Technology Leadership

Educators often wonder, "How can we engage students who were born into the digital age?"  If we continue to follow the 20th century model of education, then our students will be prepared for outdated industrial-era jobs, which just won't cut it.  We need to prepare our students for jobs that will exist their future, not in our past.  Traditional reading, writing, and math literacies are still important, but teach these basic skills in tandem with the new digital literacies, and you've got 21st Century learning.

Infographic by Grace Kwee

21st century learning doesn't mean simply having and using new technology.  Author and thought leader on digital leadership Eric Sheninger states that "Digital leadership is about establishing a vision and implementing a strategic process that creates a teaching and learning culture that provides students with essential skill sets: creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, problem-solving, technological proficiency, and global awareness."

Image credit: Partnership for 21st Century Learning (http://www.p21.org/)

We can transform our view of education, shifting toward the idea that teachers can guide students to find and use resources to communicate and collaborate as they solve problems, create, and innovate.  These, along with traditional and digital literacies, are the skills required for the jobs in our  future global economy.

Reference:
Sheninger, E.  (2014).  Digital Leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times.  Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin.

Resources:
Review Site for Digital Learning Tools
The Four C's, 21st Century Skills poster