Gatekeepers to millennial careers: Adoption of technology in education by teachers

Abstract

As gatekeepers of the students' futures, schools can no longer provide education that lacks the needed digital skills to excel in the twenty-first-century world. Teachers cannot fail to equip students with these skills without compromising the professional futures of their learners. Increasing digital literacy is the clearly stated goal for both International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Yet, actual use of digital tools in schools remains inadequate, contributing to the digital divide. Slow-to-adopt districts and classrooms have typically cited IT security and bandwidth concerns, parental objections, lack of technological professional development, and difficulty accommodating access for all students, or "the digital divide." Many of these concerns are addressed through IT departments and communication with parents. However, teachers still need to be given more professional development training in education technology to help them integrate these tools into their educational practices and shift their teaching toward twenty-first-century culture. Teacher adoption of digital tools in lesson planning, implementation, and assessment can only happen after they have first learned these skills and practiced with the tools outside the classroom. This kind of professional development will help teachers model critical contemporary skills and become gatekeepers for students crossing the digital divide into millennial careers.