blindfold by crumpart (CC)

With the majority of my time in my current job teaching ICT, I see a vast array of skills and abilities on display.

Some children appear to grow these talents instinctively (if that is possible), whereas others  put in the hours at home to make dynamic leaps in terms of progress. Using MSN for example makes a massive difference to children’s typing speeds.

I find it fascinating then from reading in various forums the resistance to teachers improving their own ICT. As a flavour, how many of these statements would you agree with?

• Children are better with computers than I am
• There is too much changing with technology to keep up
• Children can type faster than I can

The difficulty is the context we are viewing these questions from. Let me rephrase them:

• Children are better at writing than I am
• There is too much changing with communication to keep up
• Children can think faster than I can

To ensure we are able to not only keep up with students, but help them progress, we need to ensure we understand the new channels they are using to commuincate with, and the ways in which they engage with technology. Simply saying that ‘things change too fast’ is not enough any more.

We are able to buy the latest TV, not because we understand the technology behind it, but because we can see the intrinsic benefits it brings to us.

Any thoughts would be greatly received!