Yesterday at lunch some co-workers and I were talking about how quickly the year was passing by and that Thanksgiving and Christmas were both just around the corner. I asked if anyone could remember a time when life didn't move this fast. One person said that life as a kid seemed to be slower, or at least it seemed that way because he was always waiting for his parents to pick him up. He explained his statement with a story of his daughter calling him from her cell phone for a ride and then minutes later calling to check on his status cause she was waiting "forever" in her terms.
We all could relate to the times of past when none of us had cell phones and we could never just call our parents anytime. Life was different back then. One didn't have instant access to the world like they do today.
The co-worker who started the story went on to say that he's happy his kids have their cell phones now because he can reach them throughout the day. He can text his son about football practice or his daughter's volleyball game and they can text him back during breaks or study hall.
This all made me wonder what life would be like for Jared once he enters school. What technologies will be a part of his life that aren't around now. This thought made me think about a blog from the TechChallenged in our class. She blogged about a seminar where Marc Prensky talked of open phone tests for students as a new way test our students. Basically he proposed letting students use their cell phones to access help during tests.
All of this just makes me wonder, what's next?
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2 comments:
I agree that time has accelerated. My summers use to be long. Now it seems like last year was just yesterday.
Two and a half years ago, I taught midde school students. Yes the students are technology savvy when it comes to cell phones but a large number of them have never been to the other side of town and have no concept of the world and geography.
The kids have a very short attention span and technology will be the way to keep them interested and not bored.
If my parenting experience is anything like yours, you cannot really imagine the world Jared will live in as a teen! My kids use so much technology and although I respect Elisia's comments about kids who haven't been to the other side of town, they also do a lot of neat social things. My daughter keeps in touch with even casual aquaintances through Facebook. My casual acquaintances were lost the day we graduated from high school because the only way to keep in tough was by phone (long distance was expensive!) or hand-written letters (which took too much time). And if someone moved and didn't personally let you know, that was it -- you couldn't contact them. As a parent, you can encourage the good uses of technology AND the good things in life that have nothing to do with technology. That's what will make Jared's world great.
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