Do you Know the New Classroom Lingo?

Want to read something that actually makes you feel illiterate? For me, that is how I felt reading Blogs, Wikis,Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classroom by Will Richardson. Even the title scares me. I have dabbled in the world of Wikis while taking a technology course at USJ, but the technology was unavailable to me in the workplace, so I have forgotten all wiki-rules.
I am fully aware that students today are immersed in technology and the world-wide-web. Richardson discusses how today's student needs this interaction in order to stay excited, focused and relevant in the world we live in. Though books are still necessary in the learning process, the new literacies available to students must be utilized so they can learn and develop alongside the technological advances occurring as we speak. New literacies include anything from blogs and digital storytelling to Skipe and global interactions.

Decades ago, students from all around the world were interacting with technology.

As I mentioned earlier, I lost my knowledge of wikis due to the lack of technology available to me in my classroom. Even though NETS outlines specific standards for technology use in the education system, there is always going to be an unfair advantage to affluent communities. NETS for students is developed around already existing best practices of teaching, with technology operations and digital citizenship added. The essential conditions of these require digital resources to be available- this is not happening. NETS for teachers require there is a digital -age work place. I can tell you where I teach, this is not the case. Ok, I did forget to mention one factor... I teach in a private non-profit school. This is the reasoning that NETS has not been required in our curriculum. However, I do not think that fair. Technology should be required in all school systems no matter the socioeconomic circumstances. I know I'm dreaming, but what a wonderful world that would be!

I will end my post with a provoking thought I found on Richardson's blog:

The Future of Learning Is…

(from EduCon via Christian Long…more here)

…”asking better questions.” —Zac Chase
…”unlimited.” —Diana Laufenberg
…”self-organized.” —Will Richardson
…”unknown…and that’s ok.” —Jessica Ross
…”every classroom a Maker space.” —Jaymes Dec
…”There are multiple futures of learning. We all decide” —Rob Greco
…”fun, playful, always morphing and evolving.” —Ethan Bodnar
…”real work in a human context.” —Greg
…”them.” —Jeremy
…”communal.” —Chris Lehmann
…”close relationships between teachers and students.” —Lizzie
…”spontaneity.” —Ray
…”connecting the needs of our cities to our classrooms and the youth and multigenrational teams most apt to actually generate and implement innovative solutions.” —Alex Gilliam

You?