Caught a Remarkable Moment Today

When you think that you aren't having an impact... all it takes is a few 7 year olds to bring you back!! So Year 1 ventured off on an excursion to how things used to be in the Past... Seeing that they are only 6&7 I was worried that anything before 2001 would seem a long time ago to them :) Remarkable moment 1.... In the replica olden days school building the guide asked the students what they thought this classroom would need form their classroom to make it better. I was thinking... Yeah, yeah they will say computers, IWB, iPads etc... And yes they did. This was not the remarkable moment. What followed was... After each child said a piece of technology they followed it with 'because it will' or 'to help' or 'to show'.... One of them went on to explain to the older gentleman... 'You really need to have computers, because then you can have a website and once you have a website then you can blog about what you are learning to show mum and dad. That's what we do and it really cool'. Another stated that you must have a camera so you can capture your learning and show people. Remarkable moment!! They... At 6 and 7 they can tell you what and how they use the technology in the classroom to help them and inform others. For me the biggest shift over the past years is from the technology to the pedagogy.... And even more than that it is about how ANY tool can build capacity, inspire and encourage students in their learning. Moving beyond the flashy tool and whats the next big thing but rather building creative problem solving THINKERS who can rationalize their learning and choices. Thoughts??? Xoxo A