I watched the pre-conference keynote presentation by David Warlick today. There are video and audio versions available for download.
There were topics in the talk I expected to hear. There was a lot of the “times have changed” and we need to understand we are educating children for a future that is uncertain to us. This is an online-educational-technology conference and these topics go with the territory. There was a lot more content in the presentation.
David’s talk spent a lot of time talking about how our students have a higher understanding of digital content. They know how to manipulate digital information into new content. They can create new learning experiences by reshaping content. Using technology we can enable teachers to teach more effectively in this new environment.
And he summed it up with this line (about 35 minutes in).
“It is so much within the grasp of those of us who are paying attention.”
To invent new boundaries, many of us are going to have to pay attention. As we are exposed to new instructional tools, we must identify the ones that can make a difference in the way we teach.
Technology is empowering. Using technology a few people can make a great impact on education. These people can even be students because our students can take learning into their own digital hands.
As a teacher there is nothing better than a student excited about learning. Are we paying attention?