Monday, October 12, 2009

The PODs Are Coming!

Every so often I think it is important to share great presentations, videos, or posts from other bloggers. This one falls into that category. It’s a presentation shared at the Building Learning Communities conference Manhattan model school leaders and I attended last summer from blogger David Truss :: Pair-a-dimes for Your Thoughts.

The presentation entitled, “The PODs Are Coming!” explains how we are soon approaching a day where most of our students will be bringing PODs Personally Owned Devices to school. In schools where students are empowered to bring learning devices to school and acceptable and respectable use of technology is just the way things are, every student coming to school will have more capability in their pockets and hands than most teachers have on their desks today.

I am optimistically hopeful that in the future school districts like New York City will embrace rather than ban students from bringing their potential 21st century tools to the classroom. This is a great video for educators in districts who are, or will eventually be, supporting students in utilizing the personal learning devices they own. It addresses the question, “Are we ready to utilize these amazing tools that students want to bring to our classrooms.” If not, why not? What do we need to do to be ready? What needs to change? How do we maximize what we can do now? Who makes this happen?

For some insight into the answers to these questions, it is my pleasure to invite you to view this provocative presentation.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Lisa,
    Thanks for writing such a wonderful post!
    I share your optimism though I believe it is students that will change things faster than education leaders will. Students are bringing these tools to class whether teachers want them to or not... And more and more students will use them in appropriate ways to encourage the learning in the class, until finally teachers will have to see the value. We shouldn't wait! It is really time to introduce the elephant in the room.
    Thanks again,
    Dave.

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  2. PODs are the future (well, they could be the present. most kids have them. but school rules and regs - and may teacher attitudes - get in the way). In many ways the concept is reminiscent of the introduction of transistor radios, before which people were tied down to listening to their music only at home or in a car. In the same way that music became portable, access to community, information, and so on is now portable. Now we need to harness PODs for education.

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