#15 My 21st Century Students

Louis Armstrong sang, "I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow. You know their gonna learn a whole lot more than I'll never know."

That's how I feel with my students... sometimes. At the age of 14, they can do the following:

Upload videos to YouTube
Navigate the traps and tricks of the WWW
Make calls via VOIP
Utilize proxy servers to access their favorite banned sites
Access encrypted WiFi with minimal effort

Does that surprise you? It shouldn't; these students are the norm, not the exception. Which is why Irving ISD incorporates technology in the classroom better than any other district in Texas. (I honestly believe that.)

In my classroom - and I'm not the best example - students use Windows MovieMaker, Microsoft Office programs, and other software packages that would make my parents pull out their own hair.

The goal now is to use these tools - and a number of educational websites - to further their education and prepare them for the outside world.

I bumped into a former student at IHOP last week. She's a secretary at the police station. How did she land that posh desk job with no college education? Because she's proficient with Windows and can operate a computer all by herself! What a success story!