If you ask me if I am tech savvy, my answer would be a weak...yes. It's one of those big fish in a small pond situations. I do what I physically can to keep up, stay current and have a very long list of "things I want to check out" this year, and will see how many I manage to crack into. Technology in general can appear extremely overwhelming, especially to those who do not find themselves savvy. Yet, the world around us craves more. We have YouTube channels, and Twitter accounts, shared docs and virtual classrooms, we have GoPro sunglasses and blogs, websites and digital reminders. It all seems completely overwhelming, and it is. For years in education, I have heard "you are preparing students for jobs that don't even exist." Kind of scary if you ask me. How are we as educators going to arm our students with the tools and knowledge that they will need to be successful in a future that is evolving at an unprecedented rate?
I have been thinking about this question for a long time, and this week, during the middle of our in-service days, it kind of hit me. Mr. Sortevik, a true character if I have ever known one, loves to quote Albert Einstein when retelling stories about his classroom. "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results". Is that not the truest statement about education you have ever heard? If technology, and the world around us is evolving so rapidly, then why aren't we as teachers, trying new, innovative ways to get our students to think? Well, many of us are. Or trying our best. It is paralyzing at times and I know for me, feels chaotic and many times overstimulating, and often that can cause us to revert into static mode.
We have to be risk takers and embrace the chaos! Because out of the chaos, greatness is knocking. Not only are we pushing ourselves to try new things, we are also teaching our students to take risks, knowing that we might fail, and that is okay. My goal is to have an open dialogue with my students about the new strategies I am trying with them this year. I want to make sure they know, that I am nervous about it and not sure if some of the lessons and tools I have planned are going to work. I also plan on instilling the power of reflection in my classroom. It is a lifelong skill that I value too greatly, to overlook with my 7th graders.
At our middle school this year, we are focusing on new ways to collaborate and share ideas professionally. We have the technology at our fingertips and it is going to require trust, innovation and probably a lot of patience with ourselves and colleagues to turn this chaos into something remarkable for our students. When we look at the technology and all it has to offer, the chaos starts to cave in. We must change the lens and see the opportunity we have in paving the way for not only our students, but our school and island. I am excited and charged, feeling ready to take on new challenges to make my students the best learners they can be.
"Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit."
-HENRY ADAMS
"Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit."
-HENRY ADAMS
