Personal Response to Speak Up

In the article “Creating Our Future: Students Speak Up about their Vision for 21st Century Learning,” written by Project Tomorrow, schools, students, teachers, parents, and administrators contributed insightful ideas, comments, questions, and concerns about implementing technological approaches in K-12 education. This article made several compelling arguments about the need for schools and educators to immerse their curriculum in a digital age, by allowing parents and students to assess their needs, concerns, and the potential of creating and having virtually engaging classes.

Living in a society that has become rapidly dependent and versed in digital culture, such as e-mail, texting, and blogging, I believe it is important to strengthen students’ predisposed technological skills by finding innovative ways in which they can apply them in a classroom setting. As such, Project Tomorrow contends that “[w]hile students are developing these skills outside of school, many schools are not taking advantage of either the tools or the students’ knowledge about how to use these tools within the classroom” (2010:6). Indeed, having knowledge of technological tools is essential for learners to effectively contribute to social, economic, political, and academic sectors. However, schools, educators, and administrators must take an active role in helping students develop their technological skills in an appropriate and safe manner. According to Project Tomorrow, seventy-five percent of the parents’ primary concern about their child’s use of the internet at school and at home is that they might meet someone online, followed by seventy-three percent of parents who were concerned with their child sharing too much information, and seventy-two percent were concerned with online predators (Figure 9, 2010: 14). All of these 3 top concerns are valid issues to be considered, and thus many schools have already taken initiatives to implement safety guidelines and regulations by monitoring students’ use of the internet. I believe students can learn to access the web accordingly without having to deny them access to many web tools that could reinforce their material learning and enrich their digital skills. Nevertheless, they should be respectful of the content material they engage on school premises, and hopefully replicate similar behavior with internet home usage, but that takes foundation and orientating students in technology at early levels of learning.

My concern as a future educator, who would like to work in low-income neighborhoods, is how do I integrate building students’ technological skills when funding and resources are limited? Especially, given that many impacted low-income schools do not have the proper equipment or facilities to invest in upgraded devices. The question: “If your child’s school allowed use of mobile devices for educational purposes, how likely are you to provide one for your child?” does not account for a parents’ desire to want their child to enhance their learning through technology, because many may be hesitant to answer “likely” when their financial circumstances are dire. According to the data collected, demonstrated in Figure 8, sixty-two percent said they are “likely” to buy their child a cell phone for educational purposes while a smaller percentage of sixteen percent is “not likely” (2010: 13). Again, the description next to figure 8 quotes: “Parents’ willingness to purchase mobile devices for their child to use at school” (emphasis added) (2010: 13), where perhaps more parents would be willing to purchase an educational device if their financial circumstances would allow them. Nonetheless, sixty-two percent of parents who would “likely” purchase an educational device for their child demonstrates a significant response to the need to incorporate digital elements in today’s K-12 classrooms.

The article provided me with much insight about the growing need to promote technology based curriculums in K-12 settings. It has addressed a challenging yet rewarding opportunity that many educators can take advantage of—that is the emerging digital culture—to increase student engagement at a more profound level and allow them to develop various skills based on a technological education paradigm. In all, Project Tomorrow leaves me, a future educator, and every other reader with a challenge to consider when practicing our pedagogies: “Technology is enabling, empowering and engaging these Free Agent Learners in ways that traditional learning paradigms are not, and thus it is, in fact, unintentionally exacerbating the relevancy crisis in American education. And that is a good thing” (2010: 26).