A Profitable Education

In this chapter, the authors take a multifaceted critical approach to understanding and deconstructing the term 21st century skills, especially in regard to technology and the role of corporations in the discourses about education. They also consider a range of cultural and political influences in our exploration of the social and academic meanings of the term, including its history and politics. The application of the term in present-day educational contexts is considered as well as possible futures implied through the term. The goal in this chapter is to counter ideas that might diminish a humanized educational practice. Specifically, the authors offer a critique of neoliberal discourses in education, particularly the neoliberal and corporate narrative around 21st century teaching and learning. They raise concerns about what an undue emphasis on industry-oriented educational systems can mean for the core purposes of education.

Teaching Argumentation in Higher Education

This study examines teaching methodologies used by composition instructors in a private university in Kenya where composition is taught to all undergraduate students. The study adopted a qualitative approach in the form of narrative inquiry to explore challenging topics in teaching and learning argumentation, methodological interventions, instructors' use of technology, and to suggest strategies for addressing problem areas. Purposive sampling was adopted, resulting in narratives from three experienced course instructors. Learner-centred approaches were prevalent, especially in addressing challenging topics such as formulation of claims, supporting arguments with evidence, recognising fallacies and appeals, and documentation of sources of information.

Coding Across the Curriculum

This chapter explores why teacher educators should teach teachers how to integrate coding across content areas and how to do so by applying concepts of computational thinking such as using algorithms, flowcharts, and Boolean logic to all fields. Teaching teachers how to teach coding across the content areas offers opportunities to diversify people in a field where intimidation, discrimination, and lack of opportunities has effectively kept the field of programming largely white or Asian and male. In addition, as our lives become more and more infused with technology, Rushkoff warns that we either learn how to program or become programmed. This means that not everyone needs to become a computer programmer, but everyone needs to understand how programming computers works. In other words, coding across content areas would help prepare all students, not just those pursuing the field of computer science, for the 21st century.

Student Agency

This chapter explores the theoretical ideas educators should explore and understand in relationship to developing student agency as a pedagogy. It also examines how using it can potentially inspire digital critical pedagogy. The process by which certified teachers engaged in to become more aware of their own critical pedagogy and skill to implement student agency is discussed throughout the chapter. Their perceptions of what student agency is and should be is explored alongside ideas for instituting creative digital pedagogy and student agency in a practical fashion in a focal point of the chapter.

Integrating Digital Literacy in Competency-Based Curriculum

This chapter discusses the integration of digital literacy in competency-based curriculum (CBC). In the introduction, the authors discuss the 21st century skills and their relevance to the competency-based curriculum. The discussion funnels from global, regional, and local contexts. Theoretical perspectives in ICT and the CBC are dealt with to provide a background. Multiple approaches of integrating digital literacy within the curriculum are highlighted later in the chapter. These issues are discussed in the light of the extant literature on digital literacy and the competency-based curriculum. The discussion revolves around the trends, controversies of digital literacy in the CBC with possible solutions put forth towards the end of the chapter. Finally, recommendations and future research directions are made. The chapter concludes with a summary of the major issues discussed in the chapter and recommendations for further reading.

Perceptions and New Realities for the 21st Century Learner

Of all the technologies emerging today, augmented reality (AR) stands to be one of, if not the, most transformational in the way we teach our students across the spectrum of age groups and subject matter. The authors propose “best practices” that allow the educator to use AR as a tool that will not only teach the processes of a skill but will also encourage students to use AR as a motivational tool that allows them to discover, explore, and perform work beyond what is capable with this revolutionary device. Finally, the authors provide and explore the artificial intelligence (AI) processors behind the technologies driving down cost while driving up the quality of AR and how this new field of computer science is transforming all facets of society and may end up changing pedagogy more profoundly than anything before it.

Adding Value

Research finds that fostering reflective deliberation in classes ensures that students reach a high level of achievement in their courses. This chapter evaluates student peer reflective exchanges across a four-year institution and a community college and both face-to-face and online modes of instruction at these differing institutions. Significant evidence reveals that regardless of institution type, students deliberate with academic reflectivity yet deliberate with greater reflectivity in face-to-face classes across both institutions. This study concludes that offering deliberative strategies are a viable means to offer pedagogical content across different modes of instruction and at differing institutions, a concern for educators and administrators in this digital age.

Understanding Web-Based Peer Assessment in Teacher Education

With the development of technology, web-based peer assessment has been increasingly used as an alternative, formative assessment strategy with great potential for student learning benefits. The purpose of this chapter is to synthesize a series of empirical research studies conducted by the authors to examine factors that can influence the effectiveness of web-based peer assessment with teacher education students. The findings of these studies are discussed within the larger context of general research in peer assessment. Implications are provided to better inform researchers and teacher educators about the use of web-based peer assessment and how it relates to teacher education students' ability to apply assessment criteria and their ability to take advantage of peer feedback.

From Start to Finish

The U.S. Department of Education recently reported that single educational technology courses are not sufficient experiences to properly prepare preservice teachers for future technology-rich K-12 classrooms. Rather, continuous exposure to instructional technology is most effective in improving attitudes and beliefs toward technology and sustaining deep pedagogical practice. It is essential that all attempts to create digitally literate teachers should originate from within a cohesive program design rather than through single “drive-by” courses that integrate technology. The purpose of this chapter is to describe a programmatic approach used to design a comprehensive digital literacy experience for pre-service teachers (PSTs) using the U.S. DOE's recommendations. The chapter will discuss various examples, including specific course assignments the EPP uses to guide PSTs as they learn to become competent digitally literate educators. Examples of implementation, copies of PST work, and reflective discussions continued challenges to sustain the design are included.

Access, Opportunity, and Curriculum Making Through Multimodal Meaning-Making and Technology Integration in Teacher Education

This chapter describes an investigation into exploring meaning making through multimodal literacy practices and technology integration for teacher education within the context of an online, secondary reading course for K-12 teachers. Through the use of a collaborative conference protocol, discourse with cross-disciplinary critical friends, and visual thinking data analysis strategies, a teacher educator examined existing multimodal literacy practices and then studied course redesign and technology integration. Results include recognizing opportunities for diverse learners to access and use prior knowledge in the construction of new knowledge, reframing the course delivery platform as a multimodal “text,” increasing opportunity for learners to construct and communicate complex understandings through multimodal texts and technology-infused assessments, and learners' curriculum making through transmediation mediated by technology.