Anderson #1

"Simply put, we can’t keep preparing students for a world that doesn’t exist. We can’t keep ignoring the formidable cognitive skills they’re developing on their own. And above all, we must stop disparaging digital prowess just because some of us over 40 don’t happen to possess it. An institutional grudge match with the young can sabotage an entire culture."


What I believe Anderson is trying to say here is that our world is ever evolving. There is basically no way we can keep up with the speed technology. Of course a school can buy ipads to replace textbooks but soon there will be a new ipad, with a new interface that will require new teaching. The students of today have the cognitive skills of using a computer. By “using a computer” I do not mean simply check ones e-mail or even doing homework assignments on. I mean working on a computer, editing video, pictures, making slide shows etc. The students of today have all of these abilities that are being ignored by teachers across the world because the teachers themselves do not have these cognitive skills that students do in this day and age. Just because teachers do not know that the possibilities are endless on a computer does not mean that we cannot teach it to our students. Pretty soon we will have to apply all of these new technologies that are introduced to us. Marketers will have to create graphs and charts on PowerPoint, photographers will have to use aperture and photo shop. Not only are we not preparing our students for their future in a career but we are not preparing them for their college future either. As a current college student I have have used a plethora programs that were not taught to me in grade school. If our students are not taught to use these helpful programs and operating systems there is not way that they are going to get to use the programs and operating systems to their full potential. Before we even get to teach the students we have to inform teachers about this rapidly expanding technology first.