Something fun and something to think about...

I just learned about something fun and totally awesome. Try Kerpoof --- http://www.kerpoof.com/teach
It is fun and educational.
I've also been thinking some thoughts about technology and education and social networking in general.
Maybe I'm getting older, but I'm realizing that things are changing for my children and all our children at an alarming rate. (OK, I hear the collective "Duh!") Here is an awesome quote from Will Richardson:

Youth using new media often learn from their peers, not teachers or adults, and notions of expertise and authority have been turned on their heads. Such learning differs fundamentally from traditional instruction and is often framed negatively by adults as a means of “peer pressure.” Yet adults can still have tremendous influence in setting “learning goals,” particularly on the interest-driven side, where adult hobbyists function as role models and more experienced peers.

All right, so what does it all mean? (Besides "Shift happens") Youth have been learning from peers forever, that is not new. What is new is the current method is so new that adults need to make an effort to catch up so we won't be left behind. I'm at the point where I don't want to left behind while I still have the mental wherewithal to enjoy the world as it is, not what I remember it being twenty years ago.More birilliance from Will Richardson:

• Kids respect other’s knowledge online because their knowledge and expertise is transparent in ways they haven’t been in the past. The study says that kids “geek out” by finding those who share their interests both inside and outside of their face to face groups. What a surprise.• They are more motivated to learn from their peers because they can connect around their shared passions, most of which the adults in the room don’t share.• They are self-directed because they can be. They can get what they need when they need it.• Their learning is “knowmadic”, as is most learning in the real world outside of school. We’re not linear, test assessed learners once we leave the system, are we?• We have to be more willing to support this type of learning rather than prevent it, but, as always, we have to understand it for ourselves as well.

We all know that the college education we received helped us get started in our occupations, but our real learning was on the job from peers, mentors and the mistakes we made. (By the way, I'd like to take this moment to apologize to the students I taught in my first year of teaching.)
Now here comes the paradigm shift: (Will Richardson)

New role for education? Youths’ participation in this networked world suggests new ways of thinking about the role of education. What would it mean to really exploit the potential of the learning opportunities available through online resources and networks? Rather than assuming that education is primarily about preparing for jobs and careers, what would it mean to think of it as a process guiding youths’ participation in public life more generally? Finally, what would it mean to enlist help in this endeavor from engaged and diverse publics that are broader than what we traditionally think of as educational and civic institutions?

These are great questions to ask and think about from an educator's perspective, and also a parent's perspective.