I watched the video on technology and learning presented by David Jones and David Warlick to complete my Elite 2 tic tac toe. They gave a virtual tech forum on the impact of of social media in schools. Their focus was "Embracing and Responding to this Powerful, Disruptive Technology". The first point they made was social media should be about learning, not students or even teaching. We need to present ourselves as learners in front of our students through our use of technology and social media.

Where we are today, we need to use technology to do our job in education. We need to "keep up in a time of rapid change". Our curriculums need to have digital abundant content in order for our students to be learning in a contemporary informational environment. I like the analogy Mr. Warlick used in comparing books and technology. He said not teaching with technology today would be like our teachers not using books as we were learning. It is that important.

As a kind of "old school" teacher, having graduated just when the internet was developing, I like how Mr. Jakes talked about valuing the skill, not the technology. If I think a skill is important to my students, I need to present it in digital context. Then I extend that skill to a higher level with social collaboration. My students benefit and work towards becoming more skilled in environment they will be graduated in.

This contemporary education environment is presented in a "this is where we are at, this is where we need to go" context. We need to "go together" on this. Time and money need to be dedicated to move our students to where they need to be. I have seen evidence of the this all around me in Lindbergh. Great strides are being taken to be sure we are giving our students the best tools they will need to be successful.

Mr. Jakes and Mr. Warlick concluded their discussion by saying we are successful as educators when not only the technology becomes invisible, but the walls, the bell schedule, and the boundaries that divide teachers and students become invisible. We have succeeded when our educational curriculums are defined by their lack of limits. I love this take on technology and its limitless capabilities. I feel we have only scratched the surface with how far we can take learning if we have the tools to take us there.