Upcoming Trends and Educational Needs in the 21st Century and Beyond: PART A (LIBE 477)

 

Upcoming Trends and Educational Needs in the 21^st Century and Beyond

Michelle Lambert

Published May 19, 2024

Personal Interests & Ed Tech Trends LIBE 477:  PART A

           

 

What is your current context? 

I currently work in a K-5 elementary school as a music teacher.  I am completing my teacher librarian certification in hopes of a shift to SLLC, so my current learning context is learning about school libraries with respect to general school trends and educational values, as well as student well-being and current learning developments in technology.  I am also a teacher of almost 25 years that has experienced and worked through huge changes in education, student behaviour, and a general societal shift that I feel needs to be explored with respects the relationship between learning and technology. 

 

What topics, ideas or “keywords” are you interested in exploring? 

1.     Digital responsibility – teaching students to live in a digital society responsibly and safely. 

2.     Data Privacy and Security – protecting student data and privacy online. 

3.     Screen Time Management – how to balance the benefits to the cost of students with respects to mental and physical health.

4.     Teacher Training – training and showing teachers how to professionally develop effect integration of technology while ensuring content is high-quality, engaging, and respectful of established and ‘tried and true’ pedagogy that already exists. 

·      Digital Technologies that can enrich learning – platforms like Canvas, Google Classroom, VR/ AR… many more I do not know but am interested in learning about such as Moodle, Quizlet, Trello, Google Expeditions, Oculus Rift?

·      SEL - Embedding SEL into the curriculum to support students' mental health and well-being.

 

Why are these ideas relevant and engaging? 

These ideas are relevant and engaging because they address critical aspects of modern education in the digital age:

• As technology becomes increasingly integrated into our daily lives, teaching students how to navigate digital spaces responsibly and safely is essential.  This includes understanding issues such as cyberbully, online etiquette, digital citizenship and the impact of their online actions’ students have on themselves and others. 
• With the growing use of education technology tools and platforms, protecting student data and privacy is important. 
• As screens dominate much of our time, helping students to keep a healthy balance between digital engagement and offline learning and activities becomes more and more important.  
• Providing professional development opportunities for teachers combined with high-quality content and motivating learning for students in their classrooms is important as we effectively learn to use technology and change and modernize education. 

 

What are your hopes for your learning?

            Overall, these ideas resonate with educators, students and parents as they address the current trends and concerns of education today.  My hope for my learning includes navigating the complexities of the digital world while preserving student well-being with achievable and quality learning outcomes. I also hope that my research is practical and something I will be able to share, use and implement in my classroom/ library and share with colleagues.

        1.   Well-being – promote healthy habits and help to enhance an overall better well-being in teachers and students.

        2.   Practical and Relevant – information that is useful and something I or other teachers can use in the classroom or library.

        3.   Adaptability – skills that will enable me to adapt to the ever-changing needs and discoveries in education.

        4.   Professional Growth – Information that expands my current knowledge, challenges me, and opens further career development.  Effective strategies to teach technology effectively while maintaining high quality (and engaging) instruction.

        5.   Student Empowerment – Connect with and empower students to better to use technology and modern digital tools to stay motivated, connected, ready for their futures. 

 

Keywords for Future Investigations:

·      Digital Trends in Education

·      Digital Divides in Education 

·      Screen Time and Student Health

·      Teacher Development in Technology

·      AR. VR in Classrooms

·      AI in Education 

·      E-Assessment Tools

·      Social – Emotional Learning (SEL)