BartmasBlurb#40
Save the Dinosaurs?
Dinos
The lone female of her species trod
slowly down stone lined corridors. Following at a short distance was a male of
her species. Both hung their heavy heads and peered around at the changes that
were quickly taking place. The scenery that had once filled their world had all
but disappeared. Gone were books, papers, desks, worksheets, pencils, and many
technologies that at the time seemed like they were here to stay. They heard
other species talking freely, and functioning in the changing environment with
the newly evolving young. They witnessed
adults and young of different species sitting beside each other learning with
one another in ways that once was unheard of.
These younger adults create and curate learning in ways that are totally
foreign to them. The aging dinosaurs know they are in danger of becoming
extinct. Will they just migrate into the tar pits of the past, and be forgotten
until a social anthropologist uncovers them? Will they adapt and change slowly
to become more highly evolved within their own species?
We have all heard the stories of
the disappearance of the dinosaurs. Theories abound of whether it was a
cataclysmic meteor strike, or some other phenomenon that is incomprehensible in
the modern age of astronomical stability. The dinosaurs that I am speaking of
are not only objects like those pictured above, but also the beings that used
them comfortably for years. Does the same fate await those that have slowly
watched their world change, and have not adapted to the changes?
Adaptation?
You do not need to be very forward
thinking or prophetic to see the changes around us as educators. Students of
all ages are bringing with them their native digital understanding and
adaptability. The young no longer carry heavy book bags with bulky textbooks,
stacks of paper, multiple notebooks, packs of markers, glue sticks, and other
objects that used to help them survive in the stone halls of our schools. How
much longer will we be tied to the buildings themselves? Teachers communicate
with other educators and students all around the globe. They create, curate,
and share lessons with teachers they have never met. Lessons are developed
electronically and supported with technology or hands-on projects where students
have choices. Educators Mystery Skype, Tweet, Pin, Vox,
G+, Link, Blog, IG, Facebook, Flip, and more as they find applications for the ever-changing
digital edworld. Today’s teachers self-evaluate using new scales such as SAMR and
TPACK. We check our lessons using ISTE
standards and student learning goals and scales.
Three F’s
As with any event of change or
challenge we have three choices. We can Fight, Freeze, or Fly! I would like to
add a fourth- Function. There are many educators that are fighting against the
new technologies. They tell themselves that the old ways are the best ways. We have many that have frozen in their tracks
telling themselves they cannot change, and then we have some that have packed
up their file boxes and fled from the classroom. All teachers must be learning
leaders! We as educational leaders need to learn to function in an ever
changing world. Those of us that do not adapt will find ourselves unable to
connect with the digital natives that we now lead.
