Ten Years of Tech: Life Will Never Be the Same

As we ring in the new year, and the new decade, there are many things for me to reflect on. Over the past decade I have graduated from college, started a teaching career, gotten married to a handsome and patient man, started and completed law school, passed the bar exam, and had a beautiful baby girl. 2010 is the year I turn 30. Surprisingly enough, I'm not upset about it. I remember when my husband hit the big 3-0 he lamented the loss of his twenties. As I look back, though, I feel as though I have come a long way. I have earned those years and I'm proud of them. While some of my contemporaries long for our careless college days, I wouldn't want to go back in time knowing that there are so many more exciting things ahead.

I truly believe that education has come a long way in the past decade too. Much of that progress is due to the incredible dedication of teachers who are always looking to improve their instruction. Those of us who are constantly taking classes and trying new things in our classrooms have to acknowledge that technology has been the greatest catalyst for change within the four walls of our schools. Sometimes technology has lifted our lessons and sometimes it has let us down, but I know my teaching has changed dramatically since I had my first students in 2002.

In the same vein, technology has changed the way our students live their daily lives. I found these interesting articles about the positive and negative ways that technology has changed their, and our, lives.

The Digital Decade: 20 Things That Forever Changed Childhood

#%*@#! The top 10 tech 'fails' of 2009

Here are some highlights:


Okay, technically, Google started in the '90s. But mass use didn't begin until the 2000s. Now, just about every child knows how to find just about anything by Googling. It's opened the world to our children -- sometimes bringing in too much, too soon -- and parents found out it was up to them to teach their kids to surf safely and responsibly.


Homework will never be the same. But kids have to learn that not everything they read is true.


These pocket pals brought about texting, sexting, and the horrendously dangerous texting while driving. Hand your teens iPhones? They'll make videos and upload them to YouTube and their Facebook pages (though the No. 1 use for phones remains ... checking the time). Parents: Don't text your kids in class. (We know you do.)

There is a lot more in the articles, including links to reader comments and polls. Interesting stuff. Check it out.

Image sources:
Google
Wikipedia
Cell Phone

Comments

  1. Pat B.Friday, January 01, 2010 11:57:00 AM

    I loved those lists! I think a plus for tech. and video gaming has been the Wii system. During the time I worked as an OT in a rehab hospital (contract work during law school), we regularly used the Wii games--particularly bowling and golf--for patients to work on balance, endurance,and motor skills while having fun doing it! Wii has gotten the kids off of the couch to play video games. Yes, while not as perfect as growing up in the 70's and playing street hockey for hours at a time, the Wii system is at least a step up from the sitting on the couch video games. What would we do without google?? And my cell phone?? As a mother of a child with asthma and life threatening food allergies, I thank God every day for my cell phone. There is no other way for a teacher or a nurse to reach me immediately without one :) Plus, it is a great way to text with your teen. I have NEVER texted my teenager while in school. He always turned the phone off and many times forgot to turn it back on after school so trying to reach him after school hours was a challenge sometimes :) We had a rule that if his phone was confiscated at school for not following rules---then he would lose the privilege of having a phone. Kids need to see that these things are privileges and not rights.

    Case closed. LOL.

    ReplyDelete
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