My Reflection Re: The 20 Basic Technology Skills All Educators Should Have

It is no doubt that technology has now become a regular part of daily life for most 20- and 30- somethings, many middle-agers, and baby-boomers. Even the younger generation of society, the children and adolescents who will one day become the future of our nation, rely on and use technology frequently. As such, it is important that technology be used in schools and that educators know how to use it; however, I do not agree that all 20 of the technology skills that Laura Turner mentioned in her article are "basic" or that EVERY educator should possess all of these skills.

I found that about 55% of the skills were basic and about 45% fell somewhere between intermediate-advanced. I felt that some of the more difficult skills that were among the 45% were not totally necessary for all educators to possess, mainly taking into account the level that one is teaching and the resources and policies the school has regarding technology. I also based my opinion on my own personal experiences with using technology in my own schooling and now as a teacher.

My breakdown and rationale is as follows:

Basic Skills

• word processing
• database
• spreadsheets
• electronic presentation
• web navigation
• web-site navigation
• e-mail management
• file management and Windows Explorer
• knowledge of computer-related storage devices
• educational copyright knowledge
• computer security knowledge

I believe these skills are "basic" because they seem to be skills that most people could most quickly learn if they do not already possess them. I know that I developed many of these skills on my own before I became a teacher. Simply based on the fact that I grew up using the computer, I learned these skills along the way. They didn't just come to me, however. I learned about some of them through my own schooling in elementary and middle school. In high school and college (both as an undergrad and graduate student) I became more aware of the bigger issues like educational copyright laws and computer security knowledge.

Since the aforementioned skills appear to be the ones that would be utilized most frequently in a classroom, and no doubt they have been around for quite some time considering the fact that I acquired some of these skills when I was an adolescent, I think that today all educators should possess these skills. Certainly electronic communication, such as e-mail, has become a widely used and convenient means of communication. I know at my school we are told to check our e-mail everyday; therefore, we must know how to use it. We also enter our grades electronically, so it's important that we understand how to use a spreadsheet. Some teachers even use the software program GradeQuick to keep track of grades while others choose to calculate grades manually. This is another example of being able to use a spreadsheet. Our school offers training for those who need to or want to learn how to use a certain program. There are "open labs" held at different times throughout the year where teachers can get this help in order to become more proficient and knowlegeable in using available technologies at our school.

Regarding the knowledge of educational copyright laws and computer security knowledge, I feel these are basic concepts that every educator should have because at some point, the students will most likely be using computers to do school-related activities. It is important that the teacher is first aware of the copyright laws her/himself so she/he can pass this information along to the students. Even when it comes to non-electronic sources that are being used for educational purposes, the teacher needs to set a good example for the students and needs to educate them on the correct procedure(s) to follow when borrowing and using a source created by another individual. As for the computer security issue, I know that most schools block inappropriate or potentially dangerous sites and computer applications from the school network and particularly, at my school, don't allow classes to partake in such activities as blogging with other classrooms from another school district or participating in online learning projects with another classroom around the world. Even though potential risks and dangers associated with computer security are avoided on school networks, teachers should still work towards educating students on how to safely navigate and use the computer so that when the students use the computer outside of school, they will be aware of how to stay safe and not give out too much personal information.

Intermediate Skills

• deep Web knowledge
• scanners
• digital cameras
• computer-network knowledge
• downloading software from the Web
• installing computer software
• video-conferencing

I feel that these skills are more intermediate than simply basic. I myself wasn't even totally aware of a couple of these skills, like knowledge of the deep Web and the possibilities of video-conferencing in the classroom. After reading a few of the articles within the actual article by Turner, I thought that these are good skills to possess, but I wouldn't consider them basic, for they take more time to develop and become familiar with.

I also based my opinion on the fact that not all schools might have such peripherals as digital cameras and scanners. If a school doesn't have these tools, then why should an educator be required to know how to use them? Maybe a teacher doesn't feel comfortable using these devices either. Although these would be helpful skills to have, I don't think they're basic and I think it's up to the teacher's discretion and the school/institution one is working at, to have the ultimate say in whether or not a teacher must possess these skills.

As for the more technical skills like school networks, installing computer software, and downloading software from the Web, I think that these are more important for the technology administrators at one's school to possess. I think a teacher should have a surface-level understanding of how the computers are networked and how information can be sent to any printer within the building as a result of the network, but knowing more than that I don't think is necessary. Also, I know that at my school, software programs are already installed on our computers for us prior to the start of the new school year. If a program is not installed, we contact the system operator at our school who then tries to remedy the problem him/herself or who then contacts the district-level tech admins who can then resolve the issue. As for downloading software from the Web, we are not allowed to do this. Certainly we can download ClipArt, but as for downloading new software programs or applications, or e-books, I am pretty sure this isn't allowed. I'd like to check with my principal to know though if downloading e-books on the school computers is possible because I do think that'd be a great tool to utilize in the classroom.

Advanced Skills

• WebCT or Blackboard teaching skills
• knowledge of PDAs

I feel that these skills are definitely not basic nor intermediate. Rather, these skills seem to be much more advanced, especially for an elementary, middle, or high school teacher. I could definitely see these being pertinent skills for a college and/or university instructor and/or professor to possess as educators at this level would be most likely to use these tools in their teaching and/or for their own purposes. As it is, I know that at my school, we teachers would never be required to have this knowledge mainly because I don't see these implementations taking place any time soon, if at all, at my school. Not all of the families in the district even have their own home computer. Last year there was some talk about getting classroom sets of PDAs for the students to use, but it was definitely put on the wish list and there has been no talk of it since. We're still trying to implement our new scope and sequence for utilizing technology, mostly in the form of using desktop and laptop computers, so obviously if PDAs were brought into the picture, teachers would have to acquire new knowledge in knowing how to use them and I wouldn't consider this "basic" knowledge.

Conclusion

All in all, the skills mentioned in this article seemed like they'd be interesting and useful to know and acquire, but that they should not be considered "basic" and that not all educators should have these skills. I think the more important thing to consider in thinking about the skills an educator should possess would be to take into consideration the level one is teaching, whether it's elementary, middle school, high school, or higher education and also to look at what resources the teachers have available to them. As long as all teachers have an understanding and are competent with the skills that I have deemed "basic" then I think they can work their way up in learning about and acquiring more advanced skills as they go on, depending where they teach and the resources and tools they have available to them.