A Vision of K12 Students today... a sobering message.

A few minutes ago I just watched an amazing video about how K12 students use technology and how they want to use that technology to learn.  It was very sobering to see the statistics about how many teachers don't use technology in the classroom to engage their students during the learning process.  Why is that? 

Now, I don't know the source of the statistics so that could arguably in question.  That said, it is consistent with what I hear when I speak with teachers.  My focus is to help educators understand the value of using technology in the learning environment. A great accomplishment would be to create a new video a few years from now where the statistics of incorporating digital learning into classrooms show it to be the norm rather than the exception.

 How do we get there?

Comments

• Anonymous
  April 05, 2009
  This is a raging debate in education.  Should we alter our curriculum and pedagogy to cater to students with shrinking attention spans?  Or, should we acknowledge their shrinking attention spans and place more emphasis on activities to combat the effect of twitch electronics? JDF

• Anonymous
  April 22, 2009
  I always show that video before I give a presentation to teachers.  It is very powerful!   How can Microsoft help you teach better? Please respond with a URL to a blog post or online video. Microsoft has given me the tools to integrate technology appropriately into my curriculum, even when I work with Kindergarten students.  Microsoft programs allow me to show students how to bring what they learn from books into a digital format for the 21st Century Learner.

• Anonymous
  May 05, 2009
  It is alarming how technology is either not used or misused in the learning process, and the statistics you heard are quite true.  The basic cause of this is two fold.  Students know more than their teachers in regards to technology; They have grown up with it, are comfortable with it, and use it everyday.  Secondly, teachers, once they find their 'knitch that works' don't want to change.  They weren't taught to teach that way, so they don't.   I have seen this as a consultant to schools for a decade, and now as a teacher and technology coordinator for the last decade. Until the teacher preparation institutions make learning technology teaching tools a part of the curriculum, and local administrators make it an active part of professional development in the districts, the effective use of technology in our classrooms will be lost on the predominance of our teachers.