After this past Wednesday's Technology Tid Bits, I hope you can agree that technology is nothing to be afraid of. In fact, embracing it as a way to reach students and move instruction forward is critical to helping our students prepare for a future that is unfathomable to us and unpredictable for them. If you still aren't sure why we must embrace technology then check out this video below: A Vision of Today's Student. I can't wait to see your reactions as you leave a comment on today's post! :)
Believing is just the beginning...
41 comments:
Joe, Beth and I enjoyed watching the video in our office together. I found the statistics very interesting and left me thinking. Good stuff!
Let's face it we all were like that when we were in school too. I don't think that there is a one "cure all" for apathetic or board students. More than technology, getting kids learning is going to be up to a "real-life" teacher sharing an excitment for learning and taking the time to make the learning relevant!
-B. Young
Technology is extremely important and needs to be incorporated on an everyday basis. I am grateful we were deployed last year and I finally got an ELMO.
Wow..interesting video. It reminds me of being a college student. I learned so much about google reader last week. That is how I got on your blog!
WOW! Mrs. Phillips, that video is powerful! It really made me reflect on how I can make a difference to every student that enters my space. I do believe that technology is very important and along with that, it is also just as important to want and to do the best that I can do for all my students. I am totally committed to the challenge! I can't wait to show my children at home this video.Thank you for keeping us informed. Love ya! Wanda
Susan,
One of our contributions is creating problem solvers. One of the kids in the video held up a sign that said "I didn't create these problems." We are giving kids the ability to think for themselves and come up with reasonable solutions to problems. Technology excites our kids and they are better and faster at it than most of us at this point. I'm glad they now have increased access to it. -Karen Morris
We are very excited about the opportunity to use more technology in our classroom! We were so inspired by our meeting on I-movies, we've already begun a project in our class that will utilize the program! Our kids are thrilled about the opportunity to "star" in a movie and we are more than ready to challenge ourselves with this new endeavor!
Let me be the first to leave a comment. I am blown away by the statement, "by the time I graduate, I will have prepared for a job that no longer exists." That is completely mind-boggling to me.
Wow!1 What an eye opener!! The statement about buying the textbooks and not using them is sooooooo true. My son has some college books he has not unwrapped yet. He takes his laptop to class and I'm sure he doesn't use it for classwork.
Our students didn't create these problems but will have to solve them.
How will we help them prepare?? Sherrie Anderson
Powerful Video!! It gets me excited to use more technology in the classroom. I agree with your statement about technology being a useful tool for engaging students. They love the computer :). Thanks for sharing.
Amen to this video... reminds me of college. We have created the problems and now my first graders WILL have to fix the problems in their future. Very powerful! I need to prepare them now!
Gosh Susan, I am speechless! This week has been a turning point for me as I launched into new territory with my blog. I always tell my students to trust me and to take chances as I guide them through new experiences. Well I trusted you and many of our forward thinking leaders and I took a leap of faith. I am amazed at what has come to fruition this week. My students have access like never before. I love the idea of a classroom with no walls. Oh my, I never in my wildest dreams imagined a world like this twenty years ago. I love the video and appreciate the support you provide us to take chances by leading the way. Thank you! ☺ Toni Chant
This is how I felt in college. I would sit in a classroom and be bored to tears. THEN...I started my program at Flagler and EVERYTHING was hands on. We didn't buy books unless we used them which was nice for a change! This video makes you think about what we are teaching in 1st grade will become what we need to teach in Kindergarten in the next years. It is scary that our children can't be children anymore. Riley Jane is 2 and she knows every letter and almost all of the sounds! This is the result of Tutor Time Learning Centers and our world putting pressure on our children to know everything about everything by the time they are in Middle School.
When I first began teaching fifteen years ago, I knew a little about technology but had zero access in my building. I gave up on preparing my students for their future careers and dealt with only one year at a time - very shortsighted.
It is such a gift to us as teachers that today we can access the internet with one computer in our classroom and innovate ALL we do. It is a bonus that we have the elmo, projectors, macs, etc... It's not just about using the technology (step 1) but having the students create with technology (step 2) that will help them become 21st century learners and leaders. Whatever you don't know is at your fingertips on the internet...in writing or video.
This is such an exciting time to be a teacher....and the first time in a long time that I feel like I am making a huge impact on students' lives. Thanks for being an instructional leader that supports the "shift".
My students are in the process of an exciting technology shift. I just got some amazing technology donated to my classroom. (CPS Chalkboard and RF Response Clickers)Come see us in action!
Susan,
I've watched this video before and I was in awe then. Even though I knew what the video was I watched it again because it is so powerful. We are in such an age of technology. When I was in college we were still using type writers because no one we knew had a computer. 20 years ago was not that long. We are constantly changing - we as teachers MUST be responsible for teaching our students how to be prepared for the knowledge ahead. Thanks for sharing.
Debbie
I'm at Starbucks on my computer watching this over a wireless network..shift happens. However, I learned this morning at a reading compentency class that these students, read at a grade level 23% lower than the average college grad 10 years ago. Ten years ago it was at a 10th grade level....shift happens badly as well.
Susan, your commitment to the kids screams through in all that you do and write. I too am concerend with a culture that needs to embrace technology in order to prosper, but I am concerend that the "jobs lost..." scenario presented at our meeting leaves out a very vital statistic.
India and China, it seemed, were presnted as havens of higher education nad educational "correctness". However, I cannot stress the importance of the utter disregard for human rights displayed in both of those countries. It really seems that those two countries are chasing material stuff at the expense of the masses. Most live in poverty and some live a sub-human existence.
My point, if I have one, is that chasing technology as a focus needs to be partnered with a chase of civil liberties and universal concern for others. I guess the program rubbed me the wrong way a bit. Yes, we need to embrace the technology, but we sure do not need to idolize the two biggest vats of human indifference.
I want my kids to have good jobs, but I don't want them to step on the backs of others to buy the newest pair of Reeboks made by some child in some asian backwater.
Tom
Wow...I have to agree with Ms. Shaffer, very powerful. It really makes you think. Vicky and I use the Elmo daily. It's hard to imagine how we got by without one last year! We also use our computers daily not only to email (what did we do without that years ago??) but to make labels, update our gradebook, input diagnostic data, update our website, create worksheets and our newsletters... Our students love when I hook up my laptop and we get to explore different topics or do an activity online. It's amazing how much we rely on our technology and all of the new updates we get daily. We have to embrace this because this is only the beginning.
Not to be just another voice in a choir, but -- absolutely, this movie hit home...reminded me of college AND high school. It is sad (and scary) to see how archaic some classrooms in America look. I am very thankful for our deployment, too -- and can't help but think, "When is the second wave coming???". Two computers for 27 kids??? Can I get a longer internet connection so I can show my VoiceThread to my kids??? So we can access some of this technology -- these resources -- as a class, during mini-lessons? I mean, with the shift that's happening, we can't stop with the doc cams! They are awesome and valuable, but they are not moving us forward in our thinking, just facilitating what we are ALREADY doing so we can do it easier/better. We cannot stop there! On another note, I have been surprised, and disappointed, at the number of our families who don't have internet access at home. I guess this is just evidence supporting the "Shift" video's statement about the broadband penetration in America!
I think everyone should see that video clip (including parents, teachers, students, superintendents, education policymakers, and the list goes on). But not just view the clip but rather have vertical discussions about what that really says about who we teach and how we teach them and the necessary movements and resources that MUST be put in place to continually "teach" our ever changing population of learners!
powerful and thought provoking.
Debbie Stevens
The students talked about people making less than a dollar a day but these will be the people who are going to be competing with us in the global economy. The students are distracted by all the technology (on line, cell phone, face book, etc.) around them, but don't seem to be doing anything to improve their grades or education. Though technology can be used to improve education and our lives, it increasing seems to be used as a distraction from the important and meaningful issues surrounding us everyday.
I got the chills. . . We are certainly on our way to becoming a part of the solution, our PD last week is a testament to that. Thank you to each person that has helped in the revolution or should we call it the evolution of this movement. Getting the message out there is tremendously powerful, no one has ever changed a thing by only thinking about it! ~Randi
This video is so awesome and true! I have loved using more technology with my students this year. They are always far more motivated to read a website than a handout!
Wow! Very interesting. I remember when I was in college and my anatomy professor taught the class how to turn on a computer...things sure have advanced since them (and really it was not that long ago) I enjoyed Google Reader last week (Thanks Melanie and Dayle). I am disappointed when I log on and there are no new updates. THANKS ~ great clip...made me think!
Interesting video - just goes to show you how important technology is to students these days. We really have to work to keep up with all the changes - I had to to find out what face book was!!
Technology is definitely a love/hate relationship. I love using it, but there are times when we have 'minor disagreements'. It is insane to think about how far we have already come and what we will encounter in the future.
-Denise
After watching the video, I tried to envision what it will be like when Charlie gets to college...I can't even imagine it! The technology has changed so much since I left college less than 10 years ago...
Susan, Thanks for sharing the video. I have two children at this age and I can tell you they are attached to their laptops! I am not sure how anyone would NOT embrace technology with all it has to offer. However, I think we can be positive about the future. Many jobs today did not exist yesterday and we are solving problems everyday that we did not create. The most important job we have as educators is to teach our students to read, write and THINK. This will prepare them to learn the jobs of tomorrow and to solve future problems.
What a great video! It really gets you thinking. Technology really gets your students attention and shows them more information then you ever could with just the white board!
Thanks for the kind words to our class after our COI. We truely enjoy teaching mathematics.
WOW! So much to think about and so much to learn, especially for us "oldies." Sometime it feels rather overwhelming! It makes me wonder about my own two children, and their future as well. Thank you for shoeing this. ANNE
Michelle & Deb said,
We were so excited to learn a little about "i - movies". KK was so helpful in helping us learn about this valuable tool and how it can be used in the classroom. We so would have made an "i-movie" in NYC as we stood in Central Park with the snow falling from the skies. If only we had our MAC.
This was a great video! It was a great eye opener for us. I sent this video to my Dad (a high school guidance counselor) at school to share with all of his friends too.
Shift Happens, Maybe I should figure out how to invest in a Home Computer. Interesting Video, shows me How Behind the times I am. I read many more books, newspapers and magazines than I read anything on the Internet. Maybe I should make an effort to meet these two areas in the middle on a personal level as well as up my game with Technlogy in the classroom.
Susan,
I think our real challenge is to create children who are technologically adept without losing their love of the "real world." It is one thing for a child to find a great website about erosion and quite another for that child to go out with mud and sticks and water and create a landslide.
I can't teach effectively without my tech stuff but how do we marry technology to the hands-on approach? How do we use impersonal technology to appeal to kids on a personal level? This is what our teaching is really about.
It was good to know I'm not the only one with 20,000 in college loans. It may take my entire career to pay them off. :)
-V. Groves
Wow, it was surprising how true these facts are!
Wow! This video totally left me with an eery feeling for future generations. It made me feel so sorry for kids who seem to be swept up in a wave of impersonal relations. It also made me even more confident that my fancy college education(which I'm still paying for), has nothing to do with how good of a teacher I'll be. It reminded me again that there's not just one path to success. I would venture to say that the masterminds behind all of these technological inventions didn't take the traditional route of spending years in college sleeping through classes. I really appreciated the perspective this video clip introduced.
Casey S.
Susan,
Watching the children in media make their own video about their favorite author is so convincing about how important and exciting technology can be. I see our biggest problem is keeping up with the resources to make it all happen.
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