20 tech skills all educators should have
20 basic technology skills all educators should have:
A fabulous June 2005 article by Laura Turner in T.H.E. Journal Online, provides fabulous resources to tutorials, manuals, presentations of various sorts on these basic tech skills. Take the test. Are you a tech savvy educator? I’m off to a fair start, but I obviously still have lots to learn!
1. Word Processing Skills
2. Spreadsheets Skills
3. Database Skills
4. Electronic Presentation Skills
5. Web Navigation Skills
6. Web Site Design Skills
7. E-Mail Management Skills
8. Digital Cameras
9. Computer Network Knowledge Applicable to your School System
10. File Management & Windows Explorer Skills
11. Downloading Software From the Web (Knowledge including eBooks)
12. Installing Computer Software onto a Computer System
13. WebCT or Blackboard Teaching Skills
14. Videoconferencing skills
15. Computer-Related Storage Devices (Knowledge: disks, CDs, USB drives, zip disks, DVDs, etc.)
16. Scanner Knowledge
17. Knowledge of PDAs
18. Deep Web Knowledge
19. Educational Copyright Knowledge
20. Computer Security Knowledge
As if educators didn’t have enough to deal with…now we have to Uber-techs, Photographers, Web Site Producers, Programmers, Graphic Designers, Lawyers, Writers, Filmmakers, Accountants…)
I am routinely familiar with about 19 of the items on the list. However I can’t really say I’m as proficient as a specialist in any of these areas. Just keeping up with the latest developments in all of these areas is more than a full-time job (WebCT by itself is a full-time job for TWO people
I think that its one thing to know what these tools can do, but another to use them effectively or even creatively. At one point one has to recognize their limitations and not try to be super-human.
On the other hand, we could try, and even add to this list! For example:
- Blogging
- Wiki
- A programming language like Flash, Javascript, Python, Ruby, etc.
- Mobile technologies (wifi, cellular)
- Server skills (knowing how to configure a server to run Moodle, for example)
So my questions: Where does it end? When does it make sense to commit time to learning a new technology? When does it make sense to go deeper? Can somebody PLEASE give me a 28 hour day?
Posted October 11, 2005, 10:45 amYou got a point there Ray. Lets get real. If you are working on 28hour days I’m still trying to convince chemists or better yet the natural food industry to invent ’sleep conpensation’ pills in one and two hour increments. Pop the number you need to make up for lost shut eye!
Too bad I need to go to bed now!
Posted October 12, 2005, 2:30 amYou actually *sleep* !?
Posted October 12, 2005, 9:56 am