Technology Utilization
Today, scholars are deemed digital natives since they were brought up in a period dominated by advanced technologies. At the same time, most adults, including tutors, are regarded as digital immigrants since they did not grow up in technological advancement and are gradually adjusting to the advanced technologies. Tarbutton (2018) asserts that technology is a requisite mode for conveying these initiatives to integrate 21st-century teaching into daily lessons successfully. Technology is a resource that staff and students could use to help guide their teaching and learning. Technologies have helped students to learn about the culture and to think creatively.
Tutors and students are compelled to use technology in innovative ways because of the Coronavirus pandemic to continue the teaching-learning process. Tutors in various sections of the United States are compelled to adjust what they typically do in the classrooms to cater to new distance teaching strategies. This implies that tutors use a range of online platforms to continue teaching to learn while they are in their residences. Tutors have recorded themselves administering classes, using the IXL Learning management system, Kahn Academy, or recording a specific read-aloud. In most instances, some tutors have requested their students to participate through Google Hangouts or Zoom. Moreover, morning communications have been granted an inventive spin by using Zoom or other social sites, for instance, YouTube or Facebook. Throughout this period, numerous virtual education platforms, exhibitions, and theme parks, among others, have converted to technology to produce reinvent their businesses, ensuring that students do not miss out on these great prospects.
Tutors should be trained in the most effective applications of technology for students to achieve their highest academic potential. Relevant and timely career development prospects for tutors and supervisors to enhance their understanding, proficiency, and attitudes towards technology should be planned. According to Fraser (2015), technology is an essential tool in the twenty-first century. Tutors and students must be virtually proficient for technology to be effective. During the Coronavirus epidemic, a different learning experience was encountered since not every teacher is tech-savvy, and not every apprentice has accessibility to the technology at home. The more career growth educators have with advanced technologies, the better. Tutors are learning fast due to the various online webcasts most programs offer. Other tutors worldwide are hastening and providing their assistance with numerous videos in their areas of jurisdiction, making this a magnificent and generous component.
Student Needs
It is critical to keep students interested in or engaged in learning. If instructors do not prioritize student engagement, students will lose the incentive to perform and interact in improper conduct, causing significant classroom and instructor issues. According to Silber‐ Stronge Grant and Xu (2015), disintegration from classroom learning is linked to self-competence, self-determination, and peer worth. Disengaged pupils could internalize destructive behaviors such as frustration or mental anguish. Moreover, these pupils could misbehave, fail to finish assignments, put forth little effort on evaluations, or eventually quit school. There have been emerging discussions regarding student involvement and ways of reaching out to detached pupils in recent times. According to RELN (2018), educators must provide core curriculum and events that link an assignment to institution and professional accomplishment while enhancing students’ capacity to manage challenges both in and outside of school. These leaders believe that if pupils could individually correlate to the content being studied, they would be deeply involved. Technology advancement has surpassed the conventional classroom over the last three decades. Students learn differently than scholars in earlier generations, thanks to advanced technologies. As a result, tutors should be encouraged to integrate technology to access students already proficient in digital language.
Institutions in the United States are made up of diversified pupils from different upbringings as the society progresses. These pupils all learn differently because of personal influences from their upbringings, favorable or unfavorable past experiences, cultural perceptions, or viewpoints. Correlations between students and tutors should be created and sustained to boost motivation, involvement, and individualized education. Moreover, tutors must take advantage of this diversity and design training programs customized to their pupils’ different personalities. Multidimensional classrooms enable students with different learning abilities to master principles more conveniently by participating in various activities.
Differentiated training is critical in the twenty-first century. Not all pupils respond similarly, and educators should handle their pupils’ diverse learning styles and needs. According to Tarbutton (2018), differentiated instruction commences with efficient training that distinguishes, merits, and promotes uniqueness. Understanding every pupil and how they can best study is the basis of differentiated education. Educators must consider the whole kid to guarantee that they are meeting the students’ needs. This is crucial to learn so that requirements will be fulfilled and accommodations can be made. Scholars should be allowed to participate and to have a say in their education. Allowing pupils this flexibility while making a distinction in their learning would permit students to take ownership of their education and maintain engagement. Supervisors must emphasize the significance of differential instructional strategies and look for illustrations in lesson strategies. Supervisors or districts need to offer professional growth for educators to be self-assured in designing and implementing differentiated learning.
Educator Roles
Tutors in the United States have an ever-expanding array of responsibilities in the school setting. According to Stronge, Grant, and Xu (2015), tutors should prepare instructions, convey instructions, evaluate students’ education, and oversee the learning atmosphere. They must have a deep understanding of their subject matter and adhere to the state’s syllabus and guidelines. In addition to their professional obligations, tutors take on the humanistic role of looking after children. Education is a multi-faceted profession in which educators act as parental figures, class enforcers, mentors, advisors, bookkeepers, mentors, planners, and many other related roles (Stronge, Grant, and Xu, 2015). Because educators are in a teacher’s care for several hours every day, they must be fostered scholastically and psychologically. Tutors are accountable for devising connections in their classroom settings that boost trustworthiness.
Tutors experience significant pressure to guarantee that scholars frequently perform at the highest level in recent years. Tutors are required to set their guidelines adeptly to incorporate all policies imposed by local and federal administrations. Furthermore, students are required to exhibit content proficiency on standardized national and state examinations. According to Fraser (2015), because pupils learn differently, schools must focus on the students as individuals and tailor their training to each student’s needs. Though it’s time-consuming and expensive, staff must be trained to recognize a person’s abilities and favored learning methods. Using this data, tutors should implement a range of instructional mechanisms suited to the needs of all pupils. This can be achieved by incorporating technology founded on academic ability or cognitive strategies. Numerous scholars lack confidence and educational motivation due to the inability to grasp a subject in standardized surroundings. Most kids find that learning in unconventional ways fits best for them. Content mastery is necessary for confidence and self-worth. On the other hand, the traditional educational system could only achieve this mastery with trainees who prosper in standardized surroundings. All other educators, regardless of ability, skill, or resilience, could be left behind.
The technological revolution has profoundly impacted the educational environment over the last three decades. The use of the internet for research and testing, PowerPoint presentations, and text editors in the classroom has become prevalent. As advanced technologies have been integrated into student learning, divergent perspectives have emerged regarding whether or not the tutor’s role has shifted. Several school administrators assume that the tutor’s role has been waned, while other individuals trust that the instructor is integral to the school environment. Tutors in the twenty-first century have attained the ability to evolve their instructional methods to accommodate all pupils as technology has evolved. These newer technologies enable staff to share their knowledge and skills while engaging learning experiences tailored to individual requirements. Along with the technological developments, the instructional conveyance has transitioned from lectures to student-engaged actions. Problem-based, inquiry-based, and cooperative education approaches offer kids more oversight over their education.
Tutors are now exhilarated to develop relations with students to be motivated and safe in the teaching space. Tutors give scholars the freedom to participate and explore their understanding through active learning with this classroom interaction. Students can resolve issues or in cooperative groups to achieve common objectives. Rather than instructing and assessing students, tutors have progressed into facilitators who challenge and encourage learners to study by tailoring training techniques to each person’s studying style. Tutors should be the awareness pillars in the school environment and be highly regarded by their pupils. They should form interactions and expedite learning undertakings where pupils could connect their real-life encounters. Children are reliant upon their educators to provide instruction through the learning experience. As a result, a tutors’ role in the classroom remains to be a leader’s role. Nevertheless, an instructor needs to adapt to changes in the community. To meet the students’ needs, tutors in the twenty-first century should use all resources available.
Connections between learning vs teaching
Tutors must connect with their pupils for them to connect their education. The syllabus should be pertinent and flexible to the desires and interests of students. Tutors should also set new goals for learning, positive behavior, and culture in the classroom. The primary objective of 21st-century learning is to give students opportunities to develop and experience increased thinking questions. According to Fraser (2015), students connect to what they are studying and the surroundings. It is imperative to realize that educators are facilitators and leaders in the 21st-century education model instead of knowledge providers. As challenging as it may be, tutors should allow students to determine what and how they gain knowledge.
A learning environment’s primary objective is to focus on the pupils. The teacher’s ability to provide subject knowledge is not the central objective. While the teacher and content are essential, a learning environment also allows the development of patterns and conceptual frameworks that build the content (Fraser, 2015). Knowledge is not shared in an educational environment; instead, it is crafted in each individual through rationalization. A classroom experience and a constructivist teaching method go synonymously. Constructivism is defined as a worldview in which learning is active and relative to background experience. It also utilizes subjective representations derived from existing understanding. But, in the end, the emphasis remains on individual learning through a progressive process. Students are allowed to improve their knowledge and grow while working within the framework they already have. Engaging with one another is a component that must become a strategy for tutors and students because they are far from communicators and engagers. Being creative is one of the most considerable changes in education today. Tutors must highlight creativity while also providing performance assessments for their students. Providing opportunities for young people has changed over the centuries as it is more rigorous today than it was during the past.
Conclusion
Since the country’s inception, the education structure has undergone considerable modifications. The educational process has evolved substantially, from lesser multi-age classroom settings with pupils of privilege to free tuition in thousands of schools. Learning’s aims have shifted over the years. Pupils were educated and equipped to enter the labor force or attend university in the twentieth century. While this is still factual in the twenty-first century, technological changes have severely impacted the conventional teaching method. Learning institutions in today’s society should be inclined to convert in response to technological developments and diversity. Tutors should continue learning new ways of presenting material to their pupils. Individual learner demands, such as education styles, intelligence, inspiration level, participation, and individual or emotive circumstances, must be given preference. Tutors must differentiate their instruction and make learning pertinent and engaging for their students. Learning in the twenty-first century is diversified, just like today’s students.
References
Fraser, B. (2015). Classroom learning environments. Encyclopedia of science education. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/
Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest. (2018). Improving high school graduation rates for all – evidence blast. Retrieved from https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/northwest/news/improve-grad-rates.asp
Silber‐Varod, V., Eshet‐Alkalai, Y., & Geri, N. (2019). Tracing research trends of 21st‐century learning skills. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(6), 3099–3118. doi: 10.1111/bjet.12753
Stronge, J., Grant, L., & Xu, X. (2015). The changing roles of tutors: What research indicates. Part I of II. Vol. 2, Iss 13
Tarbutton, T. (2018). Leveraging 21st-century learning & technology to create caring diverse classroom cultures. Multicultural Education, 25(2), 4. Retrieved from https://link-galecom.ezproxy.liberty.edu/apps/doc/A543779072/ITOF?u=vic_liberty&sid=ITOF&xid=d7
write