TIME. My experience, thus far, has been that most of our time as educators in public education is used on data meetings that are primarily focused on CSAP. Educators need time to re-vamp their units to include lessons with technology. To plan these lessons and gather resources, grade level teams need to commit their time to collaborating on these units. It seems to me that some of our schools keep doing the same thing in the classroom and keep getting the same results on paper. Sadly enough, the data still looks the same! So, with that said, we DO need to change our teaching to meet our 21st Century Learners needs or we will never get any results.

I am aware that change takes time. I often talk with my students about how one day perhaps all desks will be equipped with a mini desktop computer. We could all log in together, go to work on some activities, log off and then DISCUSS what we learned. However, until that day, we need to also teach our children to persevere and be disciplined enough to create their own learning. To set goals and achieve those goals, whether with technology or not. I often joke with my students that I am not a Wii or a DS, that I am a HUMAN and they will have to just make the best of it. I believe strongly that it is healthy for these children to NOT always being engaged. Their brains need to time to download just like a computer and just do what they might consider "boring" tasks. We sure did our share of "boring" tasks and I would like to think we turned out alright. :)

So, overall this post is focused around balance. Balance as human beings to become part of the 21st century technological era but to also embrace the learning that takes place via human interaction. The 21st Century Learners need BOTH of these elements to succeed in life and it is our duty as educators to teach them this balance.

In the words of Frederich Froebel, "play is the highest expression of human development in childhood for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul." The question I will leave you with is, to play with technology or to play outside building a secret fort? Perhaps it is a bit of BOTH. :)