As I write this in the fall of 2016, most of education is quickly looking and deploying technology for all the wrong reasons. Mostly that state testing is now online and needs a computer to be done. Great News! We not can get kids tested...FASTER...#sarcasm. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an anti test educator..there is a time and a place...but the demand for Ed Tech is coming from school managers NOT teachers. Those teachers that have been asking for it for years are finally going to get their wish.
Most of these devices are going to be Google powered Chromebooks. The internet for all students. My great fear is that these will be used 99% for CONSUMPTION of content. For kids this means mostly YOUTUBE, FACEBOOK and whatever the hot social site is of the day.
The challenge of the 21st century teacher is to move learners to the CREATOR space. Create a blog, create a online presentation, create a blog, create an online photo album, code a website, code a application, etc. While the PEAR DECKs and KAHOOT's of the world are great for encouraging classroom particiaption they too don't change the dynamic of consumption vs. creators.
Having kids create is a tough journey, many kids think "they aren't good enough" to post online and create online. They are afraid. The art of modern day teaching is to encourage and expect students to "go big, go pro, and go now" and my current high school Minarets High likes to say.
Creating things creates divergent and dynamic thinking. In short: PROBLEM SOLVING. This seems simple but the new economy is very unfamiliar territory and if kids are to enter and succeed in their adults lives they will need to embrace and even love problem solving. The days of doing the same job over and over again for many years is, well, over.
