Teachers of Today

1. Teachers of Today Unfortunately there are still educators in today’s society that are stuck in the old rote memorisation learning, lecturing, passing on information and not exploring or motivating students to learn. They are stuck in one teaching mode in the same old dull way, with dry lectures, boring worksheets and text books, repetition and drill. This would prove ghastly boring for the students. Teachers of the Future • In the future teachers are going to have to wear many different hats and be very flexible. Teachers will need to move away from single subjects and into a greater range of expertise. Jobs, now and in the future, are not for life. Educators are going to have to be diverse in following young people’s interests.  • It’s interesting, yet a staggering set of circumstances that is ahead of us and the children of today.  Contemplating the amount of development and change in the last, nearly 100 years, it’s somewhat scarier, the concept that everything will move faster, be more involved and could quite possibly be less likely to be understood because of the speed of development. What it takes to be an effective teacher in 2010 and beyond.... Teaching Beyond 2010 • In any society, educators have the ability to make an enormous positive contribution. Making such a contribution is a challenge, and teachers must willingly embrace new teaching and learning opportunities (Shelly et al, 2008). • Today, teachers in K-12 schools are educating students who will spend all of their adult lives in a technology–rich society. Teachers in these classrooms must be prepared to utilise both current and emerging computer technologies. Unfortunately, too many schools are still teaching today using yesterday’s tools. Traditional 20th century educational practices will no longer provide you with the skills you need to teach your students effectively how to become productive citizens in today’s high-tech, global workplace (Shelly et al, 2008).

2. Digital Students Today, the vocabulary of computing is all around you (Shelly et al, 2008). Students today are real time learners using different technology to express themselves. Students who graduate from our schools in the 21st century will have to have the skills needed to be effective workers, citizens, and leaders in the new global economy. What it takes to be an effective teacher in 2010 and beyond.... Today’s students are essentially different from previous generations in the way they think, in the way they access, absorb, interpret, process, and apply information, and above all, in the way they view, interact, and communicate in this technology-rich world. They expect IT to be part of their learning, and to be adding value to the whole student experience. It has been said that students don't see technology as something that is separate from teaching and learning. For example, just by exploring the generational divide between those who have grown up in the computer age and those who haven't we see that digital students are more visual learners and it has been said that today’s youth actually speak digitally. Kindergarten students of today are using magic whiteboards from their first day of school and see connected classrooms as normal learning experiences. Computers support communications beyond classroom walls, thus enabling schools and communities to provide an environment for cooperative learning, for development of higher order thinking skills, and for solving complex problems (Shelly et al, 2008). They can provide unique, effective, and powerful opportunities for many different types of instruction and learning. Apple computer defines these digital students or digital kids as kids a who are (1) hypercommunicators who use multiple tools to communicate, (2) multitaskers who do several things at once with ease, and (3) goal orientated as they pursue multiple goals at the same time (Shelly et al, 2008). Schools and teachers need to adapt to digital technology or risk losing students. Educational technology and digital media can be valuable tools when they are integrated into the curriculum appropriately to achieve learning gains, particularly when they are combined with a 21st century curriculum.

3. Theories of teaching and learningTeaching and learning are two of the most fundamental components of the educational process, and both topics have long been of interest to a variety of individuals concerned with education, from philosophers to educational psychologists. Within an educational context, the two phenomena are so inextricably intertwined that it often is difficult to imagine one without the other. Few individuals would deny that learning (or some closely related concept to learning) is the primary purpose of education and that teaching (in one form or another) is the foremost means by which that goal is accomplished (Schuell, T., 1993) If we are to meet the challenges of the 21st Century then we need to be constantly learning,communicating and reflecting.We live in a world which is “changing faster than ever in our history” (The Element, Ken Robinson). This requires diverse and complex training and development requirements, managed through a combination of formal and informal learning experiences.  What it takes to be an effective teacher in 2010 and beyond.... • 21st CENTURY STATEMENT OF TEACHER RESPONSIBILITIES: • In order to adequately prepare today's students for their future, teachers must effectively participate in professional learning networks, share and model the use of current internet tools, lead authentic, integrated project-based learning activities, assist students as they establish their own learning networks and digital footprint, learn alongside our students as they create, collaborate, and share, provide sufficient learning opportunities for students to become digitally literate and fluent, while also inspiring each child to be quality, digital, global citizens.