A Digital World

 Wow!  I am on information overload. Technology is ever-evolving and dynamic.  The question is, am I? The answer is, I have no choice.  I am an educator. I MUST be. It seems like technology took giant steps within the past 10 years and it is still exploding! When things change so quickly, people are apt to be apprehensive about initiating change.  This is especially true in the classrooms. Many U.S schools ban gadgets and programs that students use on a regular basis (youtube, ipods, digital tablets, etc.) The underlying assumption is they are not for learning, they are to be used outside of the classroom.  The article in November Learning "Banning Student Containers" was interesting.http://novemberlearning.com/resources/archive-of-articles/banning-student-containers/  ( I guess there is a new meaning in the dictionary for containers? In this article it is a synonym for the various electronic gadgets and programs used for communication,social networks, etc. Am I that behind?)  The  truth is, children are tuned into the digital world and it highly motivates them whether we like it or not.

Should we be rethinking how we teach and tap into this natural motivation? This is a subject that will never go away... educators must address it.  It is too big to be ignored. Korea isn't ignoring it.  I just read an article that reported Korea will ban all school paper textbooks by the year 2014 and replace them with electronic tablets. Quote:“This means that they will no longer spend money in paper, printing and distribution. They will use multimedia technologies that make learning more fun, and more effective.” Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/09/2307130/south-koreas-school-tablets-a.html  Oh no... take note America...Whew! This is entirely too much to think about. Let's table this issue until at least tomorrow. Well, I can now say that I am an official blogger. This is a small step towards hopefully becoming half as digital savvy as most of my students!