Is our world changing to quickly for education to keep up? Are educators afraid of change? Do today's classroom teachers feel inadequate and unprepared? Are we trying to hold on to the familiar and sprinkle a little technology on top? These are a few of the questions that came to mind as I read Integration Issues for 21st-Century Teachers by Susan Brooks-Young. As digital immigrants, myself included, we are simply sprinkling a little technolgy on top of our current curriculum. I can relate to the comment that teachers feel students are not "paying attention" if they are multitasking. Why is concentration no longer considered important? I disagree with the article that the skills we need to teach have changed. The educational system should have always been teaching problem solving , thinking critically, and working in teams. These are the skills that have brought our society to its current position. These are some of the skills responsibile for the technology we now use.

I truly believe that technology is the future of education. I agree that it must be used effectively to teach and learn the academic concepts. I look forward to the day that a computer will be as commonly used in a classroom as a pencil.

GrowingKnowledge: http://www.filamentality.com/wired/democracy/debtquest.html

GrowingKnowledge

There is currently a wide gap in our current methods of teaching and learning and the concepts of 21st Century teaching and learning. I believe a part of the gap is due to the rapid changes technology has brought to all our lives. The vast majority of computer literate adults have received very limited training or are self taught. Many have learned the basic skills needed for their current job and home Internet use. Our schools are missing the needed hardware, software and peripherals. Our school personnel are missing the training and confidence to integrate 21st Century skills. I believe that the college training of our new teachers also needs to be upgraded to meet 21st Century skills. As we will have a large turnover of teachers in the next 5-10 years, our new teachers should be competent in 21st Century technology.

I was glad to see civics, economics and geography listed as core subjects. I believe our school has dropped the ball in these areas. I also believe that teachers must break away from teaching "facts". Why must students memorize the quotes in famous literature? What must be memorized in world history? Do we need to look at our curriculumn? I truly belive that 50 years ago the curriculumn was more relevant to the students lives. We have not kept pace. Many classrooms are simply teaching "facts" and not "skills". Students are using calculators without understanding the math. Many students do not have problem solving skills or social skills. What will all this technology do to their social skills? Our chat room is a perfect example of technology use but no social skills are included.