Shift to the Future

Reality.  It is something we all encounter, every day.  “ In philosophy , reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined ” ( Wikipedia Apr. 28, 2012).  I wonder what our definition of reality will be in the future.  I just read an article “the Future of Food” ( The Futurist May-June 2012 , p.24-28) that talks about the efforts to genetically engineer / modify organisms.  There are scientists experimenting with creating transgenic crops (eg, a potato with a chicken gene), referred to as Frankenfood , interestingly.  They are creating rice with vitamin enhancements, hardy corn crops to grow under harsh conditions, etc.  Some geneticists claim that one day we will select flavors, textures, and colors for our tomatoes with the a few clicks of a mouse.  In the future will our food be real, as we know it? Another article in the same issue of The Futurist, “Unlimiting Energy’s Growth” (p.29-...

Sharing with others what we’ve learned is rewarding.  Others are able to benefit from what we’ve discovered and we feel good about helping others with their learning.  The saying “it is better to give than to receive” really is true isn’t it.  I think the “movement” to document student learning provides a powerful way to share and reflect on learning.  In my work in my District I have the privilege of visiting classrooms and documenting and sharing the learning teachers and their students are experiencing.  Visiting classrooms regularly is one of my personal goals .  One such recent visit was to a Kindergarten class to talk with the teacher and one of her students.  The teacher had documented a young learner who became a “Mathematician at Work” one morning.  Jennifer Lawson Come along with me and enjoy Keira’s learning journey… Our District created a focus group this past school year.  About 20 K-3 and literacy support tea...

I remember the good old days when I used to have ample time to learn something new.  Back in the late 80’s I was working for the Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans Canada as a Systems Analyst in the data centre of a fishery research facility.  I remember being given a project to plan for and execute, wait for it… upgrading the Fortran programming language on the mainframe.  Wow, how exciting is that.  I took a couple of months to learn about, research, and plan for this change.  Learning and change back then was glacial compared to now.  I remember worrying about a lot of details I didn’t completely understand and made sure to learn everything possible before acting.  Things have certainly changed…  Those of us engaged in the digital world are having to adapt, learn, unlearn, relearn constantly.  Essentially, I now subscribe to the “ fearless learner ” philosophy. A few weeks ago I was asked by the professional development rep for one of our sec...

I received an email from a teacher friend yesterday referring to an article in the Vancouver Sun with the title “ Pope: Technology without God is dangerous ”.  In this article the Pope said: “technological progress, in the absence of awareness of God and moral values, posed a threat to the world” My friend asked “ what happens if we have technological progress WITH moral values, BUT in the absence of an awareness of God; how will the world fair then? ”  I think this is a great question.  With full disclosure that I am a believing Christian (not Catholic), I’ll try to answer this question as it fits my blogs purpose to write about about the future and technology.  I should be clear about my understanding of what morality is and where it comes from.  This Wikipedia article sums it up: “Morality (from the Latin moralitas ‘manner, character, proper behavior’) is the differentiation of intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good (o...

Thinking back to when I was a student I’m not so sure the learning was designed for me or for students in general.  From what I remember, we were all moved through content and skills in lock-step.  The teachers were on a mission to get us to the next grade by covering what was on their list.  Now this was back in the day when content didn’t change much and the skills that we needed were tried and true.  That model isn’t really fit for today or the future. An elementary school in our District has adopted an educational model called Universal Design for Learning or UDL.  Although UDL is not about technology, implementers have found that technology makes it possible to use the approach efficiently.  Our elementary school has embraced the use of special software, laptops, and SMART Boards to support this approach to teaching and learning.  I share some quotes with you that the principal shared with me for how the UDL approach makes a difference in the l...

I wonder how many of us wander through life somewhat aimlessly?  We finish high school and maybe go to university, trade school, travel for a while, get a job, do charity work, or even ‘do nothing’.  Eventually most people land in a career or a job that sustains them.  Many will marry, have kids, and ‘live life’.  Some people seem then, to go through life without any particular goals.  Some seem to wander along with a cloud over their heads.  You know, the people that when they are in your presence or enter a room, suck the air and energy out of the room.  I wonder if they just never got around to creating a personal vision?  On a personal note, I really enjoy the outdoors, and was pretty focused on downhill mountain biking (have switched for safety reasons to XC).  The picture shown here is of me a few years back living life to the fullest in the woods on my bike :-)  A quick a-side, I read this article by Michael Hyatt yesterday that ...

There is something seriously wrong with the way some things are designed.  My wife and I were away yesterday and I get a text from one of my kids saying “the fridge isn’t working”.  Sure enough when we get home later, it’s dead!  This is our second fridge in just over 10 years (our first was relatively expensive, the second inexpensive – didn’t seem to matter).  When I mention this to others most often people suggest that 5 years is pretty normal for a fridge.  I think fridges are designed to fail.  So, after I write this blog post we’re off hunting for a new fridge, oh joy…  I probably shouldn’t be writing this post right now in my less-than-happy-about-my-fridge state of mind. However, as you know this is not limited to fridges and not just to products that stop working.  Think about the consumer electronics business.  Cell phones, for example, seem to be designed to be disposed of within 3 years.  Actually, even 3 years is a long ti...