Are We Ready for 21st Century Education?

The integration of technology into the classroom has changed drastically in this new decade of the 21st century. I was thinking back to when I was in high school in the mid 1980s, and I had one computer class that focused on learning BASIC, no cell phone, no Internet, and no computer at home! Now, technology has become a permanent fixture in students' lives, and as educators, we must be ready to equip our students with the technological knowledge they need to succeed in today's world.

Reading the "Educator Preparation and Development" section of the Texas Education Agency's Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 helped reiterate the fact that technology has changed the face of education and teachers must adapt to this new environment. No longer can educators rely on antiquated philosophies or passive ways of teaching. They must be aware of and utilize the technology that is available, realize how it will benefit their teaching and the learning that happens in their classrooms, and most importantly, use technology as a means to lead students down the paths to future success.

Schools must provide training to ensure teachers understand the importance of technology and how they can best implement this knowledge to benefit their students. This challenge is difficult for teachers who are considered 'digital immigrants,' or those who did not grow up with technology in the classroom. They often rely on tried and true methods of teaching that might have worked successfully in the past; however, in today's world they are doing a great disservice to their students by not integrating technology into the classroom. Teachers considered 'digital natives,' or those who grew up with technology in the classroom, have an advantage in that they have experienced technology first hand in an educational setting, and are more likely to have received technology training in an educator preparation program.

However, there is hope for all teachers to learn to embrace technology. Administrators should encourage technology use by requiring educators to adhere to the SBEC Technology Applications Standards. All teachers should also be provided with online learning opportunities to keep current with today's technology trends. According to this report, accepting the need for change is an important first step for educators to integrate technology.

The State of Texas has many recommendations for effectively integrating technology to the Texas Education Agency, the State Board of Education Certification, regional education service centers, local education agencies, Texas Higher Education, as well as parents, communities, and the private sector. If all of these organizations agreed to make technology in the classroom a priority, our students would definitely be on their way to becoming model 21st century citizens.

Academic Databases

One of the main activities I conduct in my graduate school classes as well as in my job as librarian is research. I am still amazed at the endless possibilities with online searching! However, this process can be an overwhelming experience if not properly executed. An unrefined search on a typical search engine such as Google or Yahoo can yield millions of results, none of which may be what a researcher needs. Even using advanced search techniques on Google may not always deliver the academic results I need. There is a better way to acquire quality materials online for teachers and students--the use of academic online databases!

Searching in academic online databases provides me with the results for which I am inquiring. Subscriptions to academic databases are purchased by schools and universities for the use of their students and faculty and are organized by subject for easy access. For my library certification classes as well as my master's classes I often need professional journal articles that I would not be able to find easily on search engines. Through the TAMU-C library I can access a variety of databases on the academic subjects I request. I often use EBSCO Host and Academic Search Complete for articles that I select to write my abstracts.

Because my school where I am employed is a small private school, we do not have the database subscriptions that public schools have. However, this year we did acquire a multi-year subscription to netTrekker d.i., which is an educational search engine, which can be considered a type of academic database. Our students and faculty have utilized this resourse throughout the school year to enhance their teaching and locate quality material for their students. After our initial training via a webinar, several teachers and I have been enrolled in an online training session for the last six weeks through netTrekker using the Moodle platform. It has been a very enlightening experience as I have learned many more techniques and 'tricks of the trade' regarding netTrekker, and have gotten to interact online with other educators throughout the country. I have definitely learned more about the d.i. in netTrekker's title (differentiated instruction) and how I can adapt my teachings style to meet my students' varied needs. I hope that we can eventually acquire other academic databases that will be as helpful to us as netTrekker has been this year.

Desktop Publishing Software

In my school I wear many hats: librarian, music teacher, drama teacher, piano teacher, summer camp coordinator, and office administrator! It seems I am always needed to create a flyer, newsletter, advertisement, calendar, certificate, postcard, program or invitation. The best way I have discovered to make these designs outstanding is through the use of desktop publishing software. I currently use Microsoft Publisher almost on a daily basis.

Desktop Publishing Software allows the user to create pages on a professional level with almost endless capabilities. Text and graphics may be entered into the document and manipulated until the user is satisfied with the finished product. There are many ways that teachers can use desktop publishing to create and customize worksheets, transparencies, newsletters, booklets, information packets and certificates that will enhance their instructional delivery.

I create a parent newsletter each week that is published on our school website using Microsoft Publisher. I also create flyers for my field trips that I coordinate and advertisements for upcoming school-wide performances and events. Lately I have also used Publisher to design invitations for open house, the school science fair, and catered events. The use of this technology has made my multiple clerical responsibilities much easier and has allowed me to concentrate on what I feel is most important: being a librarian and teacher!