March 24, 2008~ Marc Prensky’s article in March 2008 edition of Educational Leadership entitled "Turning on the Lights" struck a chord with me. It seems that is my mantra whenever I was in a job interview or if someone asked me what I love about my job. The question usually goes something like this: “What do you see as the best part of being a teacher/educator?” and my reply was/is “Because I enjoy seeing the light bulb click on when the students finally “get” a concept for the first time”. Thanks to Prensky’s article my mantra has a new meaning.
As a technology coach and mother of two digital natives, I have long been an active technology user in my professional and personal life. My oldest communicates with her peers via, text, blogs, MySpace, etc. Just imagine the impact if her teachers could use these same type of tools to connect to a classroom on the other side of the globe! Eighth grade students in South Carolina take South Carolina history. Why not have them communicate with eighth grade students in another state and have them share this historical knowledge? I overheard a very entertaining conversation as my daughter (native of SC) chatted with her cousin (native of NY) in which the NY native had actually been taught information regarding SC that was a bit misconstrued. Why not learn from the “experts” rather then a textbook??? Besides, in the real world isn’t that what we do as professionals? We do our research via our technology tools prior to our presentations, workshops, projects, etc.
So, yes, a resounding YES! Let us all “Turn the lights on” at school!
Did you hear recently that Prensky fell ill in the middle of a keynote at a NJ conference? I'm a big fan of Marc Prensky too, and I have been told he is slated to be a keynote speaker for Rock Hill School District's Summer Engagement Conference. Oh yes, I am so there--even if I dont work in Rock Hill anymore. Email me for details--cathyjonelson at gmail
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