21st Century Tools to Teach the Digital Child

Adele Kivel & Amanda Bulson 10:10-11:10

So how does the 21st Century student succeed in today’s world? It is by no accident that the presenters started with a self-created video of their students sharing what the world will look like when they graduate. It had a-Youtube- Edutube like feeling- sharing while students lifted up papers sharing their thoughts about how they- communicate; mainly digital -text, email, web. The students also expressed their concerne with how they might be able to survive in this digital world with the every-growing number of people in India, China & Japan who in their minds seem to be doing better academically. How will they compete in this global world?

How are educators across the globe dealing with this issue of developing problem solvers and entrepreneurs for our 21 Century? Most of us teaching are digital immigrants – as quoted by Robert Murdoch, those of us over 30 , “ …may never fully understand this technology but may assimilate.”

Teachers need to make the classroom active not passive; the guide on the side. Teachers need a current website that goes beyond homework. Teachers need to decide how to use iPods, YouTube, blogs, wikis, podcasts, texting.

How do teachers begin to develop a more technically literate student that can compete with the global world?

Web Sites
www.newspaper.com - a website that gathers papers from around the world. She demonstrated how studying the recent Australian fire outbreak could be reviewed from an Australian resource and an American resource. Is there a different perspective from where the information is written?

CNN Student News – from iTunes, they discuss current news both domestically and internationally. This video podcast is engaging and valuable.

iGoogle – use iGoogle as a jumping point for dragging gadgets that relate to education. For example she used Online English Grammar, Word of the Day, Quote of the Day, History for are sites that will feed iGoolge daily.

iPod technology – how could you create homework assignments that engage and further educate our students beyond the “direct instruction” within the classroom.? They shared a site on NPR –that provides series of podcasts that can be shared with students to download. Creation of podcasts enable students to not only work on writing skills but also on their theatrical performance skills – hopefully tapping into their creative intelligence.

Twitter – social networking site that enables students to share a status update. Where are you and what you are doing – The end user controls who can see their twitter page. Could teachers have students answer a “Do Now” via the cell phone to hopefully get greater participation and potentially hear from students that may be afraid to voice their opinion. Students in the high school and middle school would benefit greatly from this because so many have cell phones. My question to all of you – how many of your schools allow students to access their phones?

As we look at all of these technologies it is very exciting and encourages me to continue searching for appropriate uses of these tools for instructional means. I am curious about how you are using these tools in your classroom. If you are not using them - tell us which one tool you would be interested integrating!