Skip to main content

Creating Traditions

Over the winter break, my wife and I got talking about traditions. At this time of year, there are many. Somehow or another, the conversation ended up on technology. (I don't know how... really!!)

We were talking about how traditions are a part of our core values. For us, a love of nature is a core value. We have planned a couple of family trips to take advantage of the nature that is accessible throughout our country. We talked about how many people, including us at times, feel like technology can be a threat to our core values. It might be in conflict with our work/life balance, our love of the outdoors, our perceptions of what good relationships are about. But then we began talking about how technology has helped us build on our core values.

As we planned our trip to Utah to go to the National Parks, we used the Internet to research the parks, find a flight, book a hotel, rent a car, and look at maps of the area. We might use a GPS system to help us get around while we are there. We might use a cell phone to help us stay in touch with family while we are away or to help us if we get lost. We will certainly use a camera and video camera to document the amazing trip we hope to experience. We will use our computer to share the pictures with others. My son and I will use an ipod to learn the bird calls of the Western birds we hope to see. My kids might use an ipod or computer to entertain themselves for parts of the long drives. Who knows, I might use my blog or Facebook or Twitter accounts to share updates with friends.

My point is that there are many uses of technology that will actually help BUILD on our traditions. Without some of these technologies, we might not be able to make the trip, or it might not be as enjoyable. In the end, the technology will HELP us enjoy nature even more.

What are your family's core values? How might technology help you build upon them?

Comments

  1. I just finished a tech project for my sister-in-law.

    Her extended family values music greatly; most family gatherings include multiple guitar players, portable keyboards and even the small children sing along. Recently, while moving her father to an assisted living facility, she discovered a long forgotten audio cassette tape of her father playing guitar with her brother Tim (who died in 1999).

    I was able to help create a CD from that tape, with a professional looking cover and song listing. Her father was able to name all 31 songs that were on it!

    She was so happy; 30 of her extended family members received that CD as part of their Christmas celebration. Technology helped to preserve family memories.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for sharing Monica! That is a beautiful story!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amazing, discovered your page on digg.Glad I finally tested it out. Not sure if its my Chrome browser,but sometimes when I visit your site, the fonts are really small? Anyway, love your webpage and will be back.See Ya

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for writing about this. There's a heap of solid tech info on the internet. You've got a lot of that info here on your site. I'm impressed - I try to keep a couple blogs pretty on-going, but it's a struggle sometimes. You've done a great job with this one. How do you do it?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How far out can we plan?

This has been coming up a lot lately in my conversations with teachers. Many of them want to know what is the plan for projectors, for SmartBoards, for computers on carts, etc... It is always a very tough conversation. Often, the answer is that the plan for the coming year is to complete putting projectors in classrooms. After that, there is no script for what to do. The reason? The minute you commit to a plan, you are stuck with it. Teachers expect it. If you need to change the plan, you upset a lot of people who have been patiently (?) waiting for their turn to get a particular piece of equipment. I don't blame them. I would feel the same way. The problem is that technology changes so quickly that to commit to doing something in two years is like playing the lottery. Every week I learn about some new technology that could potentially revolutionize the classroom. How can we commit to a piece of equipment then that might be obsolete by the time we purchase it. Instead, we need to a

The Wonderful World of Updates

As a SmartBoard district, we have many teachers using SmartBoards, Airliners, and, of course, Notebook software. So as a Notebook user, I am very excited about the new version 10 that has recently been released. It has many great new features which I will be sharing in later posts. However, as the primary trainer for users of Notebook software, this transition raises many questions about the value of updates. Many of our users are new to Smart Notebook software. I have trained about 100 people this year alone. Now I need to go back to them and tell them that this great tool I showed them is about to look quite different. To a third of them, this will be welcome news. They want the updates. They want the new features. They will pick it up quickly. To a second third, this will raise trepidation. Just when they are getting the hang of it, they go and change it. They will require a fair amount of support to bring them up to the same level of comfort with the new version. That leaves the re

Metamorphosis revisited

I posted before about metamorphosing in an evolving world. I want to revisit this idea. It has been bothering me that change seems to come so slow. There are many reasons for this, including leadership, state testing, resistance to change, resources, etc... But despite all of these factors, I truly believe that we can bring about more significant change. I'm not talking about technology, so much as I am talking about rethinking what we teach. While I see many teachers evolving (including myself), I think we are too painfully slow for the kinds of changes that need to take place. Photo by Morti Riuuallon http://www.flickr.com/photos/ultimorollo/2520525316/ The best way for us to metamorphose is to follow the example of the butterfly. The caterpillar starts by eating constantly. We, as teachers, need to consume information as if our future depended upon it. It does. We are becoming obsolete and our only chance of remaining relevant into the future is to understand it and adapt to i