21st Century Skills At BHS

At Bangor Area High School we do an average job at best at fostering 21st Century skills. The only tool we use to foster these skills are the teacher websites. It seems like we have some ideas in the works. And we have the capability to teach 21st century skills. But, for one reason or another we do not use these technologies.
We have computers in all classrooms. But, the RAM on the computers is low and that limits our capabilities right off the bat. And since we cannot use jump drives our storing capabilities are very limited. It is very hard to run a graphics class when the students cannot simply take pictures at home, save them to a jump drive, bring them in and upload them to Photoshop.
We have internet access in all classrooms. This feature opens up a lot of 21st century doors. But, blog sites and email sites are all blocked so that closes some of those windows. The availability of google docks creates a lot more storage space for my graphics students so that solves that problem. We also have Netstorage which is a service that allows students to access their home directory from home. so they can upload pictures and files from their computer. But, internet access also gives us acces to wikis, moodles and other interactive tools and we are not taking full advantage of them. Why not?
I don't think our staff is trained properlly on the use of these tools. I am a Tech. Ed. teacher and I never herd of moodles or wikis until a year ago. And I am just now being trained at ESU on wikis, blogs and webquests on my own accord. We have interactive whiteboards, but, only a handfull of teachers have been trained to use them. We have video conference cababilities, but agian, only a few teachers have been trained on this equipment.
I think another reason we don't foster 21st century skills is the reluctance by many teachers to change their routine and try something new. And to some extent I am also guilty of this. I was one of the few teachers trained on video conferencing and I have not used this tool once. But, it was not for lack of trying. I just couldn't get anything together. But, there are a handful of teachers who still refuse to use computers and the internet in the classrooms so I cannot see them using blogs or moodle pages even if they were trained.
To improve on our 21st century skills we need to first establish a plan. This plan will have to involve technology tools that can be closely monitored and controlled. We cannot risk damage to computers and the school network by allowing thumb drives. We then, need a department of teachers who are trained to teach teachers. Teachers need to be trained by other people who have been in the classroom and can forsee problems they may have. They can also relate better to teachers. Finally, we need 100% cooporation by the teachers. Teachers must be willing to break their routine and take a chance. We need to relinquish some control and allow the students to learn interacively. Teachers and administrators must work together, communicate and start developing these valuable 21st century skills.