so i just moved into a new apartment. Yay!
but the experience got me thinking about how much the internet is key to our lives, particularly when my internet wouldn't work after the cable guy had set up my modem. i called the company and had a conversation with two customer service reps, who were morons, and actually told me they couldn't fix my problems and i needed a technician to come fix my problem.
turns out i figured it out, i called them back and basically asked if my account still had my old modem registered, and wasn't allowing me access because the modem i was using wasn't registered with my account. sure enough that was the problem.
but the whole experience got me thinking. we have been discussing personal learning networks, the future of business and eomplyment, how the internet has tied the world together economically. but it also has drastically altered our lives on a personal level as well. so many thing, changing my address, banking, setting up my internet, purchasing things for my apartment, renting a truck, setting up the TV internet, cable etc... all involved the internet. so when we concern ourselves with preparing our students for the future, it isn't just about their careers and potential as a successful worker, but also having the knowledge to survive in this world in a practical way.
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Ray,
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head in my case. As a teacher of students with disabilities, most of my time is spent preparing my students for the future. For many of them, survival will be a way of life and teaching them to use the internet efficiently will be a key tool.
I love your reflection on the reality of the future! It is not what is comfortable for us to teach, but what they will need to know. Life skills should be the cornerstone of every lesson!
ReplyDeleteIf you don't mind I would love to use this posting with my peers. I think this puts the issue of technology in the classroom into a different perspective.
Life skills are important and I like to encourage an attitude of life-long learning with my students. Our education doesn't stop when we graduate.More and more we are dependent on ourselves to figure things out on our own. Customer service is over. Thanks for the reminder.
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