In the video Randy Pausch's Last Lecture he was very enthusiastic even as he was dying. While ill he continued lectures helping students and teachers learn more about technology,learning and teaching. He was very encouraging. He made a good point about the football coach practicing without the players touching a football. Randy knew not all players touched the football. He knew those players who did not touch the football needed skills that were just as important as those who touched the ball. Those skills were new for some not so new for others on the team.
Leadership was another skill Randy talked about. He used the example of Capt. Kirk on Star Trek and how he lead the spaceship and the crew very well. Capt. Kirk had a cool personality and used cool technology.
Randy talked about how books were becoming extinct because of all the ways available to download books on technology from many different websites. We currently have the iPhone, Ipad, Nook, Kindle, Laptops, Notebooks, and many other electronic devices to enable students to download books. It's amazing when you think of all the money saved by schools districts by not purchasing textbooks.
Lectures and student assignments are being posted on the internet. There are blended classes available where a student meets for a short period in a classroom and the remainder of the time is spent outside the classroom working independently. This is a great way to learn and can meet the needs of all of the students. It does require responsibility on the part of the student. Students who learn fast,are not held back and can work ahead at will. Some schools are talking about turning classroom labs and classrooms into virtual rooms. This is a great idea! Virtual classrooms would allow opportunity for sharing of ideas from people of different cultures and brainstorming would reach a new level with so many ideas discussed and the reasons for them.
Randy Pausch continued his quest to encourage use of technology in our schools so we ...the world would all be on the same page some day.
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