TEACHER IN A DIGITAL ERA:
CHANGING ROLE AND COMPETENCIES
The world has become more complicated,competitive and intertwined. In order for individuals to survive and thrive in
the era of globalization and digitization, students should equip problem
solving skills, creative minds and information literacy. It is the
responsibility of the school and teachers to mold the future citizens with
these abilities. The new generations have different motivational profiles, in
their interest, emotions and much more. So the role of teacher has become more
complex in this digital era where knowledge is almost unlimited. With a simple
click to access countless information and resources, the role of teacher as an
authoritative single provider of knowledge and skills has been challenged by
readily available information technology.
THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE TEACHER
In this digital
era, teachers are expected to become technologically oriented and responsible
not only for their teaching but also for their students learning. They have to
cater for particular needs of individual students in heterogeneous classes, and
create a student-centered learning environment which endeavors for excellence
and offers opportunities for enquiry and dynamic learning. The teacher should
also be a subject developer. By this one means that the teacher should, through
continual work, bring new knowledge to the subject through his/her own experience,
research and development work. The role of teacher has changed and continues to
change from being an instructor to becoming a constructor, facilitator, coach
and creator of learning environments.
The teacher’s daily plan is often full of
countless challenges and the time constraints are very tight. However, it is
expected that creativity should given space at work in an active search for new
knowledge and new methods. With the introduction of information and
communication technology (ICT), the role of teachers has transferred to a more
broad and diverse definition to meet the needs of learning communities. As
conventional classrooms continue to transform into digital ones, it is
inevitable for the teacher to deliver instruction through multifaceted modes of
learning. Content and knowledge management is a key knack for teacher to
survive in digital environment. They have to select, develop and enrich
teaching-learning material in digital structure and with anytime-anywhere mode. In
distance education, as in all types of teaching, teaching materials is presented
and a structure for dialogue between teacher and student is established. Here
the teacher and students meet as a part of learning process. The teacher is
only responsible for promoting learning preconditions such as working habits,attitudes,knowledge and motivation.
CHANGING TEACHER
COMPETENCIES IN DIGITAL ERA
Competencies are defined as “the
set of knowledge, skills and experience necessary for future which manifests in
activities.” Motivation and competence are closely connected. Increased
competence leads to increased motivation to develop what one is doing and this
in turn leads to one wanting to try something new. If a teacher has to be
successful in the profession, he/she must be competent to help the learner to
be efficient in a technology-oriented society. The ICT competency is very
important to improve the learning and teaching process. It is a set of technology
standards that define proficiency in using computer technology in classrooms.
The competencies consist of computer-related skills grouped into four general
domains:
·
Basic Technology operation
·
Personal and professional use of
technology tools
·
Social, ethical and Human issues
·
Application of technology in instruction
Early attempts
to develop technology standards for teachers were isolated from the broader
teacher competencies and were focused primarily on technology skills. The
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has actively addressed
the technology isolated problem and released a set of revised teacher
technology standards. The NETS-T project (National Educational Technology
Standards for Teachers) explicitly describes what competent teacher should know
and to be able to do with technology in the context of broader teacher competencies.
The NETS-T standards are categorized as follows:
- Technology
operations and concepts
- Planning and designing learning
environments and experiences
- Teaching, learning and the curriculum
- Assessment and evaluation
- Productivity and Professional practice
- Social, ethical and legal issues
TECHNOLOGY COMPETENCIES
that a teacher of this digital era should possess can be organized into five
aspects. They are:
1. PRODUCTIVITY: Produce
and
manage learning documents such as parent newsletters, Handouts for students and
class lists, analyze quantitative data and organize information graphically.
2. RESEARCH: Use effective
online strategies, to produce useful and safe online resources in the classroom.
3.
COMMUNICATION: Communicate using
digital tools. It includes managing E-mail, instant messaging; creating blogs, bookmarking,
publish online resources and knowing audio and video conferencing to bring
outside resources into the classroom and to encourage academic collaboration
among students.
4. MEDIA: Differentiate instruction with digital media,
capture and edit images, audio and video. Teacher can combine media from wide
array of sources into a useful presentation of academic content.
5.PRESENTATION:
Create effective digital
presentations in classroom using common devices such as computers, projectors, screens.
From large smart boards to tiny i Pods and science probes, the teacher can
incorporate a variety of digital devices into the instruction in the classroom.
Teachers
in the 21st century have to understand that change is inevitable.
They need to be well prepared both in their subjects
and pedagogy. In this web learning culture, technical skills and critical
thinking are equally important for a teacher. Some teachers feel threatened by the
new technology and experience, that this may make them superfluous. The way we
see it however, technology will never be able to make the teacher redundant,
but it may make the teacher’s role different. Teachers are central to the
effectiveness of technology infrastructures that serve education. They need to
be able to help the students become collaborative, problem solving, creative
learners through using ICT then they will become effective citizens and members
of the workforce. Great teachers are not born in the minds of the students but
they are born in the hearts of the students and a good teacher is like a
candle; it consumes itself to light the way for others.
