Top 10 Technologies for Designing 21st Century Instruction

Faculties at all levels of education continue to ask, “How does technology fit into my teaching?” How can I teach my students to become technologically literate?” For some, the answers seem quite simple. Technology should be integrated into as many levels of the curriculum as possible. If we aspire to prepare students for the future, teachers must seize every opportunity to infuse the technologies their students will be using whenever possible. The key is to know what works best in each classroom situation. Podcasting, interactive whiteboards, blogs, wikis, social networking, virtual classrooms, and others are the latest in instructional technologies. Teachers use these tools to address the growing inventory of requisite 21st century skills that include: global awareness, self-directed learning, ICT literacy, problem solving skills, time management and personal responsibility, lifelong learning, financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial literacies, communications, collaboration, and more. This article explores best practices that lead to change and shares ideas about the use of these tools in the classroom. Emphasis is placed on many real-world examples of how technology has improved teaching and learning. This information paper will examine the hardware and software aspects of the following technologies: interactive white boards, web cameras, videoconferencing, iPods, digital cameras, digital video, wikis and blogs, social networking, digital electronic books, and student response systems. While the paper is not a scholarly endeavor, it is hoped that the review of important teaching and learning tools will provide the reader with an update on the latest in instructional technologies for the classroom. In addition to an introduction that includes a description of the technology, its primary features, advantages and disadvantages, there are links to online videos demonstrating each technology that bear witness to how these technologies actually impact the classroom. Finally, a link to current research pertaining to each technology is offered. Top 10 Technologies for Designing 21st Century Instruction