Wow! I found the Keynote presentation from 2009 k12 online conference very thought-provoking! Comparing daily life in a foreign land to living in the new digital age was helpful to me. I, indeed, many times feel like a foreigner when trying to navigate in this “strange” land. But I am getting more flexible and comfortable as I spend time here!!
Having lived a semester in Thailand with my sister’s family there and visited there many times, I could relate to many of the comments and observations. My niece and nephew are both third culture kids, so I was familiar with that term as well. I’ve actually been on the campus of ISB that was mentioned in the presentation. Isn’t it funny? I was excited to see the pictures because I had been there. Maybe I will soon be excited about this land of technology as I live here longer as well.
The most important value I came away with was the importance of blending the traditional foundational information with the new technology. I can see the danger in only pursuing those things that interest you at the moment with only like-minded people. That has the possibility of again isolating us in this land of unlimited information and connections. As was stated, there does not need to be an either/or mindset but a both/and mindset. As educators, it seems that we need to expose our students to thoughts, ideas, music, art that they might not “want” to explore, but they might discover to be very beneficial. As my young music students, move to some of the themes from great symphonies, I often hear, “That music is SO beautiful!” Then I can blend it with showing them an actual symphony performance on-line – voila! A perfecting blending of traditional and technological!
I like the analogy of being a stranger in the land of technology. Spending time in a new place often relieves us of the fear we have of going there initially. Blending traditional foundational information with new technology is very important if our students are to learn in the same way that they live. There is so much information our students need but we risk them not receiving it if we present it in outdated ways.
Janet- It sounds like this was just the right article for you to read as you could relate to the setting of Tailand! I find I have to push myself to get excited about technology also. It is a challenge for me, so it is easier to just not do it! The more familiar and easier it gets though, the more I like it. I need to stick with it and just like we push our students to learn new things, I need to be willing myself. I enjoyed your thoughts on this, because I could really relate to them.