21st Century Literacy

In my Education 4P27 class we will be learning about different types of literacies that are important in the new education of the 21st century. Some examples of these literacies are media literacy, environmental literacy, and mental health literacy, to name a few that I am interested to learn more about. The class is aiming to show us as future educators that traditional forms of literacy are no longer the only essential element to education. Instead as children grow up in a fast changing global and technological world they also need to become critically literate in many aspects. This is very interesting to me and I am excited to learn more because I agree that the lessons we teach students need to connect to their real life and engage them in new ways that interest them. Education is not only about teaching content, but it is about teaching students how to strive in the new 21st century world and to do this they need to learn these new literacies.

21st Century Education [Video]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA1Aqp0sPQo

The video above was shown in class and sparked my interest because it really explains how fast pace new students lives are. It explains that there are new and interesting ways to engage students through technology and that education needs to change along with the world around it. Students are connected online through technology and I think this is essential to use in education to help enhance education. Children today have grown up surrounded by technology and as educators we need to realize that technology can be a powerful tool to teach in the 21st century.

I believe that this class will be useful for me to gain new insight into the new education in the 21st century so that I am better able to teach my students based on the world that they are living in. I hope to learn more about the different types of literacies and how they can be useful to my students to learn. Also, I want to learn more about how we can get students more engaged in school by making it be connected to their own lives. By teaching students to be critically literate they will become better citizens and will be able to connect what they learn in school to a larger importance in the real world that surrounds them.

21st Century Learning [Image]. (2016). Retrieved from: http://springmd.rockyview.ab.ca/our-school/21st-century-learning