Ed Tech Ideas

Here’s an example of how magazines will be looking in the near future. This is the new Sports Illustrated magazine scheduled to be released sometime this year.

If this is the reality of the written word for today’s students, are we preparing them for a future of interactive paperless media, or are we continuing to teach in the same “sage on the stage” manner of yesteryear?
Will Richardson speaks of this need for shift eloquently in his blog post: I Don’t Need Your Network (or Your Computer, or Your Tech Plan, or Your…)

All too often we get hung up on the technology question, not the curriculum question. Here in New Jersey, every district has to submit a three year “Technology Plan” and as you can guess, most of them are about how many Smart Boards to install or how wireless access will be expanded. Very, very little of it is about how curriculum changes when we have anytime, anywhere learning with anyone in the world. Why aren’t we planning for that?

In short, what changes are around the corner, and are we ready for the shift? Are teachers arming themselves with the tools necessary to prepare students, and more importantly, are the methods changing to engage today’s learners and prepare them for a world of tomorrow? As 2009 draws to a close, I am filled with hope of things to come and excitement of the shift that I see happening around me. But at the same time, I am left with a bothersome question: Are we, as a system of educators, adapting for the future?