Online resources, the blending of instruction, and Catholic faith!

The blending of instruction and technology is upon us.  As educators of 21^st Century Catholic young men and women, we must be willing to leave our past behind and venture into the future through accepting change and combining it with the relevant knowledge of the past. 

Technology is opening all kinds of doors for our schools to better personalize the instructional program we offer our students.  We need to be open-minded in exploring all options to attract new students and better serve our current students as Catholic education institutions.

All too often I hear educators talk about wanting to hold onto to “what we had.”  “Why was it OK for me and my generation and suddenly it’s not OK for this generation?”  Others think we need to completely throw out the way things were and jump into the pool of constant information bombardment. 

The reality… we need to find the middle ground.  Tony Wagner is so correct when he says that “information is now a commodity.”  We owe it to our students to teach them the 21st Century skills that will allow them to carve their own path in this constantly changing and swirling world we live in.  We need to make sure the skills that our students are asked to master are rooted in academic foundational knowledge (math facts, reading skills, writing skills) and in our Catholic faith.  That is an incredible challenge.  Identifying which skills and techniques to prepare kids with is like trying to catch the wind with a net – we grab at the air, it feels like we caught something but really there is just air.  Just when we think we are successful and doing a great job, we have a new generation of parents and students arrive to tell us we are behind the times and not moving fast enough.  Or, and this is just as frustrating, the world of technology passes us just as we become proficient at using the tools we can afford and are comfortable with.

Education is a challenging field!  This actually makes teaching in Catholic schools is a bonus in this crazy field.  We have an anchor with which to tie our instruction – GOD!  By keeping our faith at the center of our instructional program, we can make use of any standards, pedagogy, assessment or curricula and still make sure our students exit our schools as 21^st Century citizens of faith.  In order to accomplish this, we must embrace the technology and the associated tools as a means of helping our students develop not only their academic and cognitive skills, but their ability to apply those skills through the lens of a Catholic citizen of the 21^st Century.  Many schools and school systems are struggling with this constant and rapid change.  If we can use our faith to help us remain grounded and guide our practice, then we stand a chance of offering a truly unique and exceptional learning opportunity to the students and families of Hawaii!  But we have to be willing to push ourselves in our blending of technology, instruction and faith.

Blending strong morals and Catholic dogma with 21^st Century tools to actively engage our kids in the learning process is an exciting prospect.  It is taking place in pockets across our Hawaii Catholic Schools system.  We need to increase our level of communication and recognize that through change our brand of education will grow and flourish.  But only if we are willing to change and grow.  By finding balance and supporting each other with skills and content, our system can bring the word of God to more student age children in Hawaii.  Accept the challenge and find the balance.  Work with your teaching colleagues both at your school and across our Hawaii Catholic Schools to grow and meet the challenge of 21^st Century education.

Resources:
25 Educational Web tools to Boost Your Teaching 
7 Apps that teach Literacy Skills (geared toward kids with language disorders)