Again I am reading Tom Friedman...you know, "The World is Flat" author, NY Times columnist and forward thinker. In his editorial November 2nd he tells how India is coming up with load of technological innovations most of which are able to be accessed on the cheapest of cell phones. For instance, apparently a couple of brothers wrote a software program which turned into a virtual bank which can be accessed by the poor migrant workers who are absent from their families and need to send money back home. And Nepal now has made 3G network service available on the top of Mt. Everest!! Friedman thinks we need to get "hyped" about all this....that "they" (India, China, et al) have low-cost technological solutions to about every problem...that the cheapest cell phone becomes a "digital bank".
The link to education for us?? Well, we don't even allow students to have cell phones in schools much less use them as learning, productive, innovative tools!!! I know, I know, I was principal for a long time and we must have rules and procedures....I get that. BUT, we need to figure out how to use the technology and have procedures in place to protect students and maintain order in the schools. There is a way, we just are not accustomed to thinking outside the box and collaborating (maybe even with the students, God forbid), to come up with solutions to make us competitive and keep up in this era of globalization.
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