IP Blog

3. “Nobody Cares if You Walked Up Hill Both Ways Barefoot in the Snow and Could Diagram a Sentence.”
There are older people now who still live in the past.  They tell stories about having to get all their information from books, a long, tedious process.  They complain about how easy it is for children and teens now to find everything we need just by typing it in on the internet.  But really, what we are learning now in school is different from what they used to learn.  There is less date- memorizing involved in what we learn today, and more thinking involved.  We have to connect things, not regurgitate them.  So the internet may not help us all the time, which is something older people sometimes don’t understand. 
Every once in a blue moon, when I have to ask my dad for a ride to school, he starts telling me this one story about when he was my age.  He had to walk twenty minutes to the bus stop every day because cars were less manageable and less reliable back in the day.  His parents weren’t about to drive him to school when they he could just as easily walk, save their gas money, and save their time.  But that’s the past.  Not too far in the past, but it’s still not the way we live today.  He used to have to walk, used to never get rides.  That’s not the way I’m living, and even though he understands, he still can’t resist telling stories about his past that make me look lazy and make me look like I rely on technology and wouldn’t be able to live without it.  Now it’s different.  Cars, computers, cell phones… they’re more efficient now, and faster.  They get things done differently than older models.  Yeah, it’s making the future generation look a little lazy, and we do sort of rely on technology, but it’s saving lives and making things easier at the same time.  And that is what I am used to.  That’s the direction the world is headed in at this present time, and eventually, technology will be the world.  So it’s important to get up to speed with new technology and quit complaining about how it “used to be.”

5. “My Memory Is Only As Big As My Heart.  Otherwise, I’ll Stick with Google.”
The way the world is developing now, I hardly need to memorize everything.  Sure, for school tests I can’t just whip out my laptop and Google the information.  But why not?  What is knowing the date that Germany unified going to do me?  Most likely, nothing.  And if and when I do need that information, I’m willing to bet that I get a more accurate, faster answer from looking it up on the internet.  Search engines are like a library.  To me and my generation, they are what a library is to the older generations- just bigger, faster, and broader.  They have everything a library has and more.  While right now some of the population is stuck on the old ways, and some of it is willing to learn about the new technology, I think that soon it will all be about technology.  So get used to it.  Why should I pass up a perfectly good resource to do the repetitive, boring work for me if it’s there and it’s reliable?  I shouldn’t have to memorize simple things that the computer can tell me.  Learning now should be about background.  It should be about stories about that date that will stick in my head, so I can make connections and understand the history behind it.  Touch my heart; make me remember how it felt to be Marie Antoinette when the mob was running after her.  Maybe then I’ll remember the date that Louis- the- whatever ended his reign on France. 

6. “Look it Up or Die.”
In school, I mostly feel like I spend my day writing mindless facts onto a piece of lined paper in my notebook.  Am I learning?  To me, it’s more like memorizing, spitting it back out, and forgetting everything once that chapter is over.  Boring.  Sometimes that’s hard enough, but I want to be challenged to make connections and think about the material rather than keep repeating the same old information, over and over again.  It’s pointless to learn something if I am just going to forget it all in two weeks.  Plus, what good is it going to do me in the future, when I have a job?  Some things I will have to know, and that’s understandable.  But if I want to be an English teacher, why am I learning the Fibonacci Sequence?  Making connections and thinking are much more exciting and challenging, and are based on what I know and can figure out.  Anyone who tries can do well in school when it’s just about memorizing a few dates here, a few names there, and the types of bone fractures along the way.  I’ll always have Google for that information, and I don’t want to waste my time learning what I could just as easily look up online.  There’s a difference between what I choose to remember, and what I choose to remember to look up on the internet.  Make me remember.  Challenge my brain.  I want to think, not memorize.

Technology is rapidly advancing second by second as we speak. We are extremely advanced as a society, but one can take notice that learning in schools does not seem to portrait the technology available to the students to learn with. Students like me are still using the old fashion pencil and paper to take notes and study with when this method was invented ever since language was a part of human life. The most profound problem that presents itself with this situation is that after students graduate from college they are bombarded with computers, PDA’s, laptops, and every kind of technology there is without a dexterous understanding of these types of devices. The reason is because they are not taught or introduced to it in the school environment as well as they should be. China utilizes technology in their schools, and they are producing a great deal more than America and are believed to be the powerhouse nation as of today. The tools are there, but they must be utilized in our schools to act as a catalyst to students’ learning abilities.

School 2.0 is a new brainstorming tool designed to help schools, districts and communities develop a common education vision for the future and to explore how that vision can be supported by technology. School 2.0 is purposely a sketch and a work in progress. It is designed to facilitate community discussions and preparations for short and long term educational and management goals. This project allows you to order your own School 2.0 map to allow students or anyone to brainstorm their ideas for a more advanced school. I believe this idea is ingenious because of the capabilities it can generate. Many students, including myself, enjoy learning, but with the ability for a student to engage in positive feedback and input can bolster a class rather quickly. Think about it. A student has the ability to contribute ideas a teacher cannot think of all alone. Because students usually know a decent amount about technology because of home computers and parents, they can derive unique and successful ideas about how to learn in a classroom environment. It could be reviewed by the school board and community, and eventually could be used all around the school with great results.

Learning Technology is a great website that provides examples of the infinite uses of technology in the classroom. If a student comes out of a high school with a high tech education, colleges, jobs, and other opportunities are more abundant in choice. Colleges will love that you have the ability to maneuver with technology. I would enjoy an opportunity like that greatly. Also, employers would be fighting over you if you had a great experience in technology, and with that higher stature and monetary benefits are profuse. So many opportunities present themselves with the competence of technology. That is why I strongly believe it is so important to stress technology at an early age where it can blossom into something extraordinary.  The School 2.0 map shows a consummate plan of what a highly technical school would look like.

Finally, what would my School 2.0 look like? A highly technical school with tremendous yields. Every classroom would be equipped with a wireless network, a chalkboard sized message board, digital clocks, printers, fax machines, recliners, and a vending machine. Each student would have a laptop, PDA, and cell phone all with Wi-Fi and network access. The teacher would be able to sit at their computer and email all the students with the material to be taught. Students could read over it on their laptops, and the teacher could then expand on the material with the student’s having the ability to type notes right on to the word document the teacher sent them. The message boards could provide a quick way for news around the school to be sent. Instead of a voice over the intercom where children cannot hear, the news pops up on the message board and everyone can read it anytime they want. Vending machines provide children with food to be comfortable and also the recliners. With comfort and the ability to learn anything with the click of a button students could progress in an instant. Society would emerge with great heights. At first looking at blogging, I thought it was a joke, but now that I have done one and wrote about something I now better understand, I can envision a society with this technology with the sky as the limit.

The bottom line, School should be as highly advanced as it possibly can be. Some may think it is not realistic, but it is because it already has been seen. The more technical your school is the better yield there will be.

The Future of Learning Manifesto is awesome. It’s pretty much voicing my opinion as a student.

My favorite being point number three, 3.Nobody Cares if you Walked Up Hill Both Ways Barefoot in the Snow and Could Diagram a Sentence, it exemplifies exactly how I feel when teachers find it beneficial to tell us how great they were back when. And to tell us how easy we have it now. Well if it’s so easy tell us how to get through it, and not how you did it a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Preaching your past only helps me catch up on my daydreaming and doodling.

A teacher’s attitude should be, “How can I help you be all you want to be and more.”

Not what you can be because in this world you can be anything, what you want to be is what counts.

The student’s futures are all teachers should be concerned with, not reminiscing.

5. My Memory is Only As Big As My Heart. Otherwise, I’ll Stick with Google. Another amazingly accurate feeling I have. Teachers need to get down from their soapbox from time to time and have a down-to-earth conversation with their students.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, that’s what you’ll get from a student. I know I’d sock it to ya.

And if it’s good it will be something I’ll remember and think about, so tie it into the lesson, I don’t care just quit it with the Ben Stein lectures and captivate me.

as for the facts, why do we need to memorize?
I have the memory of a goldfish.

If I have an infinite source of information at my fingertips what is the need for memorization? If I ever want to know the answer to that question, I’ll look it up. It does sound kind of dependant but, 1: we live in a modern world and basically depend on technology anyway and 2: seeing as the world is so immediately responsive a computer can recall just as quickly as a memory and usually you’re guaranteed correctness.

It Ain’t About the Technology. It’s About the Story. I cannot stand how people get so hooked on the equipment they end up loosing the true meaning of buying it in the first place. Just because you have the top-notch recorder does not mean you can make the best song.
Instead of trying to keep up with the technology try to keep up with the conversation. With the buzz that’s happening all around us, the growing world, help try to change it, benefit it. Not benefit your self-esteem by getting something brand new and showing it off. I mean if you know what you’re doing and you need the equipment by all means please, fix problems, do good to this world.

The main comment is don’t loose focus, remember what you goal is and please let it be advantageous to us.

The last point made in 10. Nobody Knows the Answer. Get Comfy with the Questions. , is a very important one. You learn best from asking your own questions and thinking about it yourself.

Again, memorization is irrelevant if everything you would ever need to answer is right there for you in the internet world.

My favorite part of this section is the last two lines.

-Are you ready to help me?
-And can I trust you to help me get there?

It is expressing how I feel to a T,
I want to succeed, and I need your help

The Future of Learning
Matt Cialkowski

1. Somebody has to be the Underdog

It seems like nobody wants to have hardships and challenges.  Not every future-oriented scholar can come out on top.  I always see people who have to work hard at what they do and really put their nose to the grindstone to get ahead in life.  I also notice it is these people who I view as the most successful.  Instead of getting college, money, and fame handed to them, they earn it themselves. 

What a great role model – I wish I could be strong enough to rise through the ranks and be successful by my own definition.  I don’t want to be spoon-fed the world’s view of success, which is full of celebrity breakups and drama.  Boycott drama.

So teachers – teach me how to be the underdog – how to come in losing and come out on top, or come out losing and learn from it.  Only by challenging myself will I be successful.

2. Help Me to Care

I’m going to be honest with you.  At this point, it is hard to care about school.  The routine, the work, weary hum-drum of the day.  It gets to me after a while, and I become so bored, I stop caring. 

I know I should care, and I know I could care, but somewhere in that line of thought I get lost.  If I care enough to know I should care, why don’t I?  I’ll tell you why – I am not motivated just because you say I should be. I need excitement, and rewards.  I need to know that what I am doing is going to benefit me, or else it is not worth doing. 

After high school I need to get into a good college – why?, so I can have a high paying job – why?, so I can make lots of money – why?, because that’s how you define success.  I can’t be motivated for your definition, even if that’s what I want but don’t know it yet. 

Help me care about what I think is important, and what will make me a better person.  There are days where I am so tired of it all, where I just would be content enough to do nothing.  That isn’t what I want for my life, so help me care about my future, because you play a part in it.

3. School 2.0

With all of this technology in our hands, are we making it count when and where it matters most?  Think about that question as I think about how my school could be.  Instead of writing down notes in regular notebooks, wasting paper and pencils, I could be multi-tasking on a lap-top where I am reading the book as a PDF and taking notes directly onto my computer.  But wait, that would be too inconvenient right now because it is too expensive to provide computers and other technology.  I’m not suggesting we put satellites in space and communicate with each other via billion dollar space satellites - that is beyond ridiculous.  If computers are too much to ask for, can I at least have more classes in a lab setting?  It would be nice to use math computer programs or learn about the Revolution online for a change. 

But please, please don’t waste my time.  I need to be well-rounded and I learn fine in a classroom also.  Don’t sacrifice material and good teaching for using technology.  Instead of being helpful, that would be detrimental, since I would only be a technologically literate but unknowledgeable person.  I want both.

What Makes a Question Good?

Everyone has heard them, and everyone knows what I am talking about - the bad question.  It comes randomly and strikes fast, and it leaves everyone within earshot groaning.  What is worse is when you ask that question yourself.  I don’t want to resort to asking bad questions, I want to only ask questions that help me learn and make me a better student, let alone person.

I need to ask questions that pertain to life as I live it and life as other people live it.  By understanding a situation, I can excel when that situation arises.  I need to understand life.  I need to understand life so I can grab onto it and take a trip, and hold onto it and not be thrown off.  Asking questions is the seat belt.  It is what keeps me holding on, and gives me my edge.  If I can see the daylight, I can ride out the storm.  A question is good when it deals with life.

If you ask ten students what their ideal School 2.0 is you will most likely receive ten different responses.  In my world School 2.0, a school of the future, would be filled with a variety of resources and opportunities for students like myself.  This future school would enable students to achieve wonderful accomplishments and learn of things they never dreamed possible.  School 2.0 would be overflowing with technologies available to the students, but would also offer the more traditional resources to students who desired that instead.  School 2.0 would create opportunities for those who wouldn’t usually have them, and would enable those who simply desire their diploma as their accomplishment in life to be the best they can be.


Sharing the visions of School 2.0 further the world’s knowledge of what students desire and feel they need in a school, and although not all schools will be able to deliver and change automatically, this will give them the ideas to work to and specifics to give their students to help them.  I would like to see many things change in my school.  Our community, as many are now, seems to have a definite division between those who have money and those who are lacking excess money.  School seems to be where kids have the opportunity for a level playing field.  My ideal School 2.0 would help to give those who have and those who do not have all the ultimate opportunities and experiences. 


To create my ideal school I would be sure that:
- All children have access to a computer, the internet, and their own personal email address
- All children have note taking capabilities and a way to have their teacher’s lecture in print as well
- All children learn how to use the media of today’s society and can incorporate it into a variety of projects and assignments
- The “old” style of doing things is still preserved through traditional books, news papers, and all of the things we do in school now



The concept of all children being able to have access to a computer and the internet is not new.  However, I would also want all of them to be able to have email addresses because so much of the internet is now protected by usernames and passwords and email information that not having an email address would limit so much of the available information to the student.  Preferably, all students would also be able to receive a laptop or portable PC, as they have in the Microsoft-Designed School of the Future located in Philadelphia, as they enter the high school level as a minimum.  By that point in a student’s career they are required to do much more advanced processes and projects that generally require more information and much more note-taking is also required.  Having the computer for their individual use would allow them to become more efficient and well educated.  I would also propose that students have the option to buy their computer from the school district upon their completion of high school at a depreciated cost.  This would allow those whom otherwise may not have had the option of affording their own computer a chance to.  For those people that would now be able to meet the expense of owning a computer and otherwise wouldn’t have, it opens many doors for education and simply being able to meet the speed of our world’s fast paced environment.



I think it would be amazing and unbelievably better if I had the ability to “re-play” the lectures of my teachers.  One way to do this may simply be tape recorders being allowed in class rooms or as put forth in an article by Jenny Welp teachers could record their lectures and make them available through web casts.  A third solution that I would find very interesting and helpful would be to take the computers given to the high school students and install the programs and microphones that will transcribe what the teacher is saying.  These programs are currently being used by those who have trouble typing into their computers, and it allows them to simply speak what they wish to write and it is automatically entered into the computer.



Because of the heavy use of technology in many aspects of society, including the business world and daily life, it is essential that students be able to operate the technology and incorporate it into everything.  Our class is currently learning many new technologies through our English program which many students had never even considered as a possibility for them.  We’ve learned to blog, develop presentations, and web cast all in a matter of a few months.  Although some students had never even heard of these types of technologies at the beginning of the year, I witness them constantly being used now that they have been discovered.  This goes to show that once someone realizes they have the power to do something they will use it and perhaps even enjoy it.



Although technology is wonderful and quite helpful, some people are simply not comfortable with it.  For this reason and the reason that there are still so many great things not assessable through the computer and the internet it is quite important that we don’t leave out the more traditional forms of education.  Reading a brand new book sitting in the window sill may never be taken out of this world because you just don’t get the same feeling if you’re sitting there with a laptop an your lap reading an e-book.  There are also many great works that can simply never be replicated through technology.  Think of the first time you did a research paper, sure you probably used the computer and the internet, but you probably also looked in books and maybe even a few historical documents.  Now think of those historical documents, they were probably kept in a special room in the library and when you walked in it probably had a different smell and the papers felt different in your hands.  It’s those things that make it essential we don’t forget about traditional methods because those sensations can’t be replicated through technology, at least not yet.

1.“Playing Small Does Not Serve the World.” Your Brain is Your Brand-Don’t Let It Be “the” Brand.

You must find yourself and work with it.  Sure, everyone wants the name brands, like Nike, Holister, and Under Armour, but why? Who will remember the one wearing these clothes? Not me! Those who stand out and know who they are truly make an impact.

It’s easy “to go with the flow.” What good does this do? Who went with “the flow” and made a difference???
NOT..............  Albert Einstein
NOT.............. Martin Luther King, Jr.
NOT..............  The Wright Brothers
NOT..............  Dorothea Dix
NOT.............. Bill Gates

Why accept what is normal? Is normal really normal, or is it just a weak attempt to feel worthy? Use your brain to think, not to imitate. Those who think make the real difference. Question what you don’t understand because sometimes those “teaching” don’t really understand.  For example, do facts mean anything without understanding?

3. Nobody Cares if You walked up Hill Both Ways Barefoot in the Snow and Could Diagram a Sentence.

Why memorize when it is so easy to engage and get involved? While the past may be interesting it can’t be changed. My future can. It is evolving and constantly questioning where to go. I need help with my future, not a lesson from the past. My future impacts your future, can’t you see? Why teach us what you did, when we need to know what we can do?

4. Got Passion? If Not, I’ll Tell You What to Care About.

Everyone needs a passion. Only with a passion can a person improve the world. For example, we can thank the passionate people of the past for making a difference for us. The scientists and doctors who were passionate about healthcare made medical discoveries which allow us today to live longer and healthier lives. Also the passionate women (Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth) who fought endlessly for women’s rights in America allow all American women to live in a world where men and women are constantly striving towards total equality. It is our job to be passionate in both our beliefs and actions so that we can improve the future world. We need to learn and be introduced to all different aspects of the world; only then will we be able to find our true passion. We must be educated so that we can pick a passion because the world needs our input.

5. My Memory Is Only As Big As my Heart: Otherwise, I’ll Stick with Google.
I could memorize your facts, but I got Google for that.

Facts are lifeless. I am alive so keep learning alive. Take me everywhere: Greece, Italy, Germany; show me where the first Olympics were held and where the atomic bomb killed so many people. Let me see the Mayan ruins and feel the Egyptian pyramids. Let me feel what a natural hot spring feels like. Let me smell the tropical flowers. What good does it do to simply know a fact, when you can feel, taste, see, smell, and truly experience that fact? I may remember a fact for the test, but an experience can stay with me for a lifetime.

6. Look It Up or Die

I know how to look up a word and find a definition, but do I understand? What if I don’t understand the definition because the word being defined is part of the definition? What to do next? Where are the answers that I will understand? Tell me where to search. Keep me up to date. What good does it do to teach me one way to solve a problem when there are numerous methods that solve the same problem? Show me all the ways; just because you like one way doesn’t mean I will understand it.

9. It Ain’t About the Technology. It’s About the Story.

Sure, technology is constantly expanding, but who cares? You need to know the story. What good does technology do if you don’t understand the story? You have to live in the story to understand it.

So you think you are tech-savvy because you have a cell phone and computer? I don’t think so.  Only if you know the story can you truly use the technology. It is useless to have technology if you can’t connect to it and utilize it. To live in the story and stay up to date is the only way to keep technology alive. Technology can constantly grow, but I need to know the story to know what good it can do for me.

10. Nobody Knows the Answer. Get Comfy with the Question.

This world is changing and changing fast. Keep your hat secure, it might fly off. Ask me a question and I’ll give you my best answer, but I’m sure it isn’t “correct.” Yesterday I would have told you that you use a cell phone to communicate with people, but today I would tell you that you can listen to music on your cell phone and search on the internet. I am sure this answer is still inadequate and not correct. Keep asking the questions, because the answers never are the same. Don’t be content with an answer because ultimately you will lose in the long run. Keep your mind thinking!

Point 3:  “Nobody Cares if You Walked Uphill Both Ways Barefoot in the Snow and Could Diagram a Sentence.”
To the elderly people who blab and reminisce about their good, proper, well-rounded, appropriate past: don’t enforce “your/the old ways” on me- because it won’t help me [while it is interesting to hear those good stories].  It won’t help me prepare for my future.  So if that’s what you’re aimin’ for, don’t do it.  Instead, try to learn/understand “the ways and things of now” and work with me and teach me with that [and perhaps throw in some timeless lessons that you learned through your past experiences that would be useful to me and the preparing for my future].  ‘Cause that’s what I’m going to need; that’s what I’ll need to apply to my future (and to build my future).
Point 4: “Got Passion?  If not I’ll Tell You What to Care About.”
Students:  Don’t complain about all of your classes-accept it - ‘cause they’re all important. (But you can complain if you “have a dream you can articulate and are willing to put your life on the line for it.”) Otherwise, yeah, accept it.  And teachers: understand this (and/or accept it): you need to start me off- give me the side of the matchbox to start a spark; “give me the words, the tools, the examples.” Then, step back and watch/let me work, let the fire spread.  Let me do my thing [but remain a bystander with a “touch up” fire extinguisher to guide me if my fire gets out of control].  And once you see my interest and passion for the subject go from “lit match to forest fire,” stop spoon feeding me the necessary supplies and information and let me work on my own.  That way I can learn better by doing it and discovering it by myself [, and showing myself I can do it].
Point 5:  “My Memory is Only as Big as My Heart.  Otherwise I’ll Stick With Google.”
Teacher:  I’ll only remember what I’m really interested in and passionate about.  Sure, I could try and memorize and regurgitate facts, but I won’t be so passionate about doing it because I have Google…and other search engines and the internet for that.  And yeah, I could go to the good old-fashioned library to find the information you’re asking for or that I need, but why?  Why do that when I have easy access to a quicker and much bigger, seemingly endless place to search?  But, “I will remember anything you tell me”…as long as you do it in a truthful, interesting, story-like way to grab my heart and interest and make a passion.
Point 10:  “Nobody Knows the Answer.  Get Comfy with the Questions.  [All in all…]”
Teacher (whether it’s a school teacher, parent, grandparent, pastor, or guardian): Help me prepare for my future, but do it in the “now way” rather than the way you did it when you were growing up.  You know the stuff, the information, so don’t ask me.  Teach me.  And teach me to ask great questions (“like Socrates and the guys who actually code Google by asking questions nobody else dreamed of”).  My future isn’t going to need the memorizations that you want me to “learn” so badly, because it is going to need the ability to adapt.  It needs to adapt to the ever-changing environment and lifestyle, the ‘everything is moving so fast and changing all the time.’ And that is what my future is going to need/be.  Can you help me with that?  (Or do you need [me] to [help you] get there first?  And then help me?)

I can’t help but laugh out loud while reading “The Future of Learning” Manifesto.  Imagining my name on top of the article seems almost possible; as if these words I am reading are the thoughts from my own mind.  I can relate to this article.  It says what I have always thought about the future of learning.  This Manifesto, ten basic, right to the point, witty opinions written by Christian Long, says more than anything I have ever read; while amazing me more ways than one, and then reading McLeod’s longer version of the Manifesto, puts the icing on the cake.  By all means, this is not ‘award winning’ writing however it separates itself from all the others; it is uncensored.  I like uncensored writing.  It allows the writer to play outside the box, to show their reader how they really feel, and “The Future of Learning” Manifesto, is a prime example of that.
“Playing Small Does Not Serve the World”--- Your Brain is Your Brand says what everyone has told you since day one; play big or go home.  Nobody ever has told you, “Kid, minimal effort will get you somewhere.” Or “Boy, the last thing you want is to stand out and make a difference.” All I ever have heard in life is to make a difference, go above and beyond, make what you want to say count, and stand out over the rest.  You have to allow yourself to utilize what you do best; use your heart and brain to make the world work.  Your heart, as the Manifesto says, “…Will do so when nobody is watching.” Your heart will lead you to what is best, even though it may not seem right (at the time).  Your brain, however, has to put what your heart is telling you to action; “...the other is your brain; it needs attention.” Your brain will allow you stand out, to make a difference that may only provide you with endowment, or it may affect the people around you.  Whatever you choose to do, make sure that it is something that the world will not forget, something that can not be any bigger than what you have made it out to truly be. 
Did you know that is only takes 0.5 seconds to search Google’s database?  Or that 200 million searches are done on Google worldwide daily?  Google has all the ‘I need it now’, dying to know, right this minute answers that people are looking for.  By the time I walk into the library, wait for the librarian to show me where to go, and take the time to check out a book, I could already be sitting at a table highlighting what my good ol’ friend Google has pulled up for me.  Number five of the “The Future of Learning” Manifesto, My Memory Is Only As Big As My Heart. Otherwise, I’ll Stick with Google discusses how kids resort to using Google, or the internet, than to memorize the facts that so many teachers require.  Okay, so the internet isn’t the most trustworthy, reliable source out there, and yes, something on a shelf is probably the smartest route to go, but who really wants to memorize facts for a project that can be finished in an hour and will be forgotten faster than it took to wait for it to be graded?  The points the manifesto brings up on Google are true, however the most important objection it makes, is that if a teacher wants me to memorize, than tell me a story too.  I have no problem doing what is required.  I don’t think any hard working student minds; if the work will lead me to getting a good grade, then I will do what it takes to get it.  However, the Manifesto shows that standing up in front of a chalk board, lecturing about something that I will never relate to, is not the best route to getting me to memorize the facts and getting them straight (come to test time).  All I want is for a teacher to reach out to me, dig in real deep, and show me that the true meaning of what they are teaching is really in me.  If I can feel it, show emotion about it, and look right back into the eyes of my instructor, I can give them everything I’ve got, they have done it.  They have gotten me to give them the attention they need to get me to remember anything they tell me.  All I need is that opening up to show me that they once cared about memorizing the material, as much as they need me to memorize it now. 
“…I’ll remember anything you tell me.  Swear it.”
Nobody Cares if You Walked Up Hill Both Ways Barefoot in the Snow and Could Diagram a Sentence had me hooked.  The title made me laugh, it made me cry, and made me laugh again.  I can’t TELL YOU how many times my grandfather told me that he walked to school in the snow BACK and FORTH EVERDAY from school in the FREEZING COLD by HIMSELF.  Oh, he was a dramatic man, and he was also a smart man.  And as number three of the manifesto states, “...I get it.”
I understand that you did not have a cell phone, or did not know that one day there would be an internet.  I realize that you knew everything your teacher taught you, and that you paid attention everyday.  I believed you the first time when you told me that you could speak fluently in Latin and you could recite your multiplication tables up to twelve.  However, you can not turn me into a ‘you’.  If you are dead set on getting me to master ‘your past’, I’m going to need a nap and something to tame my ADD that I secretly get sometimes.  Or, you can try to help me prepare for my future, to try and get me to make sense of today’s world.  I can’t do it on my own; you and I both know that.  You can teach me about your past, I will listen, but I will not sit and learn how you want me to be.  Teach me how to make sense of the past in the future, how to utilize what has happened once, could certainly happen again.  Nothing is more frustrating than to hear those complain, who can not help to improve the future.  Help me make my future bright by forgetting about the walking in the snow how many miles, by helping me walk through life successfully. 

Christian Long created “The Future of Learning” Manifesto, and he asked us to change it and mash it up to however we see fit.

I decided to take the parts I felt strongly about and reshape them into something I could relate to.

so here goes…

Got Passion?  If Not, I’ll Tell You What To Care About.
In the long run, I will never need to know who won the 27th Presidential Election.

Not going to remember (or ever be concerned over) how to take the log of 237 million.

Nor will I ever actually need the atomic charge of a hydrogen ion.

But,
Maybe I’ll be inspired to become the next President of the United States, or maybe I’ll become such a mathematical genius that Einstein looks like Ronald McDonald in comparison.

Maybe I’ll be inspired to find the cure for aids, or develop a formula for World Peace.

Until you see this inspiration arousing, I guess you can continue to lecture me on unnecessary facts and information… cause hey, maybe all I really need is the log of 237 million to complete that formula for World Peace working its way inside my head.

So you can keep teaching…

I’ll hate it, but I’ll listen.

This Will Go Down on Your Permanent Record.
Okay, so I get it.

Posting scantily-clad pictures of myself on Myspace is going to attract sexual predators.

If I ever apply for a job, I will obviously be turned down because the boss is going to look at my Facebook pictures of that wild party on Saturday night.

If I had access to e-mail at school, I would obviosuly download a virus onto the computer or open inappropriate e-mails during class.

Obviously…

Instead of thinking this ignorant way and blocking every technological and networking source that we have, why not give us access to these features? Why not teach us the proper technological techniques to use with these situations? Then we can prevent these “obviously’s” from ever actually happening.

And for those who do abuse the privilege, well, at least we know they’ll never be getting a job over us.

11. No More Basics… Let’s Get Into The Heavy Stuff.
A technologically decrepit person would see me as extremely knowledgeable in getting around in the virtual world.

They’d think it’s fantastic that I can manage the many features of an iPod or that I can text message at the speed of light on my cell phone. They’d see me as the next Steven Spielberg, managing the simple aspects of a video camera with great ease.

In personal reflection, however, I realize that I comprehend about as much in the technological field as I do in rocket science. And let’s just say I’m not an expert in the latter.

I cringe when my iPod freezes; when my computer decides to stop working, my first step is towards the computer repairs section of the yellow pages.

My point is, I feel I’ve already grasped the basics of how to, for example, use Microsoft Word, or surf the internet. What I want to learn is the things that make a computer work, and what I can do when these things stop working.

Let’s stop learning about things we’ve been using since 1st grade.

I already know how to record with a video camera, but teach me to edit it into a perfect film.

The past is the past and people these days make that quite clear.  Before cell phones, emails, internet, spell check, and god knows what else is out there people had to check their own work, and find out information the hard way: books.  Handwriting was also an issue if not legible.  However the tides have turned.  No one cares if you have nice handwriting and you can just type something on the computer and print it, easy as that.  No one cares if you know all the dates of all the battles ever fought, although very impressive, but anyone can look it up online. And who needs to keep heavy index cards full of information, stacked in the corner collecting dust until the next time used; which my guess would be every 5 years.. Maybe.  I’ve never been one to argue that the past was not more difficult, but at least they didn’t have to deal with technological glitches. 

I could memorize anything if you gave me enough time, and if I was interested enough in learning it.  However, I am usually not.  I have the internet for that.  I have Google, yahoo, and ask jeeves for that.  Yes, it’s not 100% top notch information that has been checked and updated that it is so current, but then again I do not care.  It gives me what I want, and I have no need to question that. I am aware that anyone can put anything on the internet, but, I have never really had a case where if the information wasn’t made up I didn’t no.  And if I did, it is almost laughable in a sense that I fell for it and didn’t double check with another site.  This by the way is easy.  I love easy. 

I have a project for school, a research project.  Naturally I think alright let me go on the computer I’ll have my information in no time.  But wait; reading further down the rubric I see that I need 5 book sources.  So I think alright, the internet has that too.  Nope not allowed she says.  We need actual books.  So I start, then I remember I have to do a bibliography.  I enjoyed it actually; I loved knowing where I was getting my information.  It took me about 5 days to get all of my information there.  This brings about a point… I never knew where any of my information came from when I research online.  I knew the site it came from, but never really fully understood.  Makes me think.  But it does not make me think enough to double check the source I get every time, I did not enjoy it that much.

Socrates: an ancient Greek thinker.  Yep, found out who he was from ask jeeves.  My take on what he would ask jeeves would probably be something difficult and outrages.  But he would get an answer.  Doesn’t everyone get an answer from the internet.  It might not be the one we want, but we do not always get what we want.  Sad but true.  Is it not also true that if the internet would be taken away we would probably cry like babies?  Not to be taken literally.