educ2d- 21st century digital learner and teacher

1. THE
21st century
DIGITAL
LEARNER

2. This presentation is to educators at every
level, all around the world. All of the
teachers are earnestly trying to adapt
their educational system to the twenty-
first century. During my talks, however, I
typically look out at oceans of white hair.
Never -- I can't even say rarely -- is a kid
in sight or invited to the party.

3. There are some differences in how the skill are
categorized or interpreted, there are also
many commonalities. Common skills across
most of the studies include:
• Creativity and Innovation
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Information Management
• Effective Use of Technology
• Career and Life Skills
• Cultural Awareness

4. Creativity and Innovation
Think Creatively
* Use a wide range of idea creation techniques (such as brainstorming)
* Create new and worthwhile ideas (both incremental and radical concepts)
* Elaborate, refine, analyze and evaluate their own ideas in order to improve
and maximize creative efforts.
Work Creatively with Others
* Develop, implement and communicate new ideas to others effectively
* Be open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives; incorporate group
input and feedback into the work
* Demonstrate originality and inventiveness in work and understand the real
world limits to adopting new ideas
* View failure as an opportunity to learn; understand that creativity and
innovation is a long-term, cyclical process of small successes and frequent
mistakes
Implement Innovations
* Act on creative ideas to make a tangible and useful contribution to the field
in which the innovation will occur

5. Critical Thinking and Problem
Solving
Reason Effectively
* Use various types of reasoning (inductive, deductive, etc.) as appropriate to
the situation.
Use Systems Thinking
* Analyze how parts of a whole interact with each other to produce overall
outcomes in complex systems.
Make Judgments and Decisions
Effectively analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs
* Analyze and evaluate major alternative points of view.
* Synthesize and make connections between information and arguments.
* Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis.
* Reflect critically on learning experiences and processes
Solve Problems
*Solve different kinds of non-familiar problems in both conventional and
innovative ways.
* Identify and ask significant questions that clarify various points of view and
lead to better solutions.

6. Communication
Communication is one of the key components of 21st century learning,
yet it has not attracted the same level of research or attention as
creativity, collaboration, or critical thinking. Communication
competence involves mediated and digital communication, interpersonal,
written and oral communication. As our society evolves, we cannot
assume that our students will gain communication competence on their
own. If educators are expected to teach students how to communicate
effectively, researchers need to focus on building a stronger, more
empirically grounded framework for teaching these vital skills.

7. Collaborative assessment must be part of our learning
today. We, as educators are doing our students a
disservice if we don't attempt to make this type of
assessment available to our students. There are few
professions and work environments that only focus on
individual competencies. Most modern work
environments involve some type of collaboration or
connected problem solving to enhance their corporation
or product. However, the inevitable barriers surface in
the form of social and digital media taboos.

8. Information Management
Accessing, analyzing, synthesizing, creating,
and sharing information from multiple
sources.

9. Effective Use of Technology
Creating the capacity to identify and use technology
efficiently, effectively and ethically as a tool to
access, organize, evaluate and share information.

10. Career and Life Skills
Developing skills for becoming self-directed,
independent learners and workers who can adapt to
change, manage project, take responsibility for their
work, lead others and produce results.

11. Developing cultural competence in working with others
by recognizing and respecting cultural differences and
work with others from a wide range of cultural and
social backgrounds.

12. INFORMATION LITERACY
* Access and Evaluate Information
* Use And Manage Information
MEDIA LITERACY
* Analyze Media
* Create Media Products
ICT (INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION
AND TECHNOLOGY) LITERACY
* Apply Technology Effectively

14. The
21st Century
Teacher

16. The 21st Century teacher is an adaptor. Harnessed as we are to an
assessment focused education model the 21st Century Educator must be
able to adapt the curriculum and the requirements to teach to the
curriculum in imaginative ways.
They must also be able to adapt software and hardware designed for a
business model into tools utilizable by a variety of age groups and
abilities.
They must also be able to adapt to a dynamic teaching experience.
When it all goes wrong in the middle of a class, when the technologies
fail, the show must go on.
As an educator, we must understand and apply different learning styles.
we must be able to adapt our teaching style to be inclusive of different
modes of learning.

17. Imagination, a key component of adaptability, is a crucial
component of the educator of today and tomorrow. They must see
the potential in the emerging tools and web technologies, grasp
these and manipulate them to serve their needs. If we look at the
technologies we currently see emerging, how many are developed
for education?
The visionary teacher can look at others ideas and envisage how
they would use these in their class.
The visionary also looks across the disciplines and through the
curricula. They can make links that reinforce and value learning in
other areas, and leverage other fields to reinforce their own
teaching and the learning of their students.

18. Ning, Blogger, Wikispaces, Bebo, MSN, MySpace,
Second life - as an educator we must be able to
leverage these collaborative tools to enhance and
captivate our learners. We too, must be collaborators;
sharing, contributing, adapting and inventing.

19. How can you as an educator know all these things? How can
you teach them how to use them… There are so many, so
much to learn. You must take risks and some times surrender
yourself to the students knowledge. Have a vision of what
you want and what the technology can achieve, identify the
goals and facilitate the learning. Use the strengths of the
digital natives to understand and navigate new products,
have the students teach each other. The learning pyramid
shows that the highest retention of knowledge comes from
teaching others. Trust your students.

20. We expect our students to be life long learners. How many
schools have the phrase “life long learners” in there mission
statements and objectives. We too must continue to absorb
experiences and knowledge. We must endeavour to stay current.
I wonder how many people are still using their lesson and unit
plans from 5 years ago.
In my subject area, Information technology and certainly in many
of the sciences, especially the life sciences; knowledge,
understanding and technology are fluid and dynamic, they are
evolving and changing. To be a teacher here you must change and
learn as the horizons and landscape changes.
The 21st Century teacher or educator must learn and adapt.

21. “Anywhere, anytime” learning is a catchphrase we hear
often. Usually its paired with “life learner”. To have
anywhere anytime learning, the teacher to must be
anywhere and anytime. It does not have to be the same
teacher, but the 21st Century teacher is a communicator.
They are fluent in tools and technologies that enable
communication and collaboration. They go beyond learning
just how to do it, they also know how to facilitate it,
stimulate and control it, moderate and manage it.

22. We must model the behaviors that we expect from our students. Today
and tomorrow more so, there is an expectation that teachers will teach
values.
We, are often the most consistent part of our student life. Teachers will
see the students more often, for longer and more reliably than their
parents. This is not a criticism of the parents rather a reflection.
The 21st Century educator also models reflective practice, whether its the
quiet, personal inspection of their teaching and learning, or through
reflective practice via blogs, twitter and other medium, these educators
look both inwards and outwards.
These teachers also model a number of other characteristics. These are
not necessarily associated with ICT or the curriculum, but are of equal
importance. They model:
* tolerance
* acceptance
* a wider view than just their curricula areas
* global awareness
* reflection

23. Whether they are a champion of the process of ICT
integration or the quiet technology coach, the ICT
Trainer and a teacher leading by example; A
maverick or early adopter (SeeLOTI), the 21st
Century Educator is a leader.
Leadership, like clear goals and objectives crucial to
the success or failure of any project.

24. RESOURCES
This is the physical and electronic tools and materials available to the
teacher in the classroom. A well resourced room or school is considerably
higher up the ladder than a low decile school which has to fund raise for a
new computer. The availability of tools like:
* Interactive whiteboards
* Classroom desktop computers
* Pods of laptops or one to one programs
* PDA’s, iPods and cell phones
* Educationally focused software
* Learning and content management systems
* Video and audio conferencing
* Media production facilities
* learning spaces for the 21st Century

25. Coupled with ubiquitous access to resources, high speed internet access,
suitable and appropriate communications tools are great enablers. If with this
you also have resource materials for teaching and learning, tailored to your
curriculum (see also curriculum) then ICT implementation is easier.
But even with a high level of implementation it is not assured. The other two
factors, Skills and Curriculum, must be available in equal volumes.
But what of the classroom that struggles with one computer or perhaps has a
lab between a school, are they condemned to poor integration. Certainly not,
but they are obviously hampered and limited.
Resources are also Professional development and time (see also skills). Time is
a precious and limited resource. Time to play and experiment is hard to find
when teachers are prescribed a number of non contact periods and
management judiciously fills our timetables. In managements defense, they
are hamstrung, by the need to teach classes and restrictions in funding
beyond there control.

26. SKILL
Skills, I consider fall into two categories; Technical and Pedagogical. Of
the two, I believe that pedagogical skills are more important.
By Technical skills, I am referring to the ability to operate the resources
provided to you. The ability as a 21st Century teacher to adapt, adopt and
modify. The confidence and competence to teach and facilitate the use
of these technologies.
The second category, pedagogical skills, is the more important of the two.
Strengths in Pedagogy can and will make up for deficits in technical
ability. The classroom teachers ability to use a variety of suitable
pedagogical strategies is key to integration. The teacher who sees little
value in the use of ICT’s, even if they have high technical ability, will
always limit the level of integration. Where as the teacher with a
understanding of21st Century pedagogies, who recognises that these
technologies are enablers and motivators for our 21st Century learner, is
able to use the learner’s own skills and abilities to enhance their learning
and the integration of ICT.

27. CURRICULUM
An integrating curriculum (and drilling down into the integrating
curriculum - subjects and unit plans), which support ICT
integration are dynamic. The use of ICTs are mandatory and
ubiquitous, inclusive and specific. The selection of tools and
resources are curriculum driven. These units are constantly
reviewed. Teachers and students contribute to the development
and revision of the learning experience. They are student
centric. Teachers encourage to use digital approaches
Teaching drives the technology rather than technology driving
the teaching.
The curriculum must reflect the world our students will emerge
into. Continuing to teach a 20th century curriculum into the 21st
century, prepares our students for a world that no longer exists.

28. http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/21st+Century+Teacher
http://www.p21.org/our-work/p21-framework
http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Facilitating+21st+Centur
y+Learning