Tomorrow is already here. Advancement of tech-tools accelerate along an exponetial path, while institutions change gradually. Change sneaks up on us as as we incorporate new tools into our daily routine. We are more interconnected than ever before. Communication tools that were science fiction a decade ago, now grace our daily lives. Bluetooth headsets, iPhones, webcams, and Blackberries, GPS navigation systems slip into our lifestyles. We can post to blogs, surf the web, share videos, and converse freely across he globe as we sip a latte, watch a soccer game, commute, or shop the produce section. Students maintain networks of friends scattered to colleges thousands of miles away, as they tag one another on Facebook, IM, Twitter, and Skype.
Teaching has never been more important. Learning how to learn may prove the most significant skill we can teach. We are challenged to teach students how to learn in a digital world that changes at an exponential rate. Our world is not changing constantly. It is changing at an increasing rate of change.
Educators are beginning to realize that school must prepare students to succeed in careers that don't even exist today. Teaching communication, creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and adaptability will prove far more valuable than any content that we can hope to impart to our students.
Though the term "Web 2.0" has become a buzzword, it encompasses the emerging and constantly evolving tools that are shaping new media. The education world will need to embrace these new tools if we are to prepare students to become lifelong learners and successful, responsible global citizens.
Creativity is the peak of the new pyramid of Bloom's revised taxonomy. I believe that innovative teachers will discover how to leverage the tools of Web 2.0 and beyond to inspire and engage their students. The most creative of these students will become the developers and collaborators of the Web 3.0 and 4.0 tools that promise to shape the coming decades.
About Me
- John
- John is an Integration of Instructional Technology Teacher in Fairbanks, Alaska. John focuses on helping teachers integrate technology tools to enhance teaching and learning. John has taught science, math, and technology courses in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District since 1980. In his alter ego, John is a wilderness guide for ABEC's Alaska Adventures, a Fairbanks-based outfitter and guide service. Since 1987, he has led guests from around the globe in river trips and backpacking explorations of remote regions of Alaska's Brooks Range. John loves to share his skills and love of Alaska with those who seek wilderness, wildlife, adventure, and fun in the Arctic's wildest places. John's passions include whitewater kayaking on Alaska's wild rivers and ski-joring.
2 comments:
This seems like so much to tackle sometimes. However I am looking at a way to get my husbands artwork out there and maybe this is the way. I will play with it and see if this works.
Lori
I am glad you offered this class in this day and age of technology I think I will be able to use this media to help me better communicate with my students and families
Post a Comment