Monday, July 4, 2011

iPad2 Coming Soon, Now What?



Very soon the iPad2 will be in the hands of all ZPS educators and soon there after in the hands of students. Some will be asking the fundamental question, "Now What?" The interesting thing about the iPad is, I think you´ll continue to ask yourself that question even after a few years of toting it around in your pack. The world of apps is ever changing, and constantly improving for this little book of the future. One might ask themselves; where are we heading with this? The world of predictability is shrinking, becoming more transparent; information we have always trusted is in question, and being re-written constantly. Why? The collective voices of everyone in the world is now being heard, their stories are being told in real time and shared. Exciting isn´t it! Now, we are ready to give that power to the classroom. The iPad is a device that is totally customizable. In fact, email me when you have this experience. You´ll be cooking along thinking you´re doing pretty good with your device, and then you´ll meet someone else who has tons of cool apps, that can do things you didn´t even think of. You might feel a little lame, or behind. But, what you´ve just experienced is the power of collaboration. You´ve been exposed to new ideas, new ways of doing things, and you´ll be that person to someone else along the road as well. That power is about to go exponential in Zeeland Public Schools, and it´s going to be a wild ride! Should we expect things to change? They always have and always will. I have been reading Seth Godin´s book titled "Linchpin." He describes, "The New American Dream, though, the one that markets around the world are embracing as fast as they can, is this:

Be remarkable

Be generous

Create Art

Make judgement calls

Connect people and ideas

...and we have no choice but to reward you. (Godin, 2010)"

I think it´s impossible to quantify what is possible with these devices. This really is just the beginning. The question "Now What?" will be different for everyone, and that´s what I believe is so remarkable about this. You know what your interest´s are; go search for them, discover what this new world has for you. Get it, and share it with everyone you know. That´s what will make this a truly remarkable transformation. If you´re waiting for a manual; for predetermined steps of action then you could be missing the whole point. Sure some guidance will be provided, but in the end it will be up to you to navigate your path and share your success.

www.SethGodin.com

Happy Fourth of July. Let freedom ring!