7 Signs of a 21st century educator. Having criticised the overuse of the phrase ’21st Century …’ , here I am using it, doh!

 

You know you’re a 21st Century educator when …
1) You use live streaming video to convey your lessons to pupils unable to attend a class. Illness, hospital treatment, home circumstances, travel etc. each of which could entail a period of time off school. In the last century this would result in lost opportunities to learn. In the 21st Century such lost opportunities are unacceptable and teachers/schools need to ensure learners still have access to learning opportunities when away from the school.
2) You use video to record your lessons for online delivery. We all know that many of us are ‘shy’ or ‘embarrassed’ to be seen on video. However, the 21st century teacher needs to overcome this barrier. ‘Lecture Capture’ is currently the BIG thing in HE, so don’t be caught out when ‘Lesson Capture’ comes to your school. The real value of Lesson Capture is that your sessions can be recorded and then replayed by students afterwards to reinforce their learning or for revision (if they need that!). Also your recorded sessions can be used to reach learners outside the school, even reach students around the globe. This will also help you attain a global presence, which could be the distinction of the best 21st Century educators.
3) You maintain a subject blog. Some of you may already maintain (or not maintain!) a personal blog. The difference here is that the subject blog is a professional tool that can serve many purposes for the 21st century educator. The blog records your teaching of your subject(s), you can use it reflectively as part of your professional development, you also use it with learners as part of a multi-approach to your teaching, you also share it with other subject professionals within your  Professional Learning Network.
4) You receive questions from pupils studying your lessons from around the world. Either you, yourself, or your school will have a global presence which attracts learners from around the world. Naturally, these learners will have questions which they submit to you via email, social networking, submission forms and discussion forums. You, of course, use a tool to aggregate these various sources into a single stream, just to make life a little easier for you!
5) You are invited by other teachers to teach a session to their pupils. Cooperation, collaboration and sharing are all good things so you work with other teachers in other schools to deliver lessons and they, equally, share with you. This practice improves your professional skills and also helps deliver the best content to learners.
6) You find yourself working in the early hours or late at night … no change there then! While much of your online teaching is delivered by recorded sessions and activities, you also blend this with live (synchronous) sessions with learners across countries and timezones.
7) You are paid more … well, let’s hope!

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