Students Think They Know Tech, But Do They?

It has been my experience from teaching classes that require students to use technology frequently, that they think they know how to do everything with technology, but have a limited skill set. It is our job as educators, no matter what subject we teach, to demonstrate and practice these necessary 21st century skills with students as much as possible when applicable. Having these skills are just as important as being able to solve an algebraic equation in today's workforce.

1. Email: During the first week of school, I show students how to set-up and use their email. Many have never used it before because they communicate via text for almost everything. In the business world, email is still the most preferred way of communication. Students need to understand the importance of giving a subject line, how to compose a professional email and attach documents. I have them during the first week send me an email about their short and long term goals. The email has to be perfectly spelled with an appropriate subject line and attachment. They need to understand that spelling mistakes in an email can be seen by anyone who shares it and can cost them a job!

2. Digital note-taking: Some students really enjoy taking notes by hand, while others if given the opportunity would utilize a program such as Evernote to organize and collect thoughts from a lecture. Showing students the apps and programs that are available for them to take notes through allows them to be exposed to how college students and adults take notes when at a conference or meeting. Taking notes digitally is much easier to organize and save in a safe and secure place! 

3. Organizing digital files and documents: It amazes me when students go to save a document for the first time A: don't know how to save it, B: Where to save it to, and C: What to name it. We use the Cloud (Skydrive) to store all of our files now and students need to be taught where to save them, how to create folders for classes, and what to name them. I had a student last year name all his files by his name. When he went to find his resume, it took forever. The old saying goes" It is better to do it right the first time than waste time doing it again."

4. How to search effectively: Search engines can be complicated if one has never been taught search operators, how to look out for ads and narrow search content. To many students when asked to find something, type the whole sentence into the search box! There is a lot of great info on the web but also a lot of junk. Teaching students how to effectively search is a huge time saver and skill to have.

5. Google Docs: I use Google Docs for almost every team project we do in my classes. Reason: There is no better tool in my opinion to communicate and collaborate with when working on a group assignment. Students love working on a report or presentation where they can see each other doing the work. It is extremely powerful. Not only can students work together at the same time, they can create and share documents that can be accessed from anywhere. No more excuses why the paper didn't get completed! Not to mention it makes my life a lot easier when grading. I love giving comments in Google Docs and allowing them to see and fix them immediately!

Essentially, teaching these skills in our classes will not only better prepare students for the professional working world, it will save you time in your classroom this year. Feel free to comment and add any that I missed. Thanks!

-Rob Donatelli