It's a Flat, Flat World We Live In

"The global economic playing field is being leveled....American's are not ready"--quoted by a man he interviewed. I thought this was one of the most powerful things in his speech, of course this lead to the book completely so that is probably why. How many of us believe that because we are from America we will be "safe." Safe from competing jobs, safe from being stripped of the dominating world power, and safe from being too far behind in technology. Friedman's speech proved this wrong, people everyday around the world have the opportunity, advantage, and the means to pull ahead in the global market and (gasp) BEAT the US in something. How dare they?!

This is going to change our world, of course. I think that the "flattening" of the world will be a major event in history. What defined the Industrial Revolution? Inventions, technology, making things available to everyday people. This is what the Flat World is doing, we are giving more people the opportunity to have technology in their possession; which leads to more people having jobs in technology advancement which leads to more technology. I'm a social science major, I love processes like these, we are LEARNING from history people! There are updates from Apple all the time, just last week they announced the iPhone 4s....not the 5 everyone expected--was it a disappointment? Yes, it was for people who wanted the iPhone 5, but will millions of people still buy it? Of course, it's new and shiny--everyone wants to have the next big thing.

I love that Friedman referred to traveling East. As a future history teacher I think this is significant, people in my generation are less likely to have a negative view of the East but in our history the East has not excelled in things. I mean there are jokes about Russia being slow at everything right? Except for that darn space thing...we'll never be able to let that one down. This can't be the case anymore, they have the access to the same things we do--the playing field has been leveled. People we wouldn't expect are competing with the US and the Western countries.

As an educator it is important to remember this for my students. Not only will we be able to access things easier, so will the students. It is so easy to Google a topic and get to see the topic from the perspective of a student in that area. In my field experience I just taught a lesson the Islamic faith, I'm a Christian--I have very limited knowledge about the Islamic faith. It is important for my students to understand different cultures, I need to break down those barriers because they could be working with these types of culture in the future. Breaking down the barriers, flattening their world to make it easier for them to transition into the real world. They need to see us using the resources that are available to them. Don't waste the projector and Internet connection sitting in our classrooms, Skype with someone, get online and research a topic together, do the process with them!

I think that the effects of a flattened world are things we cannot even imagine. We are preparing our students for jobs that don't exist, how much pressure is that?! The students we are teaching today will be the next innovators in technology, and these kids are digital natives. They won't understand the impact that they are going to have on the world. I think of the Braid Paisley song, "Welcome to the Future" and how it is "no, big deal" to have these fancy things now, but really it is a big deal!

Disruptive Innovation Theory....Say What?

Reading about disruptive innovation theory in Disrupting Class, written by Clayton Christensen, Michael Horn, and Curtis Johnson, I couldn't help but be a little confused. I am not a math or science major, we memorize dates in the history department--those graphs were a little much for me:)

The authors define the disruptive innovation theory as a reason, "why organizations struggle with certain kinds of innovation and how organizations can predictably succeed in innovations." When I read this the first time it was kind of like explain the definition of "run" as: to run--they needed to give me more! I broke it down after reading it a few times. The first aspect describes the reasons why some companies thrive with innovations and why some fail, the theories behind those two sides. The second part basically theorizes how organizations can predict these innovations to succeed. I also watched a video where Clayton Christensen actually explains the theory, and it helped to hear him talk and look at that pesky graph.

Tying this into education seemed a little tricky to me, but the book did a wonderful job. As the America has evolved as a country, so has the education system in general. Interestingly enough, this reading sort of relates to a lot of the discussions that I have in my Schools and American Society course at UNI. I won't lie, I strongly dislike that class; but it has provided me with some insightful topics that we debate (friendly of course). One of the first topics was the purpose of education. I established (as a social studies teacher) that the purpose of American education was to produce little Americans for the job sector. The first three jobs that the authors describe touch on this. At first (and still to this day even if they don't want to admit it) schools served one purpose, to create law abiding, functional, and active citizens. The goal was for students to be educated enough to be citizens of the country, and potentially run for political offices.

When the next job came along in the early 1900's, creating an active citizen didn't go away instead schools were expected to do that and also prepare kids for jobs. Interestingly enough, we were competing with Germany in this race (close to the start of WWI). In the 1960's we were competing with the Soviet Union (Russia and the Cold War). These competitions sparked a new interest in different things. AKA disruptive innovation. In the 1960's math and science became such important subjects because the SU could not beat us again (they launched the first space machine before us). So basically, the demands of our country determined what needed to be done in school. We needed math and science to excel, so reading and writing took a back seat to the demand of the "market." Flash forward to the Bush years (the younger), and we get No Child Left Behind (also a popular debate in my Schools class). The demand for math and reading has become a high priority. In the article "Side effects of NCLB," schools are often making tough decisions on time spent in other classes to increase the time spent on math and science. This can be compared to Apple's take over of the computer world that the book described. Apple met the requirements that people put forth, therefore more people bought them. Administrators are making tough choices to please the national government, the choice is either loose funding or be proficient in math and reading--the schools made the choice to be "user-friendly." In this case, disruptive innovation isn't necessarily a good thing like in the case of Apple, what are some good ways disruption has helped public schools?

Gen Y

After reading Angela Maiers blog post about the new generation, it got me thinking about how much potential Generation Y has. I find it hard sometimes to think good things about young people. We see them getting into trouble often, and the papers and news focus too much on the negative aspects of what they are doing. WHY? Angela gives 12 great examples of what Generation Y is here to give us.
Children today have grown up in the digital world, they don't understand why WE took computer classes. Heck, I think it's strange that my mom's computer class consisted of how to program things and she thought it was the neatest thing in the world! To our students we will be ancient people who know nothing, BUT there is hope--by using the skills that they already possess we can aid their education and also be the cool teacher.
Look at the Flat Classroom Project, yes it was started by an adult; but students are the wheels that are turning. They are creative and active and excited about new opportunities. Generation Y is wanting to participate in things that no other generation has dreamed of. We need to give them these opportunities. This requires us to attend conferences, webinars, and to be proactive in our decisions to incorporate new technology in our classrooms.
These children are not the selfish teens that we seen on shows like Gossip Girl. They are wanting to help others, wanting to get active in their communities. A few weeks before school started my neighbors had a lemonade stand. My dad told them to do it in our yard (we live on prime real estate in the metropolis of Lytton--population 200). These kids were not having a lemonade stand for themselves, it was for a 1st grader that has cancer from Lytton. All it took was for one of them to take a picture on her Android and post it on Facebook (yes, Generation Y knows these things at 10 years old). They raised over $100 in an afternoon.
Instead of focusing on the bad in young children today, we need to see the good in them and bring out that good. As a future teacher, I can only hope that I inspire each student to do something amazing in their lives, and Generation Y has the desire and the means to do so. We need to utilize the new technologies out there, giving them every chance they can get to see something from outside their area. Iowa students in my generation might not have thought it was possible to be a scuba diving instructor. Today, we can Skype with one in California so that children can see all of the potential in this world. I think it would be beneficial to Skype with and partner with a stock exchanger on NSE for an economics class.
What are some other ideas on how to engage generation Y?


photo: flickr.com/dcmetroblogger