21st Century Learning.

Is there a place for 21st Century Learning in our schools? Of course there is. Does this mean that we need to eliminate content and the gathering of knowledge in order to incorporate 21st Century Learning? No, that makes no sense at all, although it seemed like several of the critiques of 21st Century Learning portrayed it as just that. The reality is that we need to incorporate 21st Century Learning into the confines of the curriculum that we already teach. 

The world is changing more rapidly than any person could ever change. Sir Ken Robinson makes a wonderful point in his video by pointing out that we are supposed to be preparing students that are starting school now to work for the next fifty years when in reality we have no idea what the world will be like in five. One thing we do know, however, is that technology will only become a larger part of schooling as the years pass and more advanced technology comes along. It is for this reason that students MUST be introduced to basic and advanced technological concepts early on in schooling. By the time that these students leave college and are ready to compete in a global economy they need to be versed in the newest technology to have any chance of coming into a good job. On top of that we need to equip students with the tools to adapt even after they are out of school so that they can continue to evolve as technology evolves. What does this mean for teachers? It means that teachers need to be just as fluent in this technology as the students that they are teaching. This is something that was not nearly as necessary ten years ago, proving Sir Ken Robinson's point on how fast the world is changing. It will require extra education and dedication from the educators of today and the educators of tomorrow in order to integrate technology successfully into the classroom and prepare students for life after school. 

From my experience tutoring in several Newark and Montclair schools throughout the years I have found that collaboration between students is essential for the growth of social skills and academic skills. Students that are not comfortable or hesitant working on overwhelming projects alone can find comfort in the helping hand of somebody that is going through the same thing. A second point on this, which i've made before, is that some students don't feel comfortable raising questions or putting forth ideas to an instructor because they don't want to be embarrassed if they are wrong. From my experience a lot of this disappears when the groups are made up of other students. This prepares students for their future careers. There is not one job that students will be vying for that doesn't require collaboration among co-workers. Teachers, businessmen, construction workers, engineers, pilots, and ANY other job is going to require you to work as a team to maximize productivity. This process starts early and the social skills required to do that can be cultivated in the classroom. 

All in all, 21st Century Learning is something that is absolutely necessary for students moving forward as long as it is done in the right way. Collaboration, critical thinking, and technology integration cannot completely replace the knowledge that students must acquire in order to understand certain concepts. There will always be a place in schooling where students need to gain knowledge and learn information in content areas but these goals can be accomplished through things such as group activities, on-line class wikis/blogs, etc. that incorporate the 21st Century Learning method.