"Change" is happening - whether you like it or not

"Change" is happening - whether you like it or not

Despite what the candidates think is change, they are not ready for the real changes coming.

Yes, the old ways still rule, but new ideas and methods are creeping, faster every day as the youngsters start to become adults and take the reigns.

The future holds a new and different world, for sure, for the youngsters. Not necessarily better, depending on what they actually do with the power.

We are handing over the power. We don't want to do it. We don't trust them. They are too young, we think. Their music is strange. They don't like black and white movies. They don't read books so much or at least the ones that are more difficult to read.

MySpace is strange. They don't even use the Internet like we do. These days the youngsters communicate through MySpace and Facebook. They pretty much ignore our old, calcified ways of communication if not action.

They don't even use email much any more.

Texting is HUGE. It may be the most influential innovation so far in the 21st Century. Remember that. They like to text message, A LOT. They are only buying phone plans that have unlimited texting options.

cannot figure that one out except that it makes long messages a thing of the past. I just cannot see the youngsters (all up to 25 years old or so) ever writing a long hand-written letter unless electricity collapses. I think maybe YOU have abandoned that tradition as well? I know I have.

So, read this post below and read between the lines. It is important to know where this world is heading, assuming we get out of the Old School uniforms and embrace the change. We must, you know, just for peace of mind. If we do not, the world will go on without us, of course, as it always has for eons.

Change will happen. Constitutions and empires will crumble. What seems true today loses its veracity in the future.

Here is the email I received from Chris Brogan, a very smart blogger: Note at the bottom of his message how he asks you to pass this info along, just asking for credit. He wants to make his living on the Internet with the power of blogging. I don't see Chris pushing products yet. Maybe he won't have to.

Workflow- Social Media School Teacher

Posted: 29 Aug 2008 05:18 AM PDT

Dharmesh wakes up a little late. After a quick shower, he skips checking email, but goes right to his RSS reader to see updates of where the students worked within the social network. Luckily, Ning (and lots of services) send new activities out via RSS, so they're easy to track.

It looks like Margarite has added more YouTube videos to the video section, and Franklin has written a blog post about the town's historic water cooler. Jeremy has already commented that Franklin forgot to cite a source, saving Dharmesh the effort. He eats a breakfast bar, and hops in his car for the commute to work.

On his iPod, Dharmesh listens to last week's book reports read out by the students. The quality of their work has improved a great deal since switching to the audio requirement. The second report, by Kelly, is a little loud and the audio clips a bit. Dharmesh makes a mental note to show Kelly how to level the audio in Audacity.

At school, the first period media students are all frustrated. They've built a media room in FriendFeed, but haven't figured out what they're going to use to present their collected information. Dharmesh lets their discuss the benefits of a blog versus just adding a group to Ning. He asks if they've tried Scrapblog yet, which makes simple pages in a primarily drag-and-drop interface. They agree to check that out.

Period four is right before lunch. Dharmesh has special permission to mix the two time frames, so he takes his class out on a walk, asking them to snap pictures with their cell phones' cameras. Only one student doesn't have a smartphone, and Dharmesh gives him a Flip camera, instructing him to shoot some video of the student's collecting their photos. Now there'll be a documentary to go along with the photo walk project.

There's only one fast computer in the class room. The others are horribly out of date. But Mister McBrian has done a great job of keeping them updated, and their browsers work well enough to be mostly useful. Because the school has opted to use only web apps instead of buying software for each computer, they were able to use some money to improve memory on the machines. It's not ideal, but classrooms are rarely state of the art for long.

Before the end of the day, Dharmesh has recorded a quick video on the fast computer, giving the next week's assignments audibly. He's already sent the assignments as a forum update to their Ning group, so the class doesn't have to write anything down to remember. It's already in their RSS feed.

On the commute home, Dharmesh listens to more podcast book reports and thinks about what he can do to raise money to get just a few more good computers into the class room. Before these kids get to fourth grade, he figures, they should know that not all computers take two minutes to load a page. Maybe a fundraiser, he think, as he drives home to meet up with his family for dinner.

What do you think? Make sense? Was it surprising that I have this as a 3rd grade classroom? It's not inaccurate. My daughter is entering first grade and she knows how to navigate a browser, iTunes, and various websites.

These posts are made for sharing. Feel free to repost all or portions of this (as long as it's not for profit). If you do post it, please make sure you kindly link back to [chrisbrogan.com] and give me credit. Thanks!