Modern teachers are often referred to as the 21st century teachers, the innovative educators of today. These teachers embrace technology in teaching and learning process. But what skills do these teachers must have in order to be considered modern teachers of today.
The post in the edudemic.com suggested 10 skills modern teachers must have. I agree on the skills stated of that post because as a modern teacher we really have to consider a lot of things before making any decisions. We have to adopt technology in teaching and use them efficiently. In order for us not to be misguided of today’s booming technology, we must be aware of the necessary skills a teacher must have so that using them in teaching will not be in vain.
The 10 skills stated in the edudemic.com are the following:
Build Your PLN (Professional Learning Network). You are going to connect to people of the same interest around the world. Make use of the different forms of technology to help you connect with them. These people you are connected with can answer your queries, give you ideas and you can learn from them. As you are connected with different people around the world, you will be amazed of the tons of ideas you get from them which are helpful in your chosen field.
Establish Real Relationship. Take the effort to know the person you are connected with either online and offline. If you consider the person as important where you can learn something from him, spend some time either online or offline. Creating conversations will eventually elicit trusts. When trusts are achieved, then you will start exchanging ideas on your field of interest.
Understand where technology fits in education. The coming out of the different forms of technology is unstoppable. There is nothing wrong if educators will possibly adopt of what is in but they must consider its importance. To adopt technology in teaching, we don’t have to use the latest or what is new because this might not fit the purpose. Considering in adopting a certain technology, we have to figure out how it helps us or what it does to help us.
Know how to find useful resources. As a modern teacher, we must have access to various education technology resources. These are very useful in the sense that this will help us get new ideas, learn from it and apply it in our teaching.
Manage your online reputation. This is making sure you are on the right social networks and you provided accurate personal information. Make sure also to close your accounts whenever you decided to stop using the service. This will make other people whom you are connected with not to expect anything from you anymore.
Know how to correctly blog. Blogging is encouraged to teachers and modern teachers are doing it but it should be done correctly. Our blogs should be shared only to people who can relate what we are doing because these are the people who can give reactions. People of different interests and are shared with our blogs will perhaps be annoyed. So let us consider the kind of people we are sharing our blogs with. We should also never share personal information of our students or anyone else in our blogs. This may harm other people if we do so.
Slow down. Modern teachers know how to slow down. Avoid rush when expecting good results. Don’t rush any lessons because you are catching up deadlines. Make use of technology to help you maximize meaningful learning of the students.
Make social media work for you. This is choosing the best social network to be used in connecting other people. Figuring out which social network is the best for educators requires trial and error.
Don’t be afraid of failing. As innovative educators, we should not be afraid to fail in whatever endeavor we take to improve our teaching. Trying things to help teaching and learning better than the usual practice is what we desire. Adopting technology for instance has been considered in innovative teaching and learning. We should not be afraid to use different forms of technology and decide which really fits the purpose.
Know when to disconnect. Modern teachers should always know when to stop engaging themselves to this kind of connectivity to other people. They must be aware of the other priorities in their life and work.
The above skills modern teachers must have are very interesting. As a modern teacher, we have to deal with the advances in technology and how to use them in the classroom. To some, technology does not come easy to them. They struggle with it. But this should not stop us from trying. Lets us not afraid of failing.
Fe V. Consolacion
Foundation University
