Mr. Winkle Wakes is a simple yet successful video that illustrates how technology needs to be a part of classrooms today. Mr. Winkle wakes up after a long, 100 year sleep. He finds himself in a world completely foreign. He doesn't understand the buildings and computers. He finds himself filling ill so he goes to a hospital. There, he is perplexed and again afraid by the technology he sees being used. He must leave. He stumbles upon a school. Things are more familiar here; the kids are sitting at their desks, taking notes as the teacher rambles on about 'the important things in life'. There is no invasion from that crazy world he had visited before...Mr. Winkle is very comfortable here and if he's comfortable then something is not right.
This movie does an excellent job at supporting technology. I am not the biggest fan of technology, definitely behind the times, but when I watched this video it helped me understand why technology is important in the classroom. Why wouldn't it be? Look at the gadgets kids carry around these days, iPods, Blackberries, and others I know I'm not aware of! Being logged on is a way of life, look at Facebook and MySpace. They eat, breathe and sleep technology. My family and I went camping Thursday. I just knew the campground would undoubtedly have Wi-Fi because it was only thirty minutes from the 'Boro-not so much, no signal at all. At 3 a.m. last night, as I was listening to the raccoon ravage our site for the third time, the sun couldn't rise fast enough. I couldn't wait to get back to civilization and get back to the internet to continue this blogging adventure! I decided I have been like Mr. Winkle for way too long and I have to stop fighting the future.
It is quite apparent that kids today are different than 20 years ago. They need to be inspired a little more. They relate differently and aren't going to succeed with the same old classroom. And that's ok! We as a community need to come together and realize it is time for change. The world is evolving yet the classroom is staying the same. Technology has to be part of the daily curriculum. Kids today are far from being like Mr. Winkle so they need to be appropriately taught.
I am chuckling as I read your post about poor Mr. Winkle. Isn’t it amazing how detached we are when we are in an area that has no service or where we just aren’t allowed to use our technology? I guess that is how students feel when they are not allowed to use the technology they are used to or when it is extremely limited as it is in most schools. If only we could get educators to watch this video maybe more of them would realize how important it is to have technology as part of the curriculum. If you are like me, this class has helped me get even more comfortable with technology. Wouldn’t it be great if more of our classes in college got us even more familiar with the technology available to teachers? I have never considered myself severely behind the times with technology until I started to realize how much more is out there that students know about and I didn’t. We don’t want to end up like Mr. Winkle.
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