Inevitable Digital Devices

No matter where you go you will find that many, if not most, people carry a cell phone, smart phone or some other similar device such as an I pad.  Some schools are putting I pads in the hands of nearly every student.  Textbooks are being left behind in this world of standards-driven curriculum.  Textbooks are old as soon as they are printed.  The world is changing that fast.  In Minnesota much of what and how we teach can be found on the internet for free.  It doesn't matter if schools want more technology. Our families will demand it.  When I visited London I saw tourists from many different countries carrying their I pad with them everywhere.  It was their camera and source of multiple forms of data and entertainment.

This morning it occurred to me that since most of these devices have GPS (global positioning system) that we might as well put weather emergency notices on cell phones and other electronic devices.  People ignore the T.V., radio and local sirens anyway.  If your device let you know what you are to do and how serious the danger is in a tornado warning, for example, it might just prevent injury and panic.  Your phone could not only tell you your current level of danger, it could tell you where the nearest shelter is located based on your current location.

Future use of these personal devices reach beyond our current imagination.  Literally everything will become web-hosted as nearly unlimited amounts of memory are developed.  I often think of the old Star Trek series.  Many of the devices used back then in a science fiction television show are now a reality.  Someday ultra-sound  devices will be built right into a cell phone.  Blood pressure and blood testing  will be available through an inexpensive multipurpose digital device.  Breath testers for alcohol consumption will likely be available on phones.  I predict that one day people with seizures will have phones that give them an early warning for seizures.  Military, free market,  and medical discoveries will likely enhance the features of our electronic devices.  The sturdiness of these devices will continue to improve.  They will gain long battery life and they will be water and impact proof.  Voice actuated capabilities and predictive qualities will improve alarmingly.  Touch screen texting has already gotten better with new predictive processing of our text messaging.  It is likely that these devices will be able to interpret our personal thoughts one day without typing, texting or saying a word!

The brains, screen, and processing capabilities of these small hand-held devices are hard to comprehend.  My current smartphone is my phone, clock and alarm clock, note pad, movie player, text messenger, email, Facebook (social media), source of games, massive storage for music, digital library, internet, GPS for running, instant map,stop watch, guitar tuner, Skype (real time see you/see me capability while we talk), guitar chord finder, calculator, digital audio and video recorder, camera, and calendar.  My smartphone has replaced numerous other items that take up large amounts of space and money.  I can take a high quality picture/video while on vacation and sent it to my family with a smartphone.  This video/image can be shared with the world via the internet almost instantly.   The practical uses for this are nearly endless.

As educators this is a gold mine.  Our school will soon have wi-fi.  The technology flood gate will open and it will be good.  Students will soon have inexpensive highly advanced electronic devices that will take the place of the old antiquated computers.  School expense for this will decrease.  The wi-fi (wireless) technology will allow us to control the content and bandwidth of each user or quest.  Differentiated instruction will be enhanced.  Students will be able to learn at their own pace.  Individualized instruction will be at each learner's finger tips. Virtual dissections will happen in Science.  Interactive periodic tables will bring new facets of Science to life for our children.  Simulators of all types will aid in increased student learning with out the additional costs.  Individualized language instruction in multiple languages will be available to learners.  Countless books of the appropriate reading level will be available on each device for our students.  Math lessons can be viewed at any time.  Parents can view the lessons with their children in order to help them.  Guided practice and reteaching will be done at school instead of whole group lecture.  This is a much better use of instructional time.  Value-added assessment will give everyone immediate feedback.  Schools will know more quickly if a child is learning and we will be able to provide individual remediation instruction for that child. Technology tears down the walls of space, distance and time.  I could go on and on.  Technology is opening doors and creating new opportunities.  We, as educators, must be aware of this trend and stay current with what is happening.  If your children are dealing with your technology problems and fixing them, then you are probably not staying current enough with today's technology.

By nature I am a futuristic thinker.  My imagination allows me to picture incredible advances in technology.  We educators won't let technology replace the necessary human element.  It is a reality that students today are different because of the internet and technology.  Educators must embrace this change and be prepared to raise good decent human beings in this new world of unlimited technological change.

What do you think our future looks like with the rapid growth and change in the use of technology?