Reflections on 21st Century Learning- LIBE477B Reading Review Part A

 In Why School, Will Richardson argues that digital technologies are transforming the way we learn and that schools must immediately begin to embrace these technologies to prepare students for the future or risk becoming obsolete.  It would seem our province’s Ministry of Education has wisely heeded researchers such as Will Richardson.  The BC Ministry of Education sees impact of digital technologies on the future of education very clearly and identifies the necessity of “21^stcentury literacies” for students to be successful in tomorrow’s world.  According to the BC Ministry of Education, the 21^stcentury skills that today’s students require for future success include:

1.   Research and Information Literacy: Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information

2.   Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making: Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources

3.   Creativity and Innovation: Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology

4.   Digital Citizenship: Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior

5.   Communication and Collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others

6.   Technology Operations and Concepts: Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. 

Looking at these 21^stcentury literacies, I feel that they are all important for students and educators alike; however, the thought of jumping in and incorporating all these immediately was overwhelming for me, as I do not consider myself to be the most technologically-savvy person.  That said, one reason I enrolled in the Teacher-Librarian program was because I recognized the need to become more digitally literate and make changes in my own practice so that I can be a more effective teacher. For myself, I think focusing on just two or three of these digital literacies is a place to start.  

I see research and information literacy as a central issue in education. Regardless of the subject area, our students need to be able to critically assess online resources.  As Will Richardson notes, the sheer “abundance” of information available at our fingertips means that students need to be able to find, sift and weigh the information.  The importance of thinking critically about information sources is highlighted by the proliferation of “fake news” and its impact on culture and politics. While the critical evaluation of print sources has always fit naturally into the curriculum of the Language Arts classroom and the Teacher-Librarian, the critical evaluation of digital sources is even more essential as the Web is the first place most go to look for information.   I think I would continue to explore how to incorporate evaluating online sources into more assignments and projects.

After reading, New Media Consortium Horizon Report 2012 K-12, I realized that analysis and evaluation of online sources fit naturally with the idea of the Personal Learning Environment (PLE) or Personal Learning Network (PLN).  Several years ago, I came across the term Personal Learning Network (PLN) and began developing my own, starting with Twitter.  There I connected with educators who were doing things in their classroom that I aspired to do as well.  It was only after reading Richardson’s e-book and the NMC Horizon Report, that I realized this is what we should be helping students do as well.  As Richardson’s own son illustrated, students are already doing this in their own time for subjects such as online video games, but I am interested in further discovering the best way to introduce PLN into the classroom.

I am also interested in exploring digital literacies in terms of sharing information and finding authentic audiences.  Too often as an English teacher, I’ve focused on writing as the way to share information and myself as the sole audience.  I still feel that writing well is a skill that will serve our students in the 21^stcentury, but I’ve stopped seeing it as the only way to demonstrate knowledge and share information.  Our students are just as likely (actually, probably even more likely) to watch a Youtube video than read an article sharing the same information.  Similarly, they may gravitate toward more visual or verbal modes as a way of showing what they know.  I feel that exploring digital technologies that allow students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways (podcasts, videos, infographics…) not only encourages the 21^stcentury literacy skills identified by the BC Ministry of Education, but it also allows the personalization of learning. Students can use their strengths (narrative writing, public speaking, dramatic performance, graphic design, art) to showcase their learning for an authentic purpose and audience.  While previously I had thought I would need to become proficient in different digital technologies, a fellow soon-to-be teacher-librarian helpfully commented on Andrea Halverson's blog post featuring Heather Dowd's image “The New 3 Before Me." This made me realize that perhaps I could begin by learning beside the student or help direct them towards resources that would help rather than always be the expert.

Overall, I am interested in further investigating topics such as critical evaluation of online resources, digital literacy, fact-checking, inquiry learning/ project-based learning, and Personal Learning Environment/ Personal Learning Network.

British Columbia Ministry of Education. Digital Literacy. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/teach/teaching-tools/digitalliteracy?keyword=digital&keyword=literacy&keyword=standards

Halverson, Andrea. (2016, January 26). The New “Ask 3 Before Me”? [Blog Post]. Retrieved from https://andreahalverson.com/2016/01/26/the-new-ask-3-before-me

Johnson, L. Adams, S., and Cummins, M.  (2012). New Media Consortium. Horizon Report 2012 K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.

Richardson, W. (2012). Why School? How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere. TED Conferences Publishing.