Went to a workshop today...

...and after introducing the speaker, the teacher in charge then said, "And all of you with your laptops up, put them down and listen."

And that pushed a button.

DON'T tell me to put my laptop down. Why the heck do I have it if not to take notes and make connections? Shouldn't she rather be ENCOURAGING the use of the laptops to make connections between his presentation and our own learning???? Shouldn't she be telling us to feel free to access his site and bring up questions we have for the speaker based not only on what he tells us, but on what we discover?

Until we change the attitudes of the teachers, we will NEVER catch the attention of the students. Teaching to a room full of laptops is a reality teachers can no longer ignore. It's time to stop living in the 19th century. The 20th century saw the introduction of the filmstrip, the slide projector, the overhead projector, the 16mm film projector. All ways of projecting information onto a static surface. Passive education. Watch, but don’t touch.

Today’s education no longer has those tools. Filmstrip projectors gather dust. The slide carousels are relegated to the top shelves of department centers, their slots filled with faded artworks and broken cassette tapes. Video cassettes have replaced the 16mm projector, but the concept is still the same. Be quiet and watch the movie.

So education, without these tools, must go one of two ways. Either is must slide back to the 19th century with a dependence on books, chalkboards and paper…or it must embrace the NEW technologies: the computer, the Ipod, the cellphone, email.

Too often we have slid to the familiar rather than challenge ourselves to the difficult. How can we expect our students to accept the minor daily challenges we throw at them if we are too scared, too complacent, too stuck-in-our-ways to take on a challenge ourselves?

Critical thinking skills are vital. But how should those skills be taught? Therein lies the issue. Understanding the ins and outs of a mathematical construct or being able to analyze and synthesize information found in textbooks are needed skills. But so is the ability to determine the validity of a website or information gathered from a variety of sources, the Internet included.

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In reading back over this, I see in my rant that I have actually touched lightly on several subjects and dealt with none in detail. Will post again later and show what I'm doing in the classroom to challenge both myself and my students and you'll see...they really ARE responding. And yes, responding positively ! :)