21st Century Leaders Analysis

Technology of the past 20 years has become a focal point of teaching and learning. As a teacher, it is my job to facilitate the learning for an individual by creating an environment that not only conducive for learning, but also places the child in a position to discover and learn them for themselves. Technology has given teachers to opportunity to take learning beyond the classroom, and has begun to reshape their role in the learning process.

I am a very computer literate and knowledgeable in information literacy. A previous course that I took at GCU, 21st Century Skills, helped me to be able to locate information from multiple sources, determine if information is relevant, and communicate information. I believe that my knowledge of digital literacy can enhance my future classroom environment and student’s academic performance. In my future classroom, I plan to incorporate

This paper is a personal technology plan that includes my personal philosophy on integrating technology in the classroom as well as my professional goals concerning technology in the classroom. My Mission and Vision Statement are included as well as a plan for communications, integrating technology, software to support assessment, and technology ethics for a strong guideline in the classroom. Although this plan will need to be revised as advances in technology are made this is strong ground work that I can build on as a professional educator. Using this plan I can ensure that my students are using the latest

The Board of Education for the Rowan Salisbury Schools are fully aware of how twenty-first century technologies can affect the manner in which our teachers teach and our students learn. It is the goal of the district to provide a safe and nurturing atmosphere that is technologically rich. Providing every student and employee with access to these tools is meant to enhance and improve the learning experience that will ultimately improve the academic achievements of all of our students. The use of the District’s resources are not a right, but come with responsibilities for proper care and use of all district owned technology. The Board also reserves the right to place restrictions on the proper care and use of its devices.

Twenty-first century society is constantly presented with exciting advances in hardware and software technology. Use of technology in CCT 109 classrooms should be allowed to capitalize on these advances and challenge the learning status quo. Technology’s adoption encourages rethinking of how information is acquired and processed, how people learn, how they are empowered, what jobs will be in highest demand, and what the nature of learning and useful information is. With the increasing accessibility, affordability, and popularity of laptops and tablets, it is essential for students, professors, and institutions to welcome these devices in the classroom. Technology’s benefits to the professor, student, and society far outweigh any perceived disadvantages.

Course content and technology connect in a variety of ways. The Common Core Standards focus on what students need to be able to do by providing standards to help students reach college and career readiness by 12th grade. Students that are college and career ready in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language are able to demonstrate independence and use technology and digital media strategically and capably. However, it is up to the teachers how they want their students to meet these standards. As long as students are able to meet the standards, it is the teacher’s choice how they teach it. Therefore, teaching in the 21st century requires educators to connect content through the effective use of technology in their instruction.

Teachers need to know how to use the technology. Teachers will use “educational strategies” (Rosen 4) that were successful in the past and simply transferred the content from a whiteboard to a PowerPoint on a Smartboard. Why waste time, energy, and money on something that is more or less the same style of teaching, just on a different medium? Throughout Rosen’s book, Rewired: Understanding The iGeneration And The Way They Learn, he references the fact that the current generation of students are completely different from what teachers have seen in the past (4). As a result of that, students learn unlike anything teachers have experienced. Rosen writes that “We literally have to rewire such teachers to understand and see that their belief system, while having validity in the past, may not be accurate in today’s world.” (184) Even Joel Klein, the CEO of Amplify a company whose goal is to integrate technology into the classroom, knows that the success of technology rests almost solely on how teachers use it. Klein even said in his interview“If it’s not transformative.... it’s not worth it” (Rotella

Together with the media coordinator, and the district’s instructional technology facilitators, we developed a survey for teachers and students to determine in-service needs. Questions in the survey were based on North Carolina’s Digital Learning Progress Rubric, Craven County Schools Digital Learning Plan, North Carolina Information & Technology Essential Standards (NCITES), and the observations from the school’s media coordinator. Surveys were given to both students and teachers. Results from both surveys, school level EOG data and qualitative data from the media coordinator, along with AASL’s Standards for the 21st Century Learner, were used to determine the in-service needs for the faculty.

Within my time in school, the multimedia resources available to the education community has multiplied greatly. When I first arrived at my current school in middle school, most of the teachers did not even have a television in their classroom. Now, the majority of the classrooms are outfitted with projectors and interactive SMART Boards. It is amazing to see how much this has influenced the way teachers teach and the assignments they hand out.

The ability to show slideshows with graphics and video helped make presentations more engaging to the students. An issue with the ability to incorporate information technology into the classrooms limited this candidate’s previously utilized repertoire of learning activities and assessment tools. In 2012, the district started to issue every student with an electronic e-learning device, in the form of Chromebooks, but for the incoming freshman of the 2013-2014 school year, the district changed to a “netbook” type device utilizing a different operating system. These “netbooks” did not integrate well with e-learning as students experienced long delays accessing the internet and opening websites, making them unreliable for use in lessons. This was reported to the district, but it was decided that students issued these devices would continue to use them for the planned full two full school years. Student response systems “clickers” were available to check out on a daily basis from the library, but there were only a few sets for the whole school which limited their

Educationworld presented an article entitled Bringing Acceptable-Use Policies into the 21st Century by Kari Rhame Murphy. Murphy stressed the importance of adjusting school handbooks to implement technology guidelines and precautions if students were to begin bringing their own digital devices. She challenged her instructional technology staff to revise the expectations that “reflect what we value about learning, teach our students digital citizenship, and empower our teachers” (Murphy, 2012). Murphy created 5-steps to support district leaders, schools and teachers in creating guidelines for technological use in schools. First, a vision statement should be put into place that follows closely with the school or district vision statement

As we navigate through the 21st century, technology in the classroom is becoming further predominant. iPads are replacing our textbooks, and we can research any desired topic on our smartphones. The impact that technology has had on today’s schools has been utterly momentous. Educators have now seen firsthand the numerous benefits of technology in the classroom. According to a study by IT Trade Association CompTIA, around 75 percent of educators have come to the conclusion that technology has a positive impact on the education process. Educators have also recognized the significance of developing these technological skills in students so they will be prepared to enter the workforce after they graduate (Cox). By incorporating technology in the classroom, teachers are setting our students up for a successful life outside of school. The increase of technology has even changed how teachers teach along with how

Influencing an organised group to achieve desired outcomes has been defined as leadership, (Hughes, Ginnett & Curphy 2015) whereas Northouse (2015) describes it as being complex with many dimensions, with some seeing it as a trait or an ability, whilst others consider it a skill or behaviour, with it also considered a relationship or process. In reality leadership most likely includes aspects of all dimensions, with each dimension explaining a different characteristic of leadership (Volckmann 2012). Leadership can be many things and has been summed up as:

In the past decade or less, computers have become increasingly powerful and useful. With greater regularity, computer use is increasing within the classroom. Where is this trend headed? And how is it going to get there? What will it take?

The education world has been greatly influenced by rapidly changing technology and the increasing availability of information. Schools have advanced by leaps and bounds when it comes to incorporating technology into the learning environment, however, many more advances need to be made. In all areas of the country, educators are trying to help students keep up with technology, but there are more changes that are essential for preparing the next generation for the future.