Guiding Research: Goals and Positive Outcomes

Preparing Students for 21st Century Challenges

The third category of research combines both literacy development

and community in preparing students for 21st century challenges. While

some educators may be reluctant to enter into this technological jungle

where students are often far more adept and mobile than the people who are

educating them, teachers shouldn’t necessarily reject this type of learning

simply because they aren’t exactly experts. Rather, technology integration

can increase student engagement based on their levels of current

competency (something they already feel familiar with and are not afraid to

fail at) and also by incorporating their prior knowledge (students may love to

write blogs on their myspace, and now they are using the same format to

debate themes from class novels). Furthermore, since the students in our

classrooms will be living in a 21st century future, we can not simply rely on

the tools of yesterday to teach the builders of tomorrow. If students find

relevance in the Internet, if they are reading news on the Internet,

researching on the Internet, staying connected on the Internet, then why

should the classroom be the only place where the Internet is shunned? While

the old fears still exist, the Internet is no longer unchartered territory we

must protect our students from. Our students are “digital natives,”

reportedly spending an estimated nine hours a week online, with more than

50% of the students on network sites discussing homework and school (Cook
6). If these topics are already part of the dialogue, then schools should take

advantage of the many benefits such sites can offer (Couros 20). The

combination of student expertise in technique and application coupled with

the teacher’s expertise in learning methods can work together in the

changing roles of the learning process. From this approach, learning can shift

from student centered to overtly teacher directed and then again just as

intermediary. The teacher plays a versatile role moving from facilitator to

guide to co-learner and even direct instructor throughout the process (Huey-

Ling and Orey 60-62). However, there is no place for an authoritarian, rather

a need for balance and a responsive exchange of roles (Boling, Castek,

Zawilinski and et al. 506). Some teachers are intimidated “by the degree of

control over the learning environment,” that students are allotted (McGrail

10). However, these teachers will only stifle student potential through their

own inability to grow and adapt as times change.

While the old digital divide was focused on the issue of accessibility,

especially for students in urban or rural areas where computer access was

few and far between, a new divide has emerged in recent years. Now the

new digital divide is focused on what educators do with the technology once

they have the access. For many, technology usage stops at the

supplementary level, even though greater educational benefits can be

attained through new tools that are more thoroughly integrated into the

learning process (Vie 10). New technology is very popular and far easier to

use than past technological advances. Accessibility is less of an issue

because of high speed Internet, and the new tools (such as blogs and wikis)

are far easier to use and manipulate (Driscoll 9-10). Since this new

technology is more accessible to educators, it is very important that they

spend the time to become active participators in order to successfully model,

teach and guide students. Furthermore, the advantages of understanding

communications on the Internet and how to use technology effectively will

serve as important foundations to help students compete in the flattened

world of a global market. The concept of a “flat” world is based on “forces

that level the playing field in the global economy, [which now] represent the

most significant challenge to students” (Burke 152). As the world becomes

smaller and smaller through technological advancement, the competition for

future jobs and markets grows higher, and teachers should give students as

many advantages as possible.