In October, David Warlick will be speaking at a dinner series about Engaging Digital Learners that will be happening in our district this year. So, when I came across this video tweeted by @Smacclintic I was interested and intrigued. In it, there are some powerful messages about the future of education.
David Warlick ends the video talking about the best case scenarios and the worst case scenarios when it come to the future of education and technology. He states that,
“The worst case scenario is that ten years from now we’re still graduating kids who are perfectly prepared for the 1950’s.”
When I first heard David say this, I chuckled to myself. Then, I had to replay his words over and over and over again. They really hit home for me. We are responsible for preparing our students for the future and that includes having them use technology (heck – they need that NOW). Many classrooms today are doing exactly what David Warlick states – preparing students for the 1950’s. This is not what we want for our learners, is it?
We must make a difference for our students. We must open the doors for them and their future. We must not be afraid. We need to take risks, so they can be prepared for their future – not for the past. To do this, we, as educational leaders, must model this for our staff – especially those who may have difficulty in this area. We must be there to support, educate, and encourage every learner in our school. In order to do this, we must learn ourselves.
Thanks to George Couros for first blogging about this video (here).
Here it is. Watch it for yourself. What are your thoughts?
I look forward to hearing David speak at our dinner series! What a great opportunity our Helping Teachers have planned for our district!
It's All About Learning 
Tia,
Great post that really resonated with me. Just yesterday I was facilitating a meeting of our Ed Tech Cadre and I shared with them the Warlick quote you reference in your post. I adapted a Critical Friends protocol to guide our discussion about the quote. It was a great conversation that led directly into our work of deconstructing lessons and embedding technology to better engage the learners. I haven’t seen the video, so I am excited to be able to pass that onto our group.
Wishing I was in your District to hear the sessions on Engaging the Digital Learner.
Scott
Scott,
Thanks for your comment. Don’t you love conversations like that and quotes to really help people think about their practise. Glad you had a good meeting. Sounds like things are moving in a good direction.
I can not express how excited I am about our Engaging the Digital Learner series! It is going to be just great. Keep your eye out here, I plan on doing some reflecting and sharing about the sessions on my blog.
Thanks again,
Tia