Giving Compass' Take:

• The author suggests that in order to bring students up to speed with the most current learning styles and tools of the '21st Century classroom', teachers should first receive development training focused on technology and digital literacy. 

• How will this type of professional development advance curriculum preparation and benefit both students and teachers? 

• Read about how one educator provided researched lessons plan resources for teachers that had technology seamlessly integrated into classroom design. 

Last week, my home state of North Carolina became the sixth state where thousands of teachers took to the streets to make their voices heard. In a right-to-work state, teachers took personal days to fight for better pay and increases to per-pupil spending, both of which are well below the national average in North Carolina.

Change in education is driven by teachers, but teachers have been left out of the conversation. They know what their classrooms need, yet they don’t feel empowered or emboldened by their school systems and their states, and they lack the tools and funding they need to help their students succeed.

. Less than 40 percent of graduating high school students score at college- and career-ready levels. The U.S. faces a skills gap in which 6.9 million people are unemployed despite the availability of 6 million jobs.

Throughout my career, I’ve focused on how to empower teachers to transform education. In this digital world, I believe one key component is technology — both increasing access to technology for schools across the country and training teachers to use that technology to personalize learning experiences for students.

A survey of more than 1,300 North Carolina teacher showed that 85 percent believe that digital tools that provide immediate, ongoing information about student understanding increase learning. Yet most felt they lacked the skills and knowledge to use digital tools well and adopt personalized learning practices in their classrooms.

District and state leaders must give teachers the professional development opportunities they need to bring their classrooms into the 21st century, along with the infrastructure to support digital learning for all students, not just those from affluent districts.

They must also invest in meaningful professional development opportunities for teachers that let them explore new practices, such as digiLEARN’s Digital Scholars Initiative.

Read the full article about digital learning development for students  by Bev Perdue at The 74