A Visit from John Finch

Last week our class was fortunate to have an in-person visit from John Finch. He had many great things to say and it took me a bit of time to digest and decide what I wanted to blog about. The one thing he said that really caught my attention was that about 90% of grade 11 students have a laptop and about 40% of grade 4 students have a cell phone. This has changed quite a bit from even my time in grade 11 and, especially, grade 4. When I was in high school probably every third student may have had a cell phone, and that was by grade 11. Times change and I can only imagine what schools and students will have in only a few decades time from now when I'm in the teaching seat.

The fact that these students have access to these items right in their own backpacks or pockets is great. I think it will mean a lot in the classroom because it will empower student’s creativity and understanding. Just as John pointed out, time doesn't need to be taken to go look in a book or boot up the computer to find specific facts. Students can just pull out their devices and instantly have that information. In the end it is up to us teachers to show students how to determine which information is good and how use it in a productive way.

The instant feedback really changes the way of teaching. Time can be focused on being creative and productive and not always searching for the right information. Students will always be engaged because they have the ability to document and create right in their own hands wherever they are learning. So it is also up to us teachers to show students how to document their learning and publish it in a productive way.