Friday, October 15, 2010

Assessing Technology Skills

There is unquestionably a substantial value in determining educators’ technology leadership skills along with determining students’ technology skill levels. By assessing the technological skills of both teachers and students, this evaluation will determine where the digital gaps are located.   Students are learning in ways that we as digital immigrants never thought possible. For example, cell phones, internet, internet TVs, GPS systems, iPods, iPads, MP3 players, On-Star voice activation emergency services, automobile automation, gaming devices, podcasts, et cetera are all part of our students’ everyday lives.    
Instructors should be preparing students for careers that do not exist today.  This may not be happening because of technology compounding exponentially on a daily basis and because of the age difference.
The advantages are that once assessments are conducted, administrators will be able to see where the gaps are and fill the needs of the students by developing professional development courses for educators.  Educators will need to incorporate every technological article in the market place and continue to do so, so they will not fall behind.   .  Teachers not only need to catch up but stay on the same wavelength as the students.  By utilizing the devices and services list above, this will help bridge the gap furthermore.
On the other side, once we determine the difference, this may make no difference what so ever. Educators may never reach the students’ level of technological knowledge due to the rapid technological growth that we are experiencing in our modern day world today.   Students will continually take in technology at a faster rate than their teachers will because they have the mental capacity to attain information at a quicker velocity.
Although knowing this difference is valuable, closing the gap is essential. However, in this day and age, we may never catch up to our younger successor.  It will be a constant race to keep up.  

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