It is crazy to think about how far technology has advanced in the last twenty years. My mother is a retired computer programmer and she was telling me how the first computer she worked with took up an entire room. She was talking about the change she has seen in her life time. From a computer that took an entire room to a portable laptop that fits in your book bag. When I first started to drive, the "bag phone" was the first version of a cell phone. Now my cell phone fits in my pocket! If we have moved that far in the last 30 years, what will the next 30 years look like?
I think the future of learning will utilize technology in ways that are hard to imagine. Will there be a time when every student will have their own laptop? Some classes already utilize this technology, but will a day come when every classroom will have this? Will palm pilots or Iphones eventually be standard? I think I have more questions than I have answers!
I feel that one of the most important factors influencing the future of learning is the teacher. It is our responsibility to look for ways to enhance learning for the students in our classrooms. As teachers, we should strive to continually look for new methods or technology that we can be used in the classroom and have a positive impact on learning. Students look to their teachers as role models and as such, we have the ability to set the stage for future generations. If we don’t make learning a priority, who will?
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3 comments:
We do have a responsiblity as educators to keep fresh with ideas and to keep current with trends that may impact the expectations of students. It is good taht you have more questions than answers - I hope this course lets you think and find some answers while developing even more inquries.
I remember using a TRS-80 with a black and white screen and those awkward looking DOS characters. I also remember two years into my first job when we got email and how cool that was (and it was only inter-office email). It is amazing how far technology has progressed. Students are amazed when I tell that went to college with a phone with a cord and a typewriter.
You said, "I think I have more questions than I have answers!". That is a good thing in my opinion. I worry about the educators that are comfortable with what they know. I hope that there never comes a day when I stop learning. There will always be more to learn, questions to ask, and answers to seek out.
I remember in grades school (back in the 60s), our school had a computer that barely fit in one room. The teachers all had these little punch cards- I still have no idea what they were for! I also remember that our copies were all plue and made on a memeograph machine and they were often warm and smelled funny when the teachers passed them out! I learned to type on a manual typewriter, and I remember it was sooo cool when our high school got all new electric typewriters! I bet the stock price of White Out went way down with the invention of the electric- self correcting machines! We also had a bag phone back in the day, and I couldn't beleive how convenient it was to have the capability to call home from anywhere!
I didn't realize then how much I liked being "out of touch" once in a while! This summer we went on vacation. Two people. We took two cell phones, a lap top, one MP3 player, a portable DVD player, and only stayed in hotels with in room internet access.Being in summer classes, I still had to keep up on homework, and write that grant!!!!
Looking back, I am not sure it was a vacation, merely just home in a different location. We are going away again in two weeks and will be gone for three days. We have promised to take only one cell phone and turn it on only once a day to make sure our kids haven't sold the house or to learn of some other emergency, and aside from that, we are going "unplugged" or "unwired" for the whole three days. My husband will probably be more successful at it than me!!
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