ICT in the Future Classrooms and Teaching: Preparing the Knowledge Workers of the 21st Century

A knowledge worker is a person that adds value to an organization by processing existing information to create new information and knowledge that could be used to define and solve problems. The future classroom is the cradle (for students) and the action field (for teachers) of a knowledge worker. It incarnates the vision for learning and teaching with the use of Information, Communications and Technology tools (ICT) in order to provide to the students significant 21st century skills such as personal and social responsibility, critical thinking, digital competence, as well as collaboration and communication abilities. From the teacher’s point of view it demands understanding and creative use of ICT tools, organizational and administrative competences, use of up-to-date teaching scenarios, intuitive assessment methods and most of all a “lead and teach by example” attitude. Building the future classroom is all about delivering competent and effective people to the society, people that will be the key stakeholders in a world that seeks innovation and creativity in order to keep going socially, scientifically, economically, etc. In this paper we will provide insights about the reasons why a future classroom teacher should afford 21st century skills to his students and continuous professional development to himself.