21st Century Student

21st Century Classroom Teacher
When you walk into a 21st century kindergarten classroom you would see students engaged and excited to learn about and use the technology that surrounds them. Instead of a chalkboard or a whiteboard, 21st century students use the activboard and document camera to be involved in learning new information, share their ideas, and explore new possibilities. The activboard enables students to interactively learn in a large group setting and allows the teacher to build a file of lessons without being stuck with the traditional pencil and paper method.
The knowledge and understanding of a 21st century kindergarten student exceeds the knowledge of many adults in the area of technology. While the teacher facilitates new learning, students are eager and excited to use new tools and to problem solve when technology difficulties arise. Rather than teach 21st century students the skills they will need to use new technologies, the teacher facilitates new methods to learn and ways to problem solve. The world of technology is growing at a rate teachers strive to keep up with and work hard to expose students to.
The 21st century kindergarten is as interested in playing baseball as they are about playing the new Wii game or getting their turn to use the activboard. Today’s student is excited to write about what new video game they have at home, rather than their last family outing. The 21st century students are learning in a period of time like no other in the past. Students are going to be expected to understand, comprehend, analyze, and create new technologies in their future. The 21st century teacher must expose students to technologies and allow them to explore and learn at their own rate, even if that exceeds the understanding of the teacher.

Jen Maxfield