Digital Age Education...What does it mean?

The society and culture we live in today certainly qualifies as being in the Digital Age.  What does the Digital Age really mean for me as a teacher, for my students, and for those in the communities in which we live?  Another term for Digital Age that you may have heard is the Information Age.  We live in a world where if we don't know the answer to something, we can Google It or search it out through another search engine.  We constantly have information and technology at our fingertips, in our pockets, along with on at least 2 other devices in our homes.  In today's society transferring, sending, and receiving any kind of information is not only easy but necessary.  Being in education today requires integrating that technology into the classroom.
Being an educator in the Digital Age is a variety of things.  For some, being an educator in the Digital Age is challenging while others embrace and integrate it as quickly as they can.  A factor that also plays into this scenario is the fear of technological knowledge, abilities, and devices.  These first few items seem to be the initial thoughts of most educators when mentioning technology and the Digital Age.
There are also other factors that should definitely be considered when bringing the Digital Age into the classroom.  Teachers must be aware of digital citizenship for both themselves and their students.  Digital Citizenship entails many items, including but not limited to: digital etiquette, digital law, digital right and responsibilities, digital literacy, and digital security.
As an educator, I need to be at least three steps ahead of my students technologically speaking on a daily basis.  I need to assume that if there is something I am unaware of how to do or fix, that at least one of the students in my classroom has had prior experience with it or they can figure it out for themselves in approximately 5 minutes.  Working in the classroom, I also need to find materials or elements that are engaging and thought provoking to my students.  (Luckily, I can find most things I am looking for already on the internet, as opposed to me creating every piece of engagement.)
Generally, a teacher wears multiple hats throughout the regular school day.  Teachers, besides teaching children, act as counselors, problem solvers, moderators, managers (behaviorally), and researchers.  Now, in the Digital Age teachers also wear an additional hat of an IT department.  Educators should not be worried by adding yet one more hat because as teachers in the Digital Age we can inspire students in ways never before possible and help in creating successful members of a technologically dependent society.  While some elements of the Digital Age may seem daunting at first, it is so important that educators embrace the technology and find their own strengths among it to share within the classroom.