Video Review from The Fisch Bowl

Technology is all around us, it is inevitably the direction of our future. We see its presence everyday and each day it is incorporated even more into our day-to-day lives. For future generations, it will be even more relevant. Powerful statistics, as shown in the video at http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/06/did-you-know-20.html, give us proof of how much time is consumed on computers, video games and internet sites. Those of us who have kids, see first hand how the younger generations are using technology to communicate and how much time it absorbs of their lives. My 14 year old receives more text messages than I do, and when I need help with programming on my cell phone, he's the one who has all the answers. As the world becomes more reliant on technical advances, we should educate students and ensure that they are prepared for the changing world.

Reading a literature selection may or may not be interesting to a student, but sitting in a classroom and hearing the after discussion can lead to many bored minds. If students were required to read and then communicate in forums, they become involved and get to use the instruments that come more natural to them - computers. Why not take advantage of the ever expanding possibilities that technology can offer and use it to teach and inspire? Learning should be fun. I would bet that one of the largest complaints of students, is the great question "why do we need to learn this?". If academic learning can be incorporated with expanding their technical skills, they ultimately are educated while they enjoy the process and perhaps can see the practical nature of learning. Learning on a computer is more fun than reading a textbook, and there are endless possibilities.

We NEED to teach them how to use the resources out there, to take advantage of all the world has to offer. Computers allow us to bring students together across the world, to collaborate and expand their knowledge beyond their physical classroom. With the aid of a computer and an internet connection, a student has the power to learn about any subject at the touch of their hands. School systems must see this as a priority. They need to fully equip classrooms with the ability to reach out and take advantage of learning in the 21st century. If we do not get on board as educators, we are only hindering their ability to grow in a field that is most certainly the dominant control of the future.