The Six New Generation Digital Fluencies
"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value."
Almost everybody agrees that education is important. Our political leaders are good at coming up with statements such as "the future of our nation lies in the minds of our children."
We live in the Information Age, where computers are used as personal productivity tools and for entertainment. The Information Age has brought us such concepts and tools as telecommunications, the information superhighway, and the Internet. It is characterized by the availability of digitized information disseminated through multimedia such as television, audio and videotape, camcorders, compact discs, and digital tape. The Information Age has seen the development of hypermedia (computer-based, interactive multimedia) and groupware (productivity tools for groups of people working together).
The Information Age has shrunk our world and is helping to create a Global Village. It has changed business, industry, government, and education. This transformation has been fueled by rapid progress in computer-related technologies and telecommunications systems that link computers and other machines to each other and to people. The computer's role as a "mind" tool has further fueled change in the Information Age. One person who can use computers effectively can often do the work of several people who don't know how to use computers.
The Information Age has challenged our educational system. It has complicated the functions of teacher education and curriculum development. It has affected school funding and the decision-making processes that determine how school resources are allocated.
Our educational system is a massive institution deeply rooted in the history and traditions of our nation, and thus, it is slow to change. It was not designed to deal with the rapid and continued pace of change in educational technology. The result is that many students are not getting an education that adequately prepares them for adult life in the Information Age. Many teachers are working with archaic facilities where students learn archaic curriculum. Parents are frustrated that their children are not learning in an environment that is as technologically rich as their own work environments. Leaders in business and government have expressed concern that our educational system is failing to meet the needs of commerce and the nation.
The six new generation digital fluencies helps the learners to learn and discover with the integration of technology. Teachers adjust the way of having an effective discussion especially integrating technology as an instructional material. Nowadays, technologies are useful in terms of educational preferences. There are lots of strategies you may use to integrate technology as a part of learning. But we as a future educator, should replace ourselves by that technology. We are one of the sources of knowledge, we impose, we teach, we facilitate and guide our students in a right path way. It is a big challenge for us to take this opportunity and we should accept it whole heartidly.
"Never stop discovering, and never stop learning" . . .