EDU 302 - 21st Century Educator

Students of the twenty first century are communicators, media and technology savy, and collaborative. In order to be what it means to be a twenty-first teacher, we must possess these characteristics also along with many others. Three main characteristics of a twenty first century teacher are that we can adapt, take risks, and be a visionary. These three characteristics are essential for richness and engagement in the classroom. All three of characteristics are hard to achieve and portray without the use of the high-standing technology of the twenty-first century world and classroom.

In order to be an adaptive educator you must be able to adapt lesson plans to fit the diversity of your student body yet also adapt lessons to engage your students. Since the students of today are incredibly technologically savy, using computers, videos, and gaming devices can be efficient in keeping their attention since it means using something they can easily work with and enjoy working with on a daily basis. Simple programs such, as Microsoft word doesn’t only have to be used as a place to write papers. It can be used as a tool to create stories, collages, articles, and letters. By adapting lesson plans and adapting the use of technology in the classroom, students will be more likely to want to be involved and even further their involvement inside and outside of the classroom setting.

Risk-taking can often frighten teachers, especially ones new to the field; yet risk-taking can be just the thing to engage interest and collaboration of students. Having a set lesson plan can keep you organized as well as your students but is it always going to keep them interested and entertained? Are they always going to want to learn things your way? Taking risks in teaching is very beneficial. In a lecture, if a new topic boils up in a conversation, why not forget the lesson plan and work with the area the students are engaged and interested in knowing and learning more about and where they want to be involved. Have them “google it”. Being able to find things on their own and even teach themselves something can sometimes be more beneficial. Of course the lesson plan needs to be presented but take risks in teaching it. Lectures are not always going to keep students attention. Many students need to learn “hands-on”. With supervision let the students just look up random words, animals, or people. Take the risk of building a volcano not knowing yourself how it will work out. Take the risk and let a student teach a lesson to the class that really strikes them as interesting. Let them build a PowerPoint on a topic of interest. Why not?

To be a visionary means to use your imagination. In order to entertain, keep interest, and teach you must use your imagination. Any one can read a book to a class and tell them to write about it. Any one can give out a picture for students to color. Any one can have students look at pictures of whales on the Internet. A teacher can have students read together about whales and the types, use the details about the types to explore and find pictures of each type of whale, and even take the risk and use their imagination to draw the types of whale and a whale they create. Students use their imagination all the time whether it be playing “house”, drawing, writing a story, or even spitting out excuses for being late to class. If students use their imagination they must enjoy doing it, so why not use your imagination too? Keep your students engaged with your imaginations and their own.

Students and teachers of the twenty-first century have become evolved in the use of technology in and out of the classroom. In order for students to learn they need a teacher who adapt, use their imagination, and take risks. With the use of technology all of these characteristics of a twenty-first century are possible. Technology creates for new possibilities to create, teach, learn, and explore. A twenty-first teacher is a visionary, is adaptive, and takes risks. Why not use technology? It opens many doors of the twenty-first century classroom.