Summary of the module identifying the implications for my future role as an ICT subject leader.

I have found this module hugely inspiring and very valuable to my future practice as a teacher, and an ICT subject leader. It has very much deepened my passion for ICT and my beliefs that the methods in which we teach in schools is outdated and inappropriate to the generation we are teaching.

Although before this module I was aware that there were barriers that teachers needed to overcome to ensure we were teaching appropriately for the 21^st century, (Dean 2010) I hadn’t fully appreciated the ease in which it is to just incorporate 21^st century technologies into our classrooms by adapting our current practice. The 21^st Century Fluency project states that these adjustments should be made immediately “if we ever hope to re-connect and communicate with the digital generation” (21^st CFP:4) and prepare them for life in the 21^st century.

McDougall concludes that the use of technology meets the needs to learners of this generation; “It delivers engaged, inquisitive children in place of the passive,

disinterested children of years past.” (McDougall) By not recognising this we are failing as teachers. We are targeting our teaching at learners from another age. Our children are being educated about a world that is out of synch. (21^st CFP) It is important that we are preparing Digital Natives to navigate themselves into the very different future they are growing up in – the digital age. (Palfrey & Gasser 2008)

This module has also made me appreciate, and experience, the worry teachers face when they are unsure they have the knowledge to access the technologies they would like to use within their classroom. As Prensky (2001) highlights –“the differences between our Digital Native students and their Digital Immigrant teachers lie at the root of a great many of today’s educational problems.” Prensky 2001:1) Therefore I appreciate, as ICT leader, it will be an important role of mine to ensure all staff are confident and comfortable enough to use these technologies, and will need to support and guide them in doing so. Hopefully I will be able to allow them to understand that we don’t necessarily need more functional knowledge within technologies than our learners, as we are more equipped with knowledge and higher order critical thinking. (FutureLab 2010)

I will also aim to ensure that there is a balance between incorporating the traditional teaching methods still and updating our pedagogy.  Dean (2010) states that it is still the universal rights of a child to be taught conventional means of reading and writing (Dean 2010) As The 21^st Century Fluency Project outlines, “the digital tools enhance traditional learning.” (21^st CFP:10) They go on to highlight that it is still very relevant that children receive the traditional curriculum. It just needs to be adapted with the culture from one generation to the next. (21^st CFP)

As much as this module has excited me about my future career, it has also alerted me to the huge role ICT leaders will be playing within primary schools in years to come. This is an exciting opportunity and challenge I look forward to embracing.

Bibliography

Dean, G. ‘Rethinking Literacy’ in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms London:Sage

FutureLab (2010) Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum:

McDougall,S. One tablet or two? Opportunities for change in educational provision in the next 20 years. Futurelab:

Palfrey, J. & Gasser, U. (2008) Born Digital: Understanding The First Generation of Digital Natives New York: Basic Books

Prensky, M. (2001) ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part  II: Do They Really Think Differently?’ in On the Horizon 9 (6)

The 21^st Century Fluency Project (2013) Understanding Digital Kids II