I want to keep blogging, so here is a post.

While I read (and read and read) a great deal about the intersection of technology and education, no meaningful dive into that conversation can take place without ingesting a healthy dose of thought on what is the best way to go about educating our students. I am surrounded by information about education. Questions about the role of data in education, the proper kind of technology integration, the ever-stormy debate about high-stakes testing, the direction of higher ed. in an age of MOOCs, webinars, wondering if edtech is a bubble waiting to burst, new apps and their potential to transform learning, what is the best way to organize a classroom, how to best manage students with devices... all the voices and articles and opinions are great reading, listening (podcasts in the car), viewing (Ted talks), and enjoyment. I've been a sponge lately, but I've kept it all to myself. But Tom Whitby's post on Tuesday was one that made me sit up and say to myself "man, I really do need to start contributing again." The line that resonated with me first:

"I always worry if a basic explanation is just too basic for an audience of professionals. I too often make an assumption that what I am about to write in my post is too basic, and therefore no one will have any interest."

I have too many half-started blog posts, "in the chamber," be it in my mind or my blog landing page.  But it is that fear that stops me from publishing them. I'm so surrounded by this conversation on a daily basis, that everything I've tried to say feels like it's regurgitating what others have said. Whatever. If Tom says it doesn't matter, then I'm going to take his word for it. Thanks, Tom. 

Here is a brief sampling of the kind of thoughts I've been having a lot lately. I love technology, but mostly as a way to bring change to classrooms. Sure, the buttons and apps are really fun. And I love the heck out of learning Google tools and savvy searches but to merely integrate technology is not enough, given the time of information abundance we're living in. Whether we like it or not, the Web is the new and relevant medium for our students. While it may have been a nice place for information in its infancy, the Web is no longer just a really big encyclopedia with more pictures; it's not a passing fad. It is our students' social space, entertainment source, and their living space (for better or for worse). 

I have trouble with the notion that school's job is to prepare students for the "real world." With the Web, our students already are in the real world, navigating its challenges and trying to make meaning. For all intents and purposes, it is their world. Many of the same challenges we face in the real world are the same challenges we and our students face on the Web. There is knowledge to be had all around our students, and they are eager to access that world. Having power online translates into having real world power. Let's capitalize on their eagerness, interest, and preferred tools. We are not preparing our students for the world we lived in growing up; that world is gone. We are sending students into the world of uncertainty that is constantly changing. 

And so on. If I can use the blog to contribute my voice to the roar that is mounting against traditional, industrial era classrooms, so be it.