At some point, we got to stop with the labels. I've had enough of it. But if you all must know, the label that best describes me is Gen X. And I will live up to that label and defend it as the best generation, the latch-key generation. We grew up in an analog world but we heralded the digital generation. If you think of music, Gen X fused the acoustic world of music with the new and upcoming (of that time) synthesizer sound. The Synth-Pop and House music genre was born. We took the soulful classics of the sixties and seventies and created something that the world never knew, "the sample", and implemented that in a new genre of music called Hip-Hop.
At one point in time, I thought I was a pioneer, a swashbuckler, an astronaut of using anything digital. It was second nature to me. I could say of myself that I had it down on lock. So was I a digital native, resident, immigrant, or visitor? Man! Those labels didn't apply. I was the President, I was the CEO, I had it down. I knew it all. And as a teacher, I was the go to guy. I could fix it. I could understand it. I could use it. I could teach it. Now? I don't know. It feels like I went from knowing everything to knowing nothing at all. I went from a place of knowing what I need to know about using and being in the digital world to being like the "Blockbuster" video rental store. I couldn't keep up. So now I feel like I'm an illegal immigrant trying desperately not to be deported.
I love the digital world... and Iike the music of the 80's I feel like I'm fading out only to be called up when a sample is needed.
As a teacher and as someone who is very prideful of the past knowledge that I once had, I hold on to the adage, "Fake it until you make it." I don't know the very newest thing anymore like I once used to. Everything is changing so fast that it's almost impossible to keep up with all the new developments. I'm trying to teach my students and I'm finding that the way I used to teach doesn't work like it used to. There are so many tools, so many new apps, so many websites, so many of this and that, how do I keep my students engaged in the scientific method, in the processes and procedures to solve for the unknown? I'm using Chromebooks, I'm using my Activboard, I'm using my student response devices, but guess what? It's old technology now. I'm faking it but I think I'm making it work.
There's another adage that I live by as well, "don't let them see you sweat". Things are changing and I can't control it. All I can do is accept it. I may not know how to use and implement new technology but there is an incredible and numerous amount of resources around me to make that part easier. If I don't know how to do something then I best learn how to do it. If I'm not willing to do that then I shouldn't bother being a teacher. If I can't bother to learn something new then how can I impart to my students the willingness to learn. The onus is upon me as the teacher to teach. If you ask any handy-person, a craftsman/craftswoman, carpenter, electrician, etc, they will say, "the right tool for the job". Here's an example, a carpenter can use a string-based plumb bob. It's an effective tool and has been used for generations. If there's a more effective tool that can get the job done better and faster like the laser-level plumb bob, then wouldn't the carpenter use that? Similarly, as teachers, all of us can collectively agree that the job is changing so therefore the tools that we use must change accordingly.
But, and it's a big but (no pun intended), we've got to be willing to learn how to use whatever technology we have access to. We have to ask for help. We have to be willing to do the same problem-solving that we are asking of our students. The resources are there. The help is there. It's more easily accessible than it has ever been in the history of mankind. We may not be learning like we once used to but that doesn't mean we can't be relevant. If my music from the 80's can make a comeback (albeit in samples), then I can too. And like one of my favourite hip-hop artists once said, "don't call it a comeback, I've been here for years...".
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