Brian Mull/Alan November

Moss Point School District recently hosted a workshop by Brian Mull who works in cooperation with November Learning. I attended this workshop and felt that the tools he brought to the table were very useful. A few examples of these were Gcast, Wikispaces, Skype, and Ustream tv. He allowed each of us the oppurtunity to personally investigate these tools and determine their level of value in the classroom. I was very excited to try out Gcast. I even put it to work with a group of Beta Club students on our recent trip to our State Convention. It is fun and very easy to use. I also worked some with Ustream TV and really enjoyed that experience as well as saw value for it in the classroom. Overall the workshop was interesting and informative. I would like you feedback on this workshop. What are some of the tools that you found intresting and of the most value? What is your overall thought on the workshop?

Today's Generation and Education

The integration of technology in the classroom is no longer just a good idea. It is imperative that we embrace the fact that education is changing. As teachers we are educating a generation like we have never seen before. This is a generation that does not remember a time before cell phones. From birth they have had interactive toys to keep their attention and entertain them. They are moving from the time they get up until the time they go to bed with one activity or another. More and more of our children have been diagnosed as having A.D.D., my own son included. It is my opinion that the children are not for the most part truely suffereing from an attention deficit disorder, they are suffering from E.D.D. sound strange????? That is because I just made that up. (Hey, somebody made up A.D.D., so why not?) It means educational disengagement disorder. We try to educate today's students in a world they simply do not understand, and cannot relate to.

Student's of today have simply adapted to today's fast paced world. As parents we keep our kids on the go or involved in something almost constantly. I know this is true for me. They are used to moving from one activity, game, tv program, etc.. to the next. But when it comes time for them to get an education, we expect them to sit quietly in neat desks, in neat rows, be quiet, and listen for at least 8 hours a day with very few breaks. How as adults would we react to that. We, like the above mentioned students, have adapted to life in a very fast paced society. We have grown used to living our lives on go. For most of us, doing what we are asking today's generation of students to do would be impossible. I know this for a fact because I personally do professional developments for teachers on a regular basis. I also know this for fact because I have been a teacher asked to sit through professional developments, and maybe you are the exception to the rule, but sitting quietly, and listening while I am getting educated is very hard for me. I take mini mental trips (usually when I needed to be listening the most).

The question is, how do we revolutionize education so that we are able to successfully reach this generation of students?