In designing a course there are two big questions to answer. The first one is:
What is the goal of the project and how will the project meet the goals of the organization?
In other words, what really matters, and what about my course that will accomplish what matters?
The Committee on Workforce Needs in Information Technology recommends giving “greater emphasis to promoting IT [information technology] fluency in K-12 and in higher education” noting “The ability to use IT tools for learning and at work is a skill that every citizen should have.” (p.16.) In order to do that, teachers will need to use technology in the classroom and be proficient in 21st Century Skills themselves. According to Lambert and Cuper, even though it is important to utilize technological opportunities in preparation to become teachers, this preparation “rests on how well incoming teachers are taught to leverage the technologies to help their students develop these same skills.” (p. 265). According to ISTE in NETS for Students, Preservice teachers must refine their communication skills using technology and use the appropriate pedagogy to teach students these skills as well. (National Educational Technology Standards for Students, 2007.)
Therefore, teachers need to be able to understand reflective learning, use critical analysis, explore new and tested technologies use their power as teachers for the next generation. Buy using multimedia, teachers can meet the digital natives on their turf and show their students how to use the technologies effectively in their own learning (Lambert & Cuper, 2008).
So, what is the goal of the course? The goal is to help teachers utilize and understand the pedagogies behind the technologies necessary to teach 21st Century skills in their classroom.
The organization for me would be an education or instructional department in higher education that offers courses to teachers or pre-service teachers in pursuit of a teaching certificate/degree or perhaps as professional development.
Committee on Workforce Needs in Information Technology. (2001). Building a workforce for the information economy. (Board on Testing and Assessment, Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy, Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel, National Research Council).Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9830
Lambert, J. & Cuper, P. (2008). Multimedia technologies and familiar spaces: 21st-century teaching for 21st-century learners. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 8(3).
International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). National educational
technology standards for students. (2nd ed.). Eugene, OR: Author.
MaryAnne Nestor 