Technology- Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

Good morning and happy Friday!

It’s a BIG week for the Lady Blues volleyball team.  They defeated Vernon in four games for the first time since 2011 and they open district play tonight in Graham taking on Stephenville.  Good Luck Lady Blues!  Our Graham Steers, RSB3, Cheerleaders and Bella Blues are traveling to beautiful Big Spring to face the Big Spring Steers.  Pray for safe travels for all!  

Kids Doing Cool Stuff:  Kudos to a couple of our Woodland Elementary student in Mrs. Mayberry’s class for producing and publishing this math instructional video.  http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=KPR7STo

Thanks to information shared with me by Pioneer principal, Lisa Budarf, shortly after arriving in the district I had the opportunity to submit an application with the Friends of Public Texas Schools organization to participate in a professional development series titled Game Changers.  The goal of the PD series is to provide school superintendents along with campus principals the opportunity to learn from three organizations- Google, Southwest Airlines and Whataburger.  Graham ISD was one of 30 districts selected.  This past Tuesday and Wednesday Joe Gordy, Lisa Budarf and I had got to spend time at the Google headquarters in Austin.  In addition to the insight regarding their organizational culture and practice we returned with a few tangible items to be shared with the district.

In case you haven't heard, GISD is going Google.  As such, it will become increasing important to become experts with the Google tools.  Google provided us with vouchers for four teachers to complete the Google Educator Level 1 certification.  We will provide these vouchers to the first four staff members that complete the request form- http://bit.ly/1iyclbW.

Additionally, we were provided six of the Google Cardboard virtual reality devices.  I will be sharing these with the principals in a meeting today. I look forward to us learning and expanding the use of such tools.  

Technology- Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

We talk a lot about the need to prepare today’s student for a future world that is hard for us to imagine.  This is especially true when it comes to technology.  Just think, for our students that are in kindergarten today, the IOS or Android device they play with will without a doubt be the least advanced device they ever use.

Let’s consider a few of the technological changes in our lifetime.  I’ll use my date of birth, August 1964, as a beginning reference point.  

The 1964 - 1965 World’s Fair introduced:

The Color Television

The First Picture Phone

The Touch-Tone Telephone

The 8 Track Player

1969 (My Kindergarten Year)

1969 Honeywell released the H316 "Kitchen Computer", the first home computer, priced at US$10,600 in the Neiman Marcus catalog. They did not sell a single unit.

1972

1972 Pong Video Game

1972 Xerox Computer

1976

Apple I Computer- Price $666.00

(When asked about the price with the triple 6 price, Steve Jobs said he simply subtracted 1 favorite number)

1982

Computer lab in 1982

Time magazine named the computer as it’s Man of the Year.

1984

First Cell Phone- $3995.00

1986

First IBM Laptop Computer

12 Pounds, 256 K RAM

1980’s & 1990’s Data Storage

Remember These?

1990

1990 Portable Computer

2000

2002

First Tablet by HP

2010

First iPad

Today

IOS Devices

Android Devices

Google Self-Driving Car

It’s difficult to grasp the speed at which technology has been changing over the past ten years and there are no signs of the pacing slowing. How will this change how our children learn?  How will need to transform Art of Teaching to meet the the needs of our children’s children’s children?  I would love to hear your thoughts and look forward to the journey with you!

Hope you each have a blessed weekend!

Joke of the Day:

What do you call Children of the Corn’s Father? (Scroll down for the answer)

Answer: Popcorn

Bonus material in honor of Yogi Berra:

• When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
• You can observe a lot by just watching.
• It ain’t over till it’s over
• It’s like déjà vu all over again.
• No one goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded.
• Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.
• A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.
• Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.
• We made too many wrong mistakes.
• Congratulations. I knew the record would stand until it was broken.
• You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.
• You wouldn’t have won if we’d beaten you.
• I usually take a two-hour nap from one to four.
• Never answer an anonymous letter.
• Slump? I ain’t in no slump… I just ain’t hitting.
• How can you think and hit at the same time?
• The future ain’t what it used to be.
• We have deep depth.
• Pair up in threes.
• I never said most of the things I said.