So I’m starting at a blank screen wanting to write something. Have you ever had so much to say that there was no way you could actually put the words together. I’m there. I opened my blogging app to start reflecting on educon and there is just so much. While sitting here thinking I starting to think about the conversations I attended this weekend (those who haven’t heard of educon, the sessions are conversations not presentations). That’s when it hit me, everything I learned this weekend was from a conversation.

So many of these conversations were in sessions. The session leaders would tell which direction to take the convo and give us the opportunity to discuss. We discussed amazing things that caused me to think. Things that have stuck with me long after I’ve arrived back home. I loooove walking around during my session listening to the groups brainstorm and question each other. I learned more from them than I am sure they learned from me. They had the freedom to take it in what ever direction they wanted to. And each group did.

When not in sessions, conversations didn’t end. And I learned from these just as much. It’s amazing when you sit down to eat with people how much you can learn from each other. Great things coming from hanging out in library, walking from place to place, while laughing at others singing karaoke.

It all comes down to this, when people have ideas & take the time to converse with others who also have ideas, we can learn great things. I think that is what happens with social media as well (twitter to me is an on going convo that I can pick up on at any time). I believe we can learn just as much, if not more, discussing (not complaining) out ideas than if someone is shoving information down our throats.

Sometimes as teachers we forget this. We get caught up in curriculum, information, delivering it, that we don’t stop and allow kids to just talk about it. We don’t give them time to state opinion. I’m really bad about pushing for class discussion instead of small group discussions. I know I wouldn’t have spoken out as much to the group as a whole as I did in smaller groups. I’ve decided I’m going to take 5 min each class (classes we aren’t already doing group work) and give the kids a starting point and letting them go. I am interested to see where this goes. I challenge you to aloud kids to speak to one another more as well!

Yesterday at church I didn’t have my Bible. It wasn’t because I forgot it at home, it was because the app on my phone kept crashing. So annoying. First thing that came to mind was ’21st century problems.’ Went to back out of my garage and couldn’t see because my back up camera was dirty. Annoyed again and thought ’21st century problems.’

Yet today I’ve gotten 2 emails about 21st century classrooms. The weird part, both emails took the tone that 21st century classrooms and learning was something of the future. Something that we need to prepare for. Also, neither email (nor anything else I’ve read lately) really defined 21st century learning.

Well here’s the deal, it is 2013. 2013. That means we have been in this century for 13 years. So if you are a teacher you are in a 21st century classroom. No matter when it was built or what you have in it. So to me this whole 21st century stuff is just gibberish. Just some catch-phrase to get your attention.

Not many of us have adequate technology in our classrooms (I know I don’t even come close). Some of us don’t have space for kids to collaborate. We may work in a place where websites that could increase learning are blocked. We may have $0 budgets. We may be in schools with strict ‘no cellphone’ policies. Unfortunately the 21st century isn’t like everyone was advertising with schools providing everyone computers and wifi, yeah it happens but it isn’t the norm. Schools still look like they did in 1999. Trust me I know, I was in high school then. We had computer labs and spent time in there working on PowerPoints. Sound familiar?

The thing is, outside of school everything has changed. We do all have tiny computers in our pockets. We have access to books by opening an app. We have Internet any where any time. We have cars with back up cameras, heck for an upgrade my car could’ve parked itself. We have 3D TVs. We even have bikinis that charge your iPhone using solar energy. Yet schools haven’t changed much. And really I’m not sure there is much we can do about this and it makes me insane.

What we can do is make sure we are preparing students for their future and today. Make sure we are teaching problem solving. Make sure students are aware how to use the technology that they do have can be used for learning. (I swear I want to do a cartwheel every time a kid asks if he can google something on their phone – though I wish they felt they had the freedom to just do it w/o asking.) Make sure we fight to get the technology our kids need.

Though our classrooms may look the same, our world is not. We must bring the world THEY know into our classroom. We must stay up to date with tech, because our job is to prepare our students for THEIR futures, we can’t do that with just pencils and paper. We must prepare them to deal with their share of ’21st century problems.’