Mod3: Technology, Technology and TECHNOLOGYYY!!!!

At the age of 23 I sometimes feel like I am already going through my mid,mid-life crisis.  I like to think that just because I know my way around computers, iphones and Facebook, that I'm "with it".  But what about ipads, twitter, nooks, kindle, new video games, new touch technology, etc,etc,etc.  Sometimes I just feel like I cant keep up, or afford it.

I watched 21st Century Education in New Brunswick and was EXCITED.  I was excited to see that they are so tech forward and actually thinking about what their current students will encounter during THEIR lifetime.  If their not doing anything else, at least they are being EXPOSED to the technology they will be working with in their future.  Not everyone can afford these technologies, but it is probable that the companies they will work for will have them, and lets not forget about that handy dandy resume.

This video threw out some astonishing stats:
-Technology will experience 20,000 years of growth this century
- The top ten jobs today didn't exist in 2004
- 2nd graders can type up to 60wpm using twitter, fb and txting

I would be interested in sitting in on a typical day and doing typical homework in a New Brunswick school.  It would be an eye opener to experience how they are moving their students forward into a RELEVANT world.

The second video I watched was RSA Animate- Changing Education Paradigms.  If you were ever going to spend 11 minutes doing anything, check this video out!  First of all it is visually stimulating and it hits on our, not so modern,  educational system HARD.

He focuses on some hotly debated topics like:
- reforming how schools are organized
- the "plague" of ADHD and the debate of medicating/anesthetizing children to go through their schooling sedated
- the fact that the "work hard--> do well--> go to college--> get a job" model is no longer true/relevant and kids KNOW it.
- the idea of DIVERGENT THINKING.  Meaning the ability to see many possible answers to one question.

This video brought up some serious topics in todays educational system.  It made me think about my personal thoughts on these topics as an educator and it also brought up some ideas that I had never REALLY thought about.  For example: that schools function much like a factory (see video for more) and that kids are "produced" in batches based solely on their date of manufacture.  There were some many "ah-ha!" moments for me in those 11 minutes that I watched the video a few more times just to re-live it all over again.

The two videos were both showing the possibilities and problems in todays schooling.  Mostly that the WAY in which we are teaching our students is completely IRRELEVANT in the world that they WILL encounter.  Which poses a tough task to all educators; learn about the technology, implement it into the classroom, meet state standards, do all students have access to the technology at home?, will the school system support you?, what about that budget?, will your student's parents understand WHY you are so focused on re-vamping what their child's schooling?, and lets not forget, politics.

I am personally simply excited about the fact that there IS a movement towards change and that I might be able to experience it or even be a part of it during my teaching career.  I just need to keep up.  This is an exciting time to be living and I need to take full advantage of it.  No mid, mid-life crisis for me...Not concerning technology anyway...