Students and Technology

Being in the position I'm in now, youth pastor, I find myself drawn to and very intrigued by culture and how it shapes the youth of today. There is a very interesting video clip on YouTube, The Vision of Students Today. The ULR is youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o. I would encourage you to check it out. It is a stark reminder of the outlook most students have by the time they reach the end of high school. The clip is a short video summarizing some of the most important characteristics of students today--how they learn. what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kind of changes they will experience in their lifetime. It was created by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students from Kansas State University.

Maybe you are reading this and thinking, I don't know where or what YouTube even is? Maybe you are technically challenged? I used to be very "tech" illiterate, but technology is a tool and students know how to use it very well.

I think about education a lot and I'm always looking for a better ways to reach students and be more affective in conveying a positive message that is both meaningful and relevant. As a teacher and a parent of students who are growing up in this culture, I would encourage you to take an active role in this process and get to know them. This includes their technology. Students today think technology has the ability to solve the many problems that they are faced with today.

The culture and technology of today is being embraced by those who are believers as well as those who aren't. Again, it is a tool that I can use as well as anyone else. I feel strongly that we have to listen and engage students in a continuing conversation that meets them where they are. We are parenting from what we know and how we were raised, but that's not enough. An affective teacher must always be a learner. I'm confronted by this daily and know it to be true. There is something profound about a teacher knowing a students name and it's also meaningful for a parent know their student and what is influencing them.

I will leave you with this quote. "The inventor of the system deserves to be ranked among the best contributors of learning and science, if not the greatest benefactors of mankind" -Josiah F. Bumstead, 1841. He was speaking on the benefits of the chalkboard. Technology?

Psalm 118:17 Animo et Fide