I just wanted to do a quick “Thank You” to twitter.  This post was inspired by Jimmy Fallon’s new book of Thank You’s.  He is hilarious.  So here I go;

Thank You Twitter, for keeping a record of all the insane thoughts, and comments, that I would normally just think, and forget.  As I grow old it will be nice to see how many times I said publicly what I was thinking, rather than just keeping it to myself and avoiding future embarrassing moments.

We are online more now than ever before.  As a society we are replacing what we used to do offline with online activities. It is easier, quicker and way more convenient to do these things online.  According to the PEW Research center (May 2010), here are the top 9 things we do online.

9.  32% of us take the time to rate products and services.

8.  59% of us look for “How To” information.  (As an aside, that is one of my favorite things about the web)

7.  61% of us do Social Networking.

6.  66% of us buy products online.

5.  72% of us go online to have fun, and pass the time.

4.  75% of us get our news online.

3.  78% of the population does product research.

2.  87% of us use search engines.

Drum Roll Please!!

1.  94% of us send or read email online.

I’m not sure about you, but I do all of these things.

It’s a fact that the Internet has fundamentally changed the way that people find, discover, share, shop, and connect.

My wife and I were talking the other day, and we both agreed that we could not live without our computers.  We are in our 40′s, and we still associate the Internet with computers.  But, many people use the internet everyday and never log on to a PC, or a MAC. Smart phones and tablets give us everything we need to actively use the Internet for our daily lives. I’m not there yet, but I do use my Blackberry for a lot of things.  I still do like the feel of looking for most of my information online using my laptop.

In a typical day I may need to find a number for someone.  I don’t use the phone book anymore unless I absolutely have to.  In addition to being inconvenient, and sometimes hard to use, I hate getting my fingers all black while looking for a number.  (maybe it’s just my phone book?)  I’d much rather just google the name of the business I am looking for, or go to Sasktel.com and find the person I’m looking for.

The last item I purchased, of significant value, was a hockey (goalie) helmet.  After sizing up the options at a Sporting Goods store in Winnipeg, I returned home with a great price in mind ($399.00 CDN).  I then went online to a Canadian Sporting Goods site, and the best price I could find was $429.00 CDN.  That did not include shipping.  I then checked a US based site, and they had the exact same helmet on sale for $349.00 US.  I ordered it there, and including shipping, the helmet cost $365.00 CDN to arrive at my doorstep. (I love the value of our Canadian currency right now)

My aunt, and cousins live on Vancouver Island.  I keep in contact, and know what’s going on in their lives more that if they lived in Yorkton.  Even though Facebook gets a bad rap at times from some people, many, many more love it and use it every day to connect and keep up with friends and relatives all over the world.

I’m pretty much done writing now for today.  I think I’ll take a few minutes now to day dream and maybe plan my next vacation.  I can find airfare and hotel costs in about 5 minutes.

I love the Internet!!

Well it’s actually called mySpark. But it looks like it may just give the Ipad a little competition, and if the price is right I will definitely be looking into one for myself, and maybe my students as well.

Plus, and this is a big one for me, it’s Canadian. This tablet will be coming out sometime in 2011. It will be worth a good long look.

http://mysparktech.com/features.html

This post is inspired by Chris Brogan’s post, The Future of Work.

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Everyone has a story about school.  We all attended school, and we all have some good memories and, unfortunately, some bad.  My goal as an educator is to make more good memories, and we are all about celebrating success at my school.  By the way, I am a Vice-Principal, which traditionally has been the person who handles most of the discipline after the students have made some poor decisons.  My main focus at my school is to make the school a better place, and to make the learning experience for our students that best that it can be.  Below is a list of how I see the future of school evolving.  Some of these things are already starting to happen. Schools that embrace these trends will succeed.

School is team work, and collaboration.
Desks will no longer be in rows all day.  Students will be given tasks that require team work and foster interpersonal skills that will be valuable in the “real world”. Working as part of a team is how life works for most people. Students and teachers will embrace this new model and work together to help  everyone learn.

Teachers are Facilitators of Learning.
Teachers pose questions and let students discover the answers.  The days of sitting in your desk and listening to someone for half an hour or more are gone.  Ideas are presented, shared, discussed, and then utilized to solve problems.  Discovery is the key!

Students who struggle will get help!
Struggling students have almost always been left behind in the past. Teachers have always felt pressure to teach all of the material presented before the end of the term, or the school year. Teachers will now work closely together to gage learning, and then go back to meet the needs of those who did not get it the first time.  This will have a huge impact on student self perception and success rates.  You will know that your teacher cares, and this will inspire you to succeed.

Testing will be the start, not the end.
Testing of students will set the course of study.  It will not be the only measuring stick.  There really is no sense focusing lessons and teaching on things that students already know.  The only way to find out what is the best to teach is to test before you really begin a topic.  That will give definition to future needs.

Education will take place everywhere.

Kids have all the gadgets.  they are super connected and they use their connections to find out anything they are interested in.  It is intuitive for them to search out answers.  They don’t wait to find out the answers at school, and probably never really did for their most important questions. Schools will embrace this fact and stop fighting it, finding ways to welcome this connectedness and using it to advance learning in school.  Those who “get it” first, will succeed faster!

Schools are changing, but change it difficult for those involved. The future is here in our home life, and it is imperative for our society to bring the future to school as well. Our work force is reliant on schools to prepare people.  Everyone wants to be productive.