Technology and the 21st Century

 The place of technology in education today cannot be overemphasized. The reality in the world today brings home the usefulness and importance of the use of technology tools in learning, and as technology continues to advance, so does education and what students need to know to perform a variety of tasks. One of the most important changes includes how students look for and gather information. Although students still need to be able to “read, write, speak and calculate”, those skills have been extended to match the 21^st century. Students in the past typically just used books, textbooks, and encyclopedias. They just had to read their information and understand what they were reading. Now, students have access to a higher volume of materials due to their access to the Internet. This requires students to do more than just read and understand, but to evaluate their sources before they read and gather information about it.  

 Students also need to learn how to use and manipulate their way through a variety of materials. In the past students needed to learn how to use a table of contents and an index, which they still need to learn how to use. However, now they also need to learn about how to use hyperlinks and search engines to find the information they are looking for.

As definitions of literacy change, technology advances and the requirements for students to be able to develop new sets of skills, it is important for parents to understand all of these changes. There is an urgent need for technical skills, media skills, personal skills, and collaborative skills.

 Without these skills, students will not be able to be successful in their future. Students need to be able to use technology comfortably, work collaboratively with others, present the information they have gathered and presentations they have created in professional manners. Parents need to learn these 21^st century skills, so they can encourage their wards along with us. Parents should make  adequate provision for electronic devices like computers and internet at home, while they actively monitor where children visit online.

 As technology and education changes, the skills that we require our students to have are evolving along with it, this is  why we, at Emplace College, continues to make adequate provision for the development of these skills in all our students, as we make tools available in all our classrooms and laboratories.