Surreal is an Understatement

In my lifetime, there have been few times that could even come close to what we are experiencing now. The magnitude far surpasses all others for a number of reasons:

1. Long duration on the initial shock and acceptance. I think back to 9-11. The shock was immediate. Acceptance came quicker for some than others.  And it took a while to realize the long term effects of the incident (TSA).  The effects this time are nearly immediate and I suspect long lasting for a while to come. 
2. Times past, life was on hold for a select few people. Think Desert Storm. My life went on much like it had at that time. Right now we aren’t necessarily on hold, albeit some of us are, yet we are doing things radically different. And that is scary. 
3. Lastly, and maybe this is just my own optimism, but people seem to be genuinely caring for others right now. Everyone I talk to is positive and caring and concerned for everyone’s wellbeing. 

Be well all. 

OMG

I've really neglected this blog.  There are two reasons for that I think... maybe just one, if I really think about it.

Writing is not something I particularly like.  I can produce a pretty good product, in the end; however, when I sit down to write, I obsess and struggle over my choice in words or the organization of my writing or my voice or ... (dammit, I'm doing it now)

I spend absolutely too much time with aforementioned worries about my writing that I feel I'm not really being productive.  This leads to the phantom second reason: I have no time.

Maybe I'll post more on this blog this school year.  There are certainly some really cool things happening in EdTech in my district that I could write about.  In fact, in the past there have been many times on my way home from work that I've thought to myself, "I should blog about that." 

IF I find my second-wind on blog posting, here are some possible subjects to look forward to:

• Bring Your Own Device
• Chromebooks in Education
• Next Generation Science Standards (no, not purely tech, but I'm a science geek and always will be)
• Utilizing Online Tools for Professional Learning

For those few folks that may be reading this now, I would appreciate a word of encouragement.  Even more so, I would appreciate words of wisdom for persisting in the chronicling of my thoughts in a blog.

(Dammit, I did it again.)

Interesting Tech Times in Ed

As someone with over 13 years experience as an EdTech professional and almost 18 years in education as a whole, I'm here to testify that these are very interesting times in education.  Over the past few years, we have seen a push for more technology-driven or technology-supported initiatives than ever before.

Never mind that us EdTech folks have been touting technology's importance for more than a decade as it relates to the newest buzz-term, 21st century skills.  Never mind that we still have some education professionals that are less than up to speed on even old technology.  What is interesting is the push at the state-level for more integration.

I'm not sure that in my tenure I have experienced this push from people other than the EdTech folks.  I really like that we have state-level leaders embracing technology for learning. However, I wonder if the state folks are looking beyond (with their eyes AND their wallets) using technology to assess student performance.  While we like the ability to create assessments and lessons and view PD videos online, this is not helping the access our kids have to technology.  If you think about it, if kids don't have this access, then what good is it? Where is the push for more student use of technology for REAL learning?

We can accomplish this in a number of ways (more buzz-terms like project-based learning), but at the moment we are also strapped by our "scores" on state tests.  Interesting times, indeed, especially if all tests are to be conducted via computer.

I ask you, should we purchase more computers so that our kids can take a test?  Or should we be exposing our kids to the world of technology and how it can help them for their personal and professional learning?  Doing the former is mimicking the practice of worksheets and mindless activities.  Doing the latter, I believe, can lead to some pretty awesome young people graduating from our schools, ready to contribute to our global society.

The 4 Cs in a Tech-driven world

I will admit, I'm an educator, first and foremost.  When I see good learning (or bad), no matter the vehicle, I recognize it for what it is.

We are in interesting times right now.  So much of our personal/social lives involves technology.  I would be hard-pressed to name any one of my peers that did not have a dependance on technology.

What is odd is that I see some of the best learning happening due to a carefully constructed conversation among students in a single classroom.  These are 12 and 13-year-olds.  I can't give an exact quote, but they are saying things like, "It is obvious to me that XXX, given YYY."  Again, not an exact quote, but you get the point... I'm hearing awesome things out of the mouths of our youths.

It leaves me wondering what more technology can do for this teacher and their students.  I believe that the answer is "a lot".

• I wonder what would happen if this teacher could have students communicate with students from other parts of the state/country/world.
• I wonder if they would learn better by by working with another student (even if miles away) to hone their understanding on a topic.
• I wonder if these students could create something REAL.. something published and presented to the world.
• I wonder if these students can critically think about issues presented to them, weigh all options, and make an "educated" decision for themselves. I know our kids can do it. They need the opportunity to show it via the means most familiar to to them.

Technology can help in all of these situations. 

Tech is not an end, it is one part in a means to an end, especially today.

If  you are looking to boost the 4 Cs in your school, I'd say, you can't do it without the integration of technology.  Tech might just be the accelerator in your venture.

Learning... a Question for Teachers

It's been a while since I've posted, I'm sorry.  I feel obligated to post tonight due to some of the activities that occurred in our district for one of our PD days.  I had a small part as presenter for a couple break-out sessions at one school, which were very productive.  The rest of the time I participated in a PD at one elementary on Project-Based Learning.

The PBL PD was beneficial, I think, for the staff at this elementary.  It got most folks talking about doing things differently and really engaging kids in their learning.  There were some who also questioned aspects of it, such as "how much time during the day should  be devoted to PBL" and "if a teacher is coaching a few students, what are the rest of the students doing?"

These are good questions, but I also believe they originate from most educators' preconceived notions on what learning should be like in school. As educators, as teachers, we have been trained to have everything planned out ahead of time.  In a true PBL setting, this is impossible.  The teacher may be able to guess the directions their kids will take with their inquiry, and this is fine, because it helps with preparation, but they must also be open to the unexpected left-turn in the journey.

Not having all answers is very uncomfortable to most teachers, because we have been "brainwashed" into believing that we are the "knowledge bearers".  No one person can know everything.

Another concern in our current education climate, is "covering" the standards. Common Core or otherwise.  PBL becomes problematic on this front because it is a lot more difficult to determine if you have "covered" and assessed these standards for every kid.

My first burning question is this.  If we didn't have to "cover content", if we didn't have to worry about standardized tests, what would learning look like in our classrooms? 

My last burning question begs you to respond.  Think about the last time you needed to learn something new, something other than education.  What did it look like?  Did you take a class and listen to a talking head at the front of the room?  Did you learn it on your own?  Did you ask others to help you with your learning?  Did you dive in and practice it?  Were you asked to be perfect at your new skill/knowledge on an assessment?

For myself, I've learned origami and basket weaving thanks to the Internet.  I learned scripting (a form of programming) online too.  I've also relied on colleagues to expand my thinking in both a face-to-face setting and also virtual, with people I've never met.

Should we not be modeling our classrooms based upon what our own life-long learning has shown us?

It's a tricky balance, especially now with Race to the Top (and yester-years with No Child Left Behind).  As a teacher, what do you MOST want your students to gain from their time from you?  Is it the memorization of content or something much more?

I'm JUST

Today, I attended a one-day conference, advertised in some part as a technology conference.  It really wasn't.  It was more about the cool things several educators are doing around the state to make learning better for kids.


Before the last session, I sat with mostly folks from my own district, spare one person.  This person had also presented earlier in the day and apparently, at least one of our district people had attended the session, given the dialogue between the two of them.

The dialogue peaked my interest, so somewhere in the midst, I asked what her role was.

"I'm just a Kindergarten teacher."

ARG! 

Think of the last time you heard another professional say, "I'm just a [brain surgeon]."  Most professionals are glad to announce what they do.  Teachers, on the other hand, have had a bad rap, especially lately, and have been programmed to apologize for their career choice.

During all this dialogue, I ended up calling her on the "I'm just" statement, saying she has probably one of the hardest jobs in K12.  When the time came for other introductions and one of our people began by saying, "I'm just"... she quickly corrected them.

If you are a teacher, you are not "JUST" anything. Take ownership and pride in your role!  Wear it as a badge!

Deviscism

Every year our state public schools have to report on a lot of data elements that will be released in the "School Report Card".  Many of the data elements are accumulated through the state and for a few elements, schools/districts have to manually enter.  This year, as in years in the past, we have had two technology items to report:

1. The number of student Internet connected computers.
2. The number of student Internet connected computers less than five years old.

In recent years, we were told to use the "minimum standards" for machines to determine #2.  This was all well until this year.  Essentially, the "minimum standards" say that a machine that has a dual-core is okay and if it is not dual-core, then we have to look at other specs.  The problem is that dual-core is now +5 years old.  Should we not be re-evaluating these "minimum standards"?

I digress.  The wonderful addition to #1 above was to include iPads.  That's it.  No mention of Android tablets or Chrome Books.  If you have an iPad, you can count it in #1. 

I understand that there might be some pull for this due to a few districts that have decided to go 1:1 with iPads and they want to reflect those numbers. However, we currently have no "minimum standards" in place for iPads or any other device.  The question of "minimum standard" seems to be left to the person reporting it.  And based on our current standards, an iPad would not meet this standard. 

Should we not, instead, report a separate data element on "tablet devices" available for students.  And where do we draw the line?  Is an iPod okay?  Which Android devices are okay?  Or are we  assuming that only iPads can reach the level of a "real" computer?

Devicism at it's best.

BYOD ... Day 1 day past Midterm #1

[Sorry for the title ... I've lost count of the days!]

For those of you who haven't been following, my district has embraced a BYOD policy starting this school year.  At the moment this means that kids can use their own personal devices FOR their learning.

Since I haven't posted in a while how this is going, I'd like to give a tiny update:  all is well! 

Yes, there may have been a few transgressions and a couple of lost devices, but by-in-large, it seems to not be an issue on the student behavior side of things.

The really cool part of it all is seeing teachers embrace this "new" tool for learning opportunities.  Today, I had the pleasure of watching several 8th grade students using their phones or laptops to video scenes that they had story-boarded to produce anti-bullying PSAs for their Language Arts class. 

Besides the use of personal devices, I was most impressed with how the students were working collaboratively to produce their video.  They were making decisions together, everyone's voice was important and they shared responsibilities.  They probably didn't even realize the importance of their teamwork at the time, because they were having so much fun!

Since I mentioned one of the main C's in the 4 C's, this assignment also embodied critical thinking, creativity, and communication.  Students were analyzing their shots to make sure the message they were trying to send was captured.  They were devising a story and actions that would have the most impact.

For me, it was a good day!  I can't wait to see what will happen tomorrow....

Math, Demystified

Math... it is the universal language.  Movie after movie depicts that math will be what bridges communications with ETs if/when that day comes.

Math is vital, the foundation for numerous jobs: computers/technology, physics, engineering, accounting, finance, banking, etc.  There are undeniable connections to math in the areas of the arts as well.  Even social sciences can't escape math if only to consider statistics.

So, this begs the question, "Why do so many of our youth struggle with math?"  And, secondly, "What can we do about it?"

The following are my personal opinions; I've not conducted a single scientific study.

From very early ages, we expose our kids to the dreaded worksheet full of abstract numbers and symbols without first a solid grasp on what those symbols mean.  Visual or physical representations of mathematical concepts are a much better vehicle to understanding.  So, too, is a reason for learning it.  Newton invented Calculus to explain physical phenomena. 

My challenge to math teachers is two-fold: let them "see" it and give them the connection on why it matters.  If you can't do that, then you need to either question the curriculum or need to find the connection for yourself.

[Disclaimer .. I know there are pressures due to certain national/state standards.  My challenge is to find a way to teach it that really connects with kids.]

BYOD - Day 7

We've had seven successful days of BYOD so far.  Today I was privileged to be interviewed by a middle school media team.  I also observed another middle school media team practicing for their intro about BYOD for a piece to be shown to all students.  During that practice, it was clear that the students understood the difference between personal time and education time.  Our teachers have obviously been effective at conveying expectations.  They also included a funny, but true, segment at the beginning in which one student was trying to get the attention of another student who was using her device.

I've also personally witnessed a teacher having students register themselves to Cel.ly through a text message so that the teacher can send reminders.  This teacher even got feedback from a student that thanked them for a homework reminder.

Good things are happening!

On the downside, we've had a couple of lost/stolen devices.  Clearly, we need to do more in educating our kids how they can keep their devices safe.

I fully expect that we will only grow more effective in this endeavor.  Students seem excited by the possibilities.  Teachers are feeling their way and yearn for ideas.  This is a great place to be!

My blog title apparently begins in 1995 ...

Here's a fun little video that has gone viral lately.  It's touted as a 1995 PSA about the Internet.  I now know who to blame for our obsession about CATS on the Internet...




Besides the interesting connection to cat-obsession, if this is truly a real video from 1995, it's pretty freaky.  A graphical interface on the web wasn't available until shortly before that. (The birth of HTML and the browser around '92.)  So, in three short years, we went from deployment of an idea to awareness among even our youth.  That's pretty amazing. 

What's more, the people that were spoon-feeding the kids their lines were spot-on in their predictions.  It left me wondering, is this a hoax?  If not, who were these people?  I really want to know the rest of the story.

Why Blog?

An intense, quick and complicated discussion ensued on the #edchat Twitter exchange about blogging in education.  So, I thought I would blog my own thoughts about blogging in education.

At first, it focused around educators reading others' blogs and writing their own blogs and the benefits of doing so.  Very early on, the main theme was "reflect, share, connect."  The conversation eventually led to student blogs.  While I personally think that the "reflect, share, connect" notion is the great motivator behind student blogs, there were thoughts that if blogs are a required assignment (much as writing journals), then the endeavor is not authentic, even though the audience is the whole world (if blogging is done in a public space).

One Tweeter commented that we write first for ourselves and then for others and if we reverse that process, it isn't authentic.  I somewhat disagree with that notion, since historically, written and oral communication was always a means for sharing with others.  However, I do understand the extremely personal nature of putting one's thoughts into words for all to see and hear.

Since blogs are largely opinion pieces, it is a personal writing endeavor.  This is why I have tried to convey to teachers that they should encourage students to hone their writing skills through blogging to a world-wide audience on a topic that they enjoy and know.  Authentic, while meaning real people reading, also means relevance to the child.  Want to grow a great writer?  Let them write about their interests, their passion, and mentor them in technical aspects of their word choices and writing structure.

Why Blog?  Because you have something to say that others need to hear.  If you made it this far, you've heard me.

BYOD - Day 1

Today was the first day of school.  For our tech department, that means attending to some last minute issues.  Some of the issues are due to lack of foresight (e.g. relocating a teacher computer to an area of the room without network drops or projector connections) and good ole Murphy's Law (e.g. waterfall over a computer because of clogged pipes two days before school starts).

For teachers, the first day involves a lot of information dissemination to students: classroom rules, school/district rules, and the general "getting-to-know-you" activities.

I don't have hard numbers as of yet, but I know that many of our staff have registered their devices on our network.  I also know that a good number of our students tried to, but could not connect successfully.  Thanks to a couple of teachers and a student, we were alerted to the problem.  After an hour or so of troubleshooting, we determined the reason for the inability of students to connect and fixed the problem. Given that teachers aren't dependent on BYOD, especially on Day 1, I'd say this was a success.

In days to come, I hope to report some actual numbers.  I'll also be reporting on great integration ideas.  Our own MS Library Media Specialist has prepared lessons about apps that can be used for reading and citing sources.

I'm excited by the days to come.  Any thoughts and ideas are welcome.  Let's learn from each other!

A BYOD Journey Begins

In less than two weeks the new school year starts and my district has a "new" program in place: BYOD (or BYOT, Bring Your Own Device/Technology).

It's not really new; we've never actually disallowed students from bringing laptops or other devices to use in class and our current policies support the use as long as it is "authorized by a certified employee."  What's more, it seems kids don't really need that authorization.  They do it anyway; either teachers are okay with it or kids are hiding it from adult eyes.

The paramount question to ask is, "How are our students using their own technology?"  I believe that we aren't doing what we should, as educators and parents and as a society, to help children understand how the technology they are using can be much more than a tool for frivolous (and sometimes inappropriate) social connections or for entertainment. 

Technology is also a tool for learning.  When combined with the concept of BYOD, technology affords personalized learning: said one way, give a child a task/goal and let them use the tools they know to accomplish it.

The journey doesn't really begin this school year.  I'm not even sure when it really started.  For years, we investigated the options for 1-1 at the high and perhaps middle levels.  However, the push for BYOD evolved from questions from folks about the lack of textbook funds.  (Textbooks... I'm not going there tonight.)

After a Board meeting, with support from all for the initiative, our little county got some news, as the Henry County Local reports.

I've had questions from state-level folks and other districts, and I'll oblige when I can, but, heck school is starting in less than two weeks!!!

How I spent my Summer break

In a little over 3 weeks, the new school year starts.  I love this time of year because, at least for me, I feel a sense of excitement and purpose among all of my colleagues.  It's a time of a rejuvenation and creativity in action; all educators (teachers, principals, district administrators) have the time to learn new things and devise better ways for accomplishing our goals.

This is the time that we have to attend local, state, national, or international conferences.  This is the time that we have to contemplate our approach last year and make revisions for the upcoming year.

Since I (like principals and other administrators) have an extended contract, I have had very few days off during the summer.  And, like teachers, I've volunteered days in the work that we all do. 

This is how I've spent my Summer break:

1. Conducting some good ole fashioned tech trainings on new tools.
2. Coordinating (and attending to) the technical needs of local workshops hosted in our district.
3. Collaborating with several folks on local and state initiatives that are imperative for the upcoming year.
4. Clerical, paperwork types of things (placing orders, filing eRate forms)
5. Creating new staff accounts in most all of our systems and shortly new student accounts.
6. Coping with changes: adding new staff, removing exiting staff, making name changes, attending to room switching, and dealing with new labs in places not designed for them.
7. Connecting with people -- face-to-face and via the web.

Summer, for educators, is almost over.  How have you spent yours?

Social Networking in Education

In our small district, we used to block a lot of sites based upon categories, such as Games, Entertainment, etc.  Over the last several years, we have opened up several categories because of the frequent requests to unblock a site to be used for educational purposes. 

While we still block the obvious categories as required by law, the ones we have allowed aren't inherently anti-learning.  Take "Streaming Media", for example.  YouTube falls within this category and I happen to be of the camp that there is a lot to be learned from YouTube.  There is also a lot that only serves to distract a person from a learning goal.  Some are quick to realize this and claim that sites like this should be blocked.  Why?  Because we'd rather prevent all distractions then educate our kids how to focus their attention to the task at hand.

At this moment in time, the only reason we would block Streaming Media (or other high use categories) is when it becomes a drain on our bandwidth.  We did this during online state testing at the end of the school year, "just in case".

The last category standing today is one called "Online Communities".  Sites like Facebook and Twitter fall under this category.  We have explicitly allowed access to some of these sites, upon the request of teachers, for example Twitter and Pinterist are open.

As a district, we have our own Facebook Page and, now, a Twitter account.  It's a tad ironic that some of the methods we are using to connect with our community are blocked for our kids while they are at school.

As educators, we all see the result of kids using social networking in an inappropriate way.  Even when these sites are blocked at school, the problems surface during the school day.  If we open up social networking at school, will this lead to more of these problems and possibly put the school at legal risk?  Are we able to use this access as a teaching/learning moment and show kids how to use these tools to better themselves?

I'm extremely curious what my readers (as few as they may be) have to say.  Please provide your thoughts, your own experiences.

Musings on US Ed Policies

I am a United States citizen; I've been that since the day I was born.  I didn't choose this country, but I have chosen to remain a citizen due to the ideals upon which it was founded.

I am an educator.  I was not born into this profession; in fact, I did not choose my profession when applying to college.  I learned my love for learning during my undergraduate years, thinking I'd pursue a career in post-secondary academia, but eventually was driven toward K12. 

More than 20 years ago, I realized that I wanted a career in education.  I admired how the most talented teachers could ignite a passion for their trade.  I loved (still do) learning new things that excite me, challenge me, and make me want to learn more.  I wanted to instill this love for learning in our youth.

But that was college, and I was fortunate to have a socioeconomic background that provided me with, first and foremost, supportive parents with high expectations, providing me with a great secondary and post-secondary education.

Today, I still hold these ideals of education and what true learning can mean for every young person.  However, today, I am also saddened that many of the proposed "reforms" in our nation serve only to make our youth hate learning.  From NCLB to RTTT, our nation has dictated the inner-workings of our public schools.  NCLB proposed an evaluation system for schools and districts, otherwise known as AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) based upon mostly standardized testing.  RTTT promised relief from those chains if states can propose an alternative measure.  And the new measure?  It's a convoluted quagmire of student growth, teacher effectiveness, college/career readiness, and student achievement, based upon, to one degree or another, standardized tests. 

These tests do have a place in measuring our nation's effectiveness in education, but it does NOT have to be every kid.  It does NOT have to be every year.  Instead of allowing our most brilliant and creative teachers to ignite the same passion for learning that I had, we are forcing them to "teach to the test".  Moreover, assessing deep thinking is extremely difficult through multiple choice exams.  Any argument that points to extended response questions are missing the point as well; the extended response I want "my kids" to do is NOT in one sitting.

Lastly, the policies proposed, by both sides of the house, are made by people that don't know poverty.  They have no clue what a child, a being that did not choose their place in life, endures at home.  Forget for a moment that we are speaking of children.  For any person, if they are hungry or neglected or abused, will they be productive?  It's easy for us to say that an adult in that situation had choices; does a child?

As a child, I did not have choices, I had influences.  As an adult, I am choosing to believe in our country.  While I'm saddened by trends of late, I have hopes of greater things to come.

Here's to our future...

EdTech .. savior or demon?

I'll preface this post by saying that I have been an EdTech professional in K12 for 13+ years, in the same position as the first day I started my career in EdTech.  To boot, I've been in the same small district for my entire educational career.  I believe this gives me a certain perspective to watch our district evolve over the years.

For 13 years, I have been advocating more TRUE technology integration in our schools.  In my mind, we still aren't there yet and I'm not just speaking of my own district, but countless others.

TRUE technology integration is hard to define if you don't first have a solid belief on what TRUE learning is.  We struggled for years trying to convince folks that teacher-use of technology wasn't the end goal.  We've also struggled trying to convince folks that just because a kid creates a Powerpoint(less) presentation to regurgitate information, doesn't mean she has used technology to better herself. 

Over the last several years, I have seen an enormous swell of "Web 2.0" that educational folks have promoted for learning purposes.  I have seen the same swell in physical devices that promise the same.  The echoes of "this is where are kids live" still bounce around inside my mind.

My daily professional life collided today with my virtual one when a coworker sent me a link to Paul Barnwell's article in EdWeek.  I read the article and all of the comments, some of which touted that the title of the article was misleading.  One comment by Vicki Davis (@coolcatteacher) was reposted today on her own blog with additional commentary.

I'm writing tonight to say that I agree with both of them.  They both are looking for ways that technology can be used by our students to enhance their learning, to promote real thinking and problem solving.  They are finding ways to do this that are comfortable to them and their students.  Paul has seemingly abandoned the short and quick nature of social networking tools because he values deep prolonged thinking, citing blogs as a way to do this. Vicki has found a way to use those short posts as a stepping stone to greater learning. (If either disagree with my summary, please feel free to comment!)

EdTech is neither a savior or a demon.  First and foremost, it is a tool.  As with any other tool, if you don't use it appropriately, you won't get the desired results. Every educator should be ignoring the gimmicky attraction and ask first, how will this help my kids learn?

Twitter as Professional Learning?

I became a Twit on Nov 7, 2009.  I resisted this new form of social networking for a good deal of time, but eventually succumbed.  I had little activity in my new Twitterverse then, but decided around March of this year to engage once again.  Since then, I have found it to be a large source of my professional learning. 

I'm completely in love with Twitter for helping me learn new things and connect with others.  I still don't have a lot of tweets, I'm not following an enormous amount of people, and a modest amount of folks follow me.

Twitter can be intimidating.  Depending on who you follow, there may be more tweets than you can handle.  However, I've found that spending 5 to 10 minutes looking at a few tweets a day can lead to new discoveries. 

I've also found the #EdChat Tweet Chat enormously enjoyable and a profitable learning experience.  The tag is used for education musings everyday, but on Tuesday there are two different hour-long live chats focusing on particular topics.  Watching one of these is not unlike watching a popular IRC chatroom of days past.  Post a thought and see who responds or retweets.

Go ahead.  Meet new people, whether they be like or unlike yourself.  Contribute to a larger community.  Grow yourself as an educator.

Generation Gap

I'm back to writing about EdTech.

For years we have heard how our youth are much more savvy with technology than adults.  I read an interesting article today that reports research that suggests the contrary.  The study was done with college age students (I believe).  The findings include that the younger students are adept at using technology for social and entertainment means, but not so adept at using it for their own intellectual learning (as opposed to older students).

Also apparent to me (being a PK-12 educator) is the existence of  a good percentage of kids that indulge in social media, and technology in general, who don't necessarily use it appropriately (ethically, morally, legally, etc.)  This use is NOT due to the nature of technology, it is due to the nature of young people trying to find a place in the world.  Whether "real" or "virtual", it has always been the adults that are charged with helping our youth differentiate between danger and safety.  And, today, adults are largely unequipped to deal with these inappropriate uses.  Why?  Because even our adults have not embraced technology as a means for life-long learning.  The shame is that this is where our kids live and what are we doing to help them be literate in this "new world"?

As I see it, the generation gap is not defined by technology.  It is defined by the willingness to take risks.  Us old folks are less willing to learn new things, so we shy away from the exponential growth of new technologies.  Our youth embrace everything new, but they do it in a way that meshes with their interests and helps them connect with their world.  For a young person, this is primarily social.

Our adult population has adopted the social mentality as well, yet the adoption was a tad slower for the old folks.  Our adults have been mimicking the actions of our youth.  How many adults have reconnected with classmates of years past due to Facebook?  How many adults feel comfortable sharing pictures of their kids online, but aren't connected and share with a larger world to help them be better at their profession?

We owe it to our kids to help them discover the wonderful opportunities technology affords and to teach them how they can use it responsibly. 

For more information on helping kids learn these lessons, check out Common Sense Media, or the Digital Driver's License.

It's time we all step into the digital age, stop using technology for purely social/entertainment purposes, and help our youth learn to respect the plethora of sharers in this world.