Monday, August 9, 2010

Irony - Tech Style

On Thursday, in my new classroom, there will be a Smart Board installed over, wait for it, a CHALKBOARD.  As I planned out where the board would go and all the peripherals I couldn't help but chuckle at the irony.  It's like going from a unicycle to a Jaguar.

That technology along with all the technology now available online has empowered teachers like never before.  Gone are the "not in the budget" or "I don't have time" excuses.  We have great tools, great resources, great coaches and now we have great power, all within budget!

I am reminded of a great line from Spider Man - "With great power, comes great responsibility."  Our students today are growing up in a world unknown to me 11 years ago when I started teaching.  We as teachers today have the responsibility to the students we are blessed with each day to guide them in this digital world.  They will leave our classrooms needing more and a different kind of knowledge than we could have possibly imagined just a few years ago.

More irony surfaces when I think about the fact that all this power, and the responsibility that comes with it, is best used when we give up some control in the classroom.  Letting the students run the classroom in this manner can be frightening.  But showing them a new skill and empowering them to demonstrate and teach it will serve them best.

I am very excited to reinvent myself as a teacher, one 2.0 skill at a time.  What a great time to be a teacher!  In a time when things are down and out in many areas of the world, (oil spills, nuclear threats, and joblessness oh my!), it is an absolutely great time to be a teacher! hmmm, more irony!

1 comment:

  1. What a great article for the beginning of the school year! I especially appreciate the line about "reinventing" yourself as a teacher. This is the right time to do that...before your students do it for you!

    Blessings on your school year and I would encourage you to not too get bogged down with all the fun tools. I've nearly driven myself crazy trying to utilize every Web 2.0 site that comes along. Find the best student-centered tools and go with them. That's the only way I've been able to maintain some sense of "teaching sanity" (some would argue, that hasn't happened quite yet :-).

    God's Peace and Joy on your Year!

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