After reading to my boys and putting them to bed, I was struck by the thought that they will be graduating in 2020 and 2022. Now, I remember a podcast that was extrapolating what education might look like for these students and, while I don’t recall the specifics, I remember that it dealt with discussing things in a world-wide forum and there being teachers from all nations working with students on various topics. Now, this is all possible and as an educator, I’m intrigued about the possibilities of what we can do. However, I am more excited with the fact that my oldest will be graduating in three years and, if technology continues to progress and we, in education, actually allow ourselves the permission to pass the search for the holy grail of knowledge to students, then we will have the opportunity to move students from passive receptors to active participants in a rather short period of time. This will require a shift in educational pedagogy and an embracement of the tools available to do this job successfully but it will allow us to focus on the power of sharing knowledge, of expanding one’s knowledge base and of being critical of what knowledge you take hold and it’s source. It will become Life Long Learning.
The change begins
I am keenly interested in the progress that Trev makes as the school begins to reconeptualize what learning looks like. To think that this is an administrator who has just begun to envision how these tools might change the landscape of education is awesome as here is opportunity to provide the resources and encourage the change to begin. As an administrator, I see that this will be crucial to what happens in the next few years. It’s not that I don’t think that things aren’t progressing but without greater exposure and presence at the administrative level, change doesn’t really progress. There is some outstanding work being done by educators and it continues to grow. However, many of these people doing this work and promoting the use of these tools are technology consultants or technology teachers who, as a group, make up a rather small sub-group of educators. This is why I believe it is critical to have a voice at the administrative level. Without a shift in how this technology is viewed and how teaching needs to engage learners in a different way, I don’t see much happening until someone breaks onto the national education scene to promote this type of change. I don’t see that happening too soon 
Setting the stage – As the break approaches, I know that I will be spending a great deal of time trying to “upgrade” my skills with the tools that are now available, seeing how I can incorporate them into what I do in the classroom. As an adminstrator, I am keenly aware that my leadership in this area will be critical. Unlike other places, we do not have a technology consultant who can bring these to the teachers. Therefore, it will be a mixture of my use of the tools combined with the work of the other brave souls in the school and the words of encouragement we receive and the incites we find from those who are also doing this work that will move us along. Time will be one thing that I will have to find for those willing to explore these technologies. However, I am encouraged by the fact that there are so many educators who are beginning to see the potential that exists and, with some persistance by administrators within their own groups, we can bring this shift about well before 2020.
btw, my boys love knight stories and King Arthur stories are their favourite. However, we must change the names to match those from their Camelot. No sense fighting it 
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