The Students We Face

More and more I hear discussions and debates surrounding the use of technology in the classroom. Is it worth the expense? Isn't technology just a more costly way of doing what we've always done as teachers? What professional development is going to support implementation? Is technology still valuable if used by non-techie teachers? Should we purchase a tablet or an IWB? The list of concerns, questions and debate topics can go on and on.

Our reality as educators is that we are increasingly facing a generation of students who have grown up with our fast-paced, ever-changing technology world, and are coming to EXPECT the latest gadgets in all facets of their lives -- including the classroom. Call them digital natives, call them Generation Y, call them 'that group of students that can't sit still for more than 5 minutes unless a flashy image is shown' -- the label is not important. What IS important is that they are leading the demand for increased technology in the classroom.

An article found here discusses a challenge that a professor in Florida gave her students -- go without TV, cell phones, iPods, DVDs, email and computers for 5 days. The result? Only 2 out of the 26 students succeeded in the challenge.

Not convinced? Take a look at the following video, entitled Teens Give Up Technology (launch the video from the link on the right of that page)


Watch as a group of teens are challenged to give up some of their personal tech items for 5 days.





Some of my favourite quotes? "I used to send over 17,500 texts per month" and "the regular newspaper is really messy"

Obviously this video also shows that there are some benefits to unplugging for awhile, as this demonstrates some of the over-reliance that some teens have. We could even discuss whether the mother in the video should have set ground rules so her son wouldn't have begun texting at the dinner table in the first place.

My point is, the students we face are increasingly plugged in, connected 24-hours per day and immersed in personal technology. It's time that we, as the education system, stop resisting this reality and start hashing out the details of how to properly embrace this change within the classroom.


Food for thought on your Wednesday.
Vanessa

Am I a Twewbie, a Twurzel or Just a Twit?

Ah Twitter. The new-ish networking site that has evolved from constant annoying Facebook-like status updates ("I'm toasting my bread", "I'm buttering my toast", "I'm eating my toast") to a useful microblogging tool. I must admit, when I first joined with a personal account 614 days ago (thanks whendidyoujointwitter.com!) my sole interest was in following a few of my techie friends and legally stalking celebrities (yay @EmersonDrive!) It was fun, it was a novelty and I quickly ran out of things to tweet since everyone who bothered to follow me back (aside from those pesky adult entertainment spammers) were already my friends on Facebook. I saw no need to duplicate descriptions of my whereabouts or thoughts on life. And let's face it I'm not exactly @aplusk with four million+ followers.




Since re-joining the Twitter community with a professionally focused account exactly 27 days ago (again thanks to whendidyoujointwitter.com for that information!), I re-discovered the value in Twitter. Primarily, over my past 137 tweets (as of this post), I've networked with other educators, posted links to interesting content, shared thoughts on 21st century learning and learned TONS from others in my PLN (professional learning network). Thanks to Tweet3d I've created a Tweet Cloud that identifies what my most tweeted about topics have been.

I've also had a chance to see how some educators have chosen to integrate Twitter into their lessons -- a concept that I, unfortunately, did not think of introducing to my students during my teaching career. However, I see it as an extremely valuable tool, and cannot wait to share the idea with some of my former colleagues.

Despite my official status of 614 days on Twitter, I'm still considered a fairly green Twitter newbie -- apparently also known as a Twewbie, a Twurzel or, as my husband sees it, a Twit. Confused yet? I know I have been throughout this re-introduction to the microblogging world. (It took me forever to discover the twitter meaning of a "hashtag" -- my experience of teaching high school students led me down a different thought process on that one!)

For all those out there who have yet to join the Twitter world, I strongly encourage you to do so. For those fearful of being an obvious newbie, I recommend Twitter 101 as a starting point.


Happy Tweeting! (Just watch out for that blue whale -- he usually means trouble!)
Vanessa