Can we all be 21st century teachers?

During these past few weeks I have been quite taken in by the benefits and capabilities some technologies possess, and seeing them as keys to unlocking some traditional teaching barriers. Not only used as keys, but also as a way to teach and present new information in a radically new and 21st century manner. It is easy to marvel at the advances in technology, but what I am more impressed by is its adaptation and usefulness in the modern day classroom. Today is a far cry from when I was in school, and I am very curious to start my first placement on Thursday to see first-hand how it has changed.

This past week I along with my Cohort classmates were SMART Board certified. We have also been learning about Livescribe, Clickers, Frontrow, Notebook for creating SMART presentations, video cameras, iPod touch's and iPads. I feel this has been an incredible learning experience and value to us. We have all been caught up with these technologies, trying to think of how we are going to incorporate these into our very own classrooms one day.

But alas arises my concerns. I am not concerned about using technology in the classroom, nor am I concerned about trying to be creative in adapting it to make the learning experience more enjoyable and thorough. No, what I am concerned about is getting out into the teaching world, and discovering that very few classrooms are actually modern. That is not to say that I would not be able to teach in that environment, however what if I was thinking of this fantastic lesson plan that involved all these wonderful technologies I have been learning about - but I cannot use them because my school board cannot afford them. Furthermore, what if I am in a school where the students are from a low income bracket where they cannot afford to have a computer at home, or access to the internet? What if that family's choice was not what new app to get, but can we afford to eat a healthy meal 7 days a week?

This raises another question - does technology benefit or isolate kids? What if I am teaching a class where half the kids all have their fancy shiny iPhone's and laptops; and the other half have the old brick Fido circa 2000 and do not have a home computer? Does that student who cannot afford to have a home computer resent me and think I'm a jerk for showing off all these technologies when I know his family cannot afford them? Clearly you design your lesson plans to accommodate this just as you would for any other learning style, but it does create some concerns. I think what is becoming increasingly clear to me is that I need to embrace all these amazing technologies and techniques I am learning about, but it should never be forgotten that the primary resource we have to teach is ourselves. Our passion to teach; our enthusiasm for acquiring knowledge; and our desire to see our students learn and succeed (among other goals) is what we will always rely upon to be great teachers. 

As I continue along my journey towards becoming a 21st century teacher, I look forward to seeing how I will navigate through these concerns.