A DRAMATIC SHIFT is sweeping through our schools. The signs are
all around us. Third graders texting on their cell phones. Kindergarteners
who can navigate an iPod Touch better than we can. Middle schoolers who
already have an Internet following on their blog or YouTube channel.
These are not the same 21st century learners we came to know over the
fi rst decade of the new millennium. For these students, simply watching
videos or images during class, playing an Internet multiplication game,
or even taking turns at an interactive whiteboard is no longer enough.
These new 21st century learners are highly relational and demand quick
access to new knowledge. More than that, they are capable of engaging in
learning at a whole new level. With the world literally at their fi ngertips,
today’s students need teachers and administrators to re-envision the role
of technology in the classroom.