This year I entered into a new role in education. The role of parent.
I sent my 5 year old to kindergarten this year.
When she walked into that classroom she knew how to say her ABCs and could recognize most of her letters, she could not read yet, and she could not write her own name. We didn't have a way to get her to preschool (and financially afford it) so she didn't go. She did go to gymnastics and swim lessons in order for her to learn how to listen to a "teacher."
However. That 5 year old knew how to punch in the code on my iPad, open YouTube, and find the video she wanted to watch. She could get into my phone can call grandma when she wanted. She knew how to take pictures, swipe, and edit them. Netflix was easy to operate (and it takes 3 different remote controls to get it going...)
On her first day of kindergarten her digital literacy was ahead of her print literacy.
Let that sink in for a moment.
And she's not alone. The class of 2030 is filled with kiddos just like her.
You can debate my parenting skills and whether or not I should be allowing my children to have "screen time" and how much all you want. But the reality is...these kids are growing up in this world. My daughter will NEVER know a time without smartphones and social media. Chances are, the career she will have hasn't been invented yet...or will be greatly changed by the addition of technology. And she knows it.
Ok...at 5 years old she may not grasp the greater picture of how much her life will be directed and impacted by technology, but she knows that it's not going away. I am currently relying on YouTube to teach her how to tie her shoes (because I already know "nothing"). Her favorite rotation at school is the one with technology.
When I think about this...it makes me think about my classroom and how I'm using technology to help enhance social studies education.
Because you see...
If I'm not effectively integrating technology into social studies, she and her classmates will not see it as relevant. Period. And we NEED them to find social studies relevant.
So how do I do this? Where's the training and professional development? How do I use technology in my classroom and connect it to historic content? How do I use it so that I'm not just giving them a digital worksheet?
Ok...truth. If you're waiting for your district to provide technology training and professional development, you're going to keep waiting. Most districts don't provide much PD on using technology effectively in the classroom. You might get an hour here and there, or if you're luck a day. But the reality is, most schools don't provide much "in house" PD on tech. You're just gonna have to dive in and start clicking around. Seriously. That's my answer to how I got more involved in technology in the first place. I just opened a program, created a log-in, and started clicking around to figure it out.
Then I'd lean on a student. I'd find the kids who were talented in technology and I'd have them try out the program from a student's point of view. They'd help me figure out the best way to use it and if the program was worth the time.
Bottom line. If you've got more than 5 years left in your teaching career, it's time to jump on board. As teachers we need to set priorities on where we spend our time and effort. Technology NEEDS TO BE one of those priorities. It's not going away and our kids deserve and education that's going to benefit their future. Not attempt to force them to live in the past.
Want technology ideas for your classroom? Follow my blog. More posts will be coming on things you can do to embed it into your content. Want ideas now? Check out these previous blog posts I've written below.
