Sheninger discusses the eight essential skills that will help students become more technologically literate in a twenty-first century digital world. “These include creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, technological proficiency, global awareness, media literacy, communication and collaboration” (Sheninger, 2014, p.36). Sheninger (2014) goes on to mention that, “these skills lead to the promotion of ingenuity, entrepreneurialism, and self-directed learning” (p.36). These skills should be introduced to students at an age when they are mature enough to grasp the concepts and understand their importance. In all stages of life, it is important for a student to be able to think critically about a situation and work through the various aspects in order to solve the problem. Building off of this, it is important that students be both technologically literate as well as media literate so that they know how to access a variety of sources that may help them work through the problem-solving process. They should be able to think creatively about possible solutions in order to find the best fit given the situation at hand. They should also be able to collaborate with others, share ideas, and communicate their points of view effectively. Finally, a global awareness is important as we are moving toward a global community where students have increased access to many different cultures and differing points of view. Sheninger’s book provides educators with many options and ideas for implementing new technologies in their schools to better serve students, but it is up to each district’s administrators and staff to heed Sheninger’s advice. As it says in the Bible, “let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance” (Proverbs 1:5 NIV). Technology is here to stay, and it is something that we will have to get used to. As technology continues to advance at such a rapid pace, we will also have to learn to keep up with these changes and continue to develop new ways of integrating these innovative technologies into our learning environments. As our world becomes more global in scale, as educators, we must first adapt our current ways of thinking to accommodate these changes ourselves, and then teach our students how to navigate these new digital spaces. Caruana and Montgomery (2015) speak to this point in that, “in the twenty-first century, globalisation, involving the rapid integration of the world economy with increasingly liberalised trade and commerce, is exposing higher education to an explosion in demand. New forms of interdependencies are emerging between actors, institutions and states” (p.10). While Caruana and Montgomery were focusing on higher education, the same can be said for all levels of education. As we enter a global community, more is demanded of both students and staff. As digital leaders, it is important that we are knowledgeable enough about these technologies in order to harness these new platforms and help students meet these new demands in an ever changing, and ever advancing global marketplace of ideas.
Reference:
Caruana, V., & Montgomery, C. (2015). Understanding the transnational higher education landscape: Shifting positionality and the complexities of partnership. Learning and Teaching: The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences,8(1), 5-29. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24717999
Sheninger, E. Digital leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times (2014).
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