Is it Google-Able?

While planning your next lesson, ask yourself these two questions:

Is what I am teaching Google-Able?

Am I teaching this the same way I was taught?

Why are these questions important?

The world has changed and schools must follow. The concept of schools as we know them, has only been around for a little over 100 years. The original idea came from the fact that information was contained in books. A large amount of information meant a large number of books, so we built libraries and, in turn, schools formed around these libraries. Go to any college campus and the most significant building will most likely be the original library. School was not so much about creating new information as it was learning how to find and interpret information.

Well, that has all changed. Finding information is now the easiest thing in the world. Just Google it. This brings us to our first question: "Is what I am teaching Google-Able?" Are you simply teaching facts? Are your children expected to simply remember parts of the story? Are they memorizing the state capitals? Well, this can all be Googled - all day, any day, even on test days. What we need to be doing as teachers of 21st century students is teaching our students to work together, solve problems, create, recognize patterns, and share their findings. So, yes, present the facts, or better yet, have the students find them, but move past this. For example, have your students used Google Earth to discover similar geographical features between the state capitals? Or how about this? Students can write blog posts about a particular story and ask another class to write comments on their blogs, and then have your students go back and alter their original posts in response to the comments.

Here is a simple way to remember these ideas: Learn it, Create it, Share it.

"Am I teaching this the same way I was taught?" Are you? Do your students have the same access to resources that you had? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Almost every student in this school has more computing power in their digital watches than the Apollo space craft. Now imagine how much power is on their phones? Or Ipads? Or Laptops? Or Smart TVs? Our students have access to an ocean of information, and we need to teach our students how to not only navigate this ocean, but ADD to it. It is not far off that college admissions counselors are simply going to Google each applicant. They will be looking to see what they accomplished in high school. Did they publish any work? Do they have a website? Do they regularly contribute to any blogs or forums? If we continue to have our students learn by rote memorization, or copying notes off the board, how will that help them in a future that we can not even begin to predict, but is fast approaching.

Once again, DON"T FREAK OUT! Technology is your friend.

- Bill