How is the role of the teacher and learner changing in the 21st Century?

Early in my career, the notion that all teachers are literacy teachers was an important factor in how the curriculum was delivered. This meant that math teachers, science teachers, and physical education teachers all shared the responsibility of developing students’ literacy skills. It was not solely the responsibility of the Language Arts or English teacher. More recently, I discovered a similar notion about being literate in the 21st Century when I was watching a lecture on TedTalks.   The speaker said that being literate in the 21st century means that not only can one read and write, but one must be able to use computer technology or be computer literate. This notion made me stop and rethink about all the new technology such as iPhone, smart TVs, gaming systems, and aps that I was shunning and not buying into. It was hard to keep up with all the upgrades and changes, not to mention trying to keep up financially with all the new things we all wanted.  I wasn’t going to be fooled into thinking I needed all this new technology. It was too hard to keep up! But that quote from TedTalks about what it meant to be literate in the 21st Century changed my approach because I didn’t want to be illiterate.  Learning the technology and all the new aps and social media meant that I was keeping up not with the hype, but with my role as a teacher and learner in the 21st century. It also meant that I could keep up as an informed parent about what my kids would be doing with their friends online, and with their future school assignments. Are the teacher and learner two different people? Are we to assume that our students are the learners? That’s not always the case. But for the purpose of this reflection I will say that our students, along with their parents, share a huge responsibility and role in making technology and social media successful in our school system. Becoming a global citizen, a critical thinker, a reflective online writer are the skills needed for the 21st century, and I’m learning along with my own children and with my students.