With new demands for meaningful and contextual application of technology in classrooms, teacher preparation becomes both increasingly important and increasingly challenging as teacher educators seek new ways to integrate 21st- century skills, nonlinear thinking skills, and digital-age reflections into coursework.Įssential Skills for Digital Teaching and LearningĪlthough the claim that students inhabit a much different world than in times past has been made throughout history, it is particularly true in this century. They must learn to apply technology tools appropriately in order to process multiple perspectives on real-world problems and formulate solutions to these problems (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2002).
Not only are reflection and critical thinking skills undervalued in today’s standards-driven classrooms, but policies continue to emphasize views of technology as primarily a means to assist with writing and organizing information.Īlthough such technology use can facilitate communication, today’s students must learn how to think deeply about their learning so they can realize their place in a rapidly changing, global society.
Reflection and critical thinking enable students to learn from their experiences therefore, time must be built into classroom instruction for both processes to occur (Henniger, 2003). Ironically, such familiarity and comfort with all things digital present challenges for educators who struggle to keep up with an ever-changing technology context and students who no longer process information primarily in a sequential manner.Įqually important in this fast-paced, digital world is the lack of time or opportunity for students to reflect on their learning. Prensky (2001a) called this first generation to grow up in a society immersed in technology “digital natives”-the generation that has spoken the language of technology from birth. As such, they have been described as “wired” or “digitized,” but even these tags are outdated almost upon arrival. Today’s students are immersed in a variety of technologies from a young age.