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Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Here's a Surprise, I am Behind The Tech Curve

Image: Microsoft.com
There used to be a picture of me in the dictionary under early adopter. I stood in line for game console launches, game launches, device launches, etc. I had Model 1 of lots of products.

My wife, being a Marketer, was amazed when she discovered this. She was both surprised that Early Adopters were real and she was married to one. I never told her I played D&D until after we were married. ;-)

So, here I am, with an 8 yr old in grade 3 and we have been informed that the school is now allowing (and encouraging) BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) for grade 3 at our school. The personal computers can be used for computer time and for in class research if the teacher allows it. Our teacher is on board and so my wife and I are now left releasing we are one of the late adopters with electronics and our kids.

Part of this is our desire to reduce screen time for our kids. Part is our desire for them to be drawn to outdoor pursuits and finding fun without the need for a terminal.

But now I must admit that culture is moving on and technology is now a requirement for an 8 year old in class.

Frankly I am not surprised and also amazed at the same time that I will be sending my son to school tomorrow with a Surface RT so he can research in class. It's cool and younger me loves the idea. 

The old man in me says, "When we were kids we hauled a Dictionary and a Thesaurus in our backpacks. And no a Thesaurus is not a Dinosaur! Damn young whipper-snappers."

Oh well, technology marches on.
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownSeptember 24, 2014 at 12:17 PM

    My kids are in grade 7 and 10.. They don't have any devices (other than their phones at school).

    Brooklyn's class will be given Chrome Books after Xmas for a course. That will be the first laptop she has.

    I don't think its an "old man" symptom, I honestly don't think they need laptops at school, especially elementary school. Kids only have maybe 5 hours of teaching a day, so that time shouldn't be taken up with research. That can be done at home and trust me, I have plenty of devices there they can use there. ;)

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  2. UnknownSeptember 24, 2014 at 10:50 PM

    Well, there is no shortage of devices here either. The need for devices in grade 3 was a surprise but kinda cool. H got to do 15 mins of research today on Salmon since he and another kid were debating some particular of Salmon. So H was given time to research the question and present his findings.

    Very cool teacher I say.

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