the future is now

teachers often think about technology as a mystical force. older teachers tend to view it as something that they ought to resist. newer teachers view it as something that they want but don't really know how to get or effectively use. all in all, we talk about "the future" as something that is still a ways away. we still view our students as more or less more modernized versions of ourselves and our generation. but the future is much closer than it seems.

my students once accused me of listening to NPR while i drive. it is true... i listen to NPR all the time. recently, i was listening to a program about a new study done by the macarther foundation. the research finds that what parents and teachers have been resisting for years and years may actually be something that's good for the students. they say that this is a generation with a whole new sense of global awareness and connected-ness.

it has become now more than just a place for mindless time-wasting. this is a whole new culture of interconnectedness. the future and technology is no longer something we can idly stand aside and speculate upon. our system is becoming irrelevant at an alarming rate. we must think of newer and better ways of doing things.

the next item on the table is how we can use social networking to our advantage in the classroom.