Recently, I had the distinct pleasure to model the new ISTE Ignite sessions at the kickoff session of the 2012 ISTE conference in San Diego. For those of you that don't know what an Ignite session is, it is a fast paced style of presenting. The speaker is given a set number of slides and a limited time on each slide. The presenter does not have control over the slides as they will change automatically when the time is up. For me, I had 15 slides and each slide was up for 15 seconds. It was a lot of fun and I can see this being a useful model even for students presenting in class.
Enjoy!
Being a 21st Century Teacher
Lots of people are tossing around terms in education and attaching
the words “21st Century” to appear cutting edge or on the front end of trending
ideas. As a teacher in the 21st century I find it amazing to see some of the
things that are so called “21st Century” and yet are no different than 20th or
even the 19th century ideas. With that in mind, I have reflected recently on my
opinion of what it takes to be a teacher in the 21st Century and what exactly
such a teacher would look like.
Obviously, a 21st century teacher should be tall, handsome and
have a sweet spot for super heroes. Beyond that, I think there are some key
characteristics that good 21st century teachers need.
Be a connected educator - The idea of being a connected educator
is not necessarily new but is certainly transforming with the dawn of various
technology tools in the area of social media. Teachers now have the ability to
connect to other teachers, administrators, parents, students and other
education minded people around the world with the click of a button. There are
many tools out there that allow teachers to connect. Regardless of what you
use, a good 21st century teacher must be connected. There is no right way to do
this. For me, I use Twitter and my Blog to connect and learn from and with
educators around the globe.
Be a master of technology – Now, I am not saying that a good 21st
century teacher needs to have an interactive whiteboard hanging on their wall,
tablets in every kid’s hand and mobile devices in every corner of the room. In
fact, I think it might be more the opposite or at least a balance. In recent
years educators have gone overboard with spending money and pumping technology
into every corner of their schools they could possibly afford. The problem is
they offered little training and much of it was used as a simple badge of honor
to say they had tech in the building. Interactive whiteboards are being used as
chalk boards once were, computers are being used to make flashcards and tablets
are being used to do word searches. A good 21st century teacher knows the
difference between what is shiny and new and what truly has the potential to
transform learning for their students. A new hammer is great but a good
carpenter doesn’t try to screw in a bolt with one. In the same way, a 21st
century teacher knows what tools are needed and when and how to use them.
Be a reflective practitioner – This is probably one of the most
important areas as we as a profession in many cases have not changed in 100
years. The tools in our classrooms have changes but the pedagogy and practice
has not. A 21st century teacher is able to look at their own practice and adapt
and change based on the needs of the learners. Too many teachers are teaching
in the year 2012 as they did when they started their careers 10, 20 or even 30
years ago. What we know about student learning and motivation has changed, so
too must the art of teaching. Stagnation is the death of any teacher.
Be an advocate – The final thing I feel is important for a good
teacher in this century is to be an advocate for themselves as well as the
profession. If we as teachers think someone else is going to say nice things
about our profession and share positive notes on the 9 o’clock news, we are
wrong. As teachers we can sit and complain about it…or we can do something
about it and find ways to tell our own stories. It is a critical time in the
history of education and how the profession in currently perceived in the
public eye. We are under attack in many places and rather than playing the part
of a wounded animal, we need to stand up for ourselves and advocate for the
great work we do every single day.
None of these ideas are radical or ground breaking by any stretch.
Yet, too many teachers are content wrapping up old practice with new gimmicks
and wonder why we don’t get any better at what we do. If we want to gain
respect as a profession then we must truly embrace a 21st century model of
constant growth and improvement. If we don’t get any better we only have
ourselves to blame.
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