To begin with, not everyone is born with a sliver spoon and life is hard enough when you don’t not have an education. 70 years ago, a high school diploma was just good, but you actually need to have a collage degree to get paid well. Nowadays you need more than just a college degree you need to have life skill and most important you need to know how to use technology. This pandemic has taught the world the importance of being digital literate. Which not many people are, preparing stakeholder is vital so they can be successful in this 21st -century digital world we live on.
Being “future ready” is when you prepare for successful school districts and educators. Thinking ahead and preparing students for college ensures that they are ready to conquer the future and be successful. In 2014, the White House passed a pledge for future ready for students Future Ready District Pledge commit to foster and lead a culture of digital learning in their district and to share what they have learned with other districts (Future Ready,2017). TEA believes that it is vital for teachers, school staff, and even students themselves to ensure that they gain and apply critical 21st Century digital knowledge and skills. In addition, TEA provides two goals to help our students succeed in any work field. The first goal is called “Technology Literacy” and it states, “Assist every student in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that every student is technology literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade, regardless of the student's race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location, or disability”. The state defines a “technology literate” student as one who has mastered the Technology Applications TEKS for grades K-8 (19 TAC, Chapter 126). The second goal of TEA is called, “Curriculum Integration”, and it states, “Ensure ongoing integration of technology into school curricula and instructional strategies in all schools in the State so that technology will be fully integrated into the curricula and instruction of the schools”.
In conclusion, I believe TEA has two very strong goals to strive for. Having to apply these two goals to the education system can help our future students succeed. We live in a world that is full of technology and even though we have children that are digitally native, there is still many of us that are still not fully digital literate. If students learned how to use the technology tools, along with also knowing how to apply traditional learning, this will help them develop life learning skills to succeed in any work field in the 21st century.
References
Future ready. (2017, February 2). Office of Educational Technology. https://tech.ed.gov/futureready/
Technology standards for students, teachers, and librarians. (n.d.). Welcome to Texas Education Agency | Texas Education Agency. https://tea.texas.gov/academics/learning-support-and-programs/technology-resources/technology-standards-for-students-teachers-and-librarians
Thank you for sharing! There seems to be a disconnect between the need to include digital literacy and the failure of schools to adopt the plans shared by TEA. More needs to be done in this area for sure.
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