21st Century Learning

Let’s recall our K-12 (from kindergarten to twelfth grade) education and think of how much digital technology is integrated in our process of learning in the classrooms. As a person who was born in 2007, I stepped into school life in 2012 when it was one year after the FATIH Project (Movement of Enhancing Opportunities and Improving Technology) was initiated in Türkiye. Basically, we had smart boards in our classrooms which meant teachers were expected to teach the subjects with the help of smart boards. They did, and they have continued to utilize smart boards. Ongoing rapid advancements of technology in the 21st century has required teachers to be flexible with changes and have technological knowledge apart from knowledge of their own disciplines. From a student perspective, I encountered technology-integrated education in my school life at the very first stage. In the future, it is likely that my student candidates who are born into digital world will expect me to engage English language with technology efficiently as well as they expect me to have proficient English language knowledge. Apparently, the continuing improvements of the 21st century evolves the teachers’ attitudes towards teaching and students’ attitudes towards learning.