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Students have always faced distractions and time-wasters. But computers and cellphones, and the constant stream of stimuli they offer, pose a profound new challenge to focusing and learning.

“Their brains are rewarded not for staying on task but for jumping to the next thing,”

Unchecked use of digital devices, he says, can create a culture in which students are addicted to the virtual world and lost in it.

Part of such a culture is understanding that the teacher is not the only expert in the room; in fact, students can know more than the teacher about some aspects of what they will be doing together.

As leaders, it is important to be connected, to continue growing, and to maintain our own gap between what we know and what we do

big ideas we remember, long after we have forgotten the details, become the seeds from which new learning grows

When technology is integrated intentionally with foresight and with intention of addressing specific growth-oriented goals, it increases the potential to help students learn, develop, and grow in unique ways

It does take time to build up something like this, but it can grow organically just by registering on a few sites and then putting in 5 or 10 mins whenever you have time. In the long run, that’s far more time economical than going to a conference and certainly much cheaper, and best of all the network you develop is one that is absolutely specific to your own needs, so what could be better.

In a growing number of schools, educators are echoing Papert's assertion that engaging students by starting with the concrete and solving hands-on, real-world problems is a great motivator.

We recommend connecting and growing your professional learning community. Twitter or Facebook is a great way to keep up to date with recommended resources, examples of effective use and trouble shooting” (Cameron Lockie)

What is school for?

School was invented to create a constant stream of compliant factory workers to the growing businesses of the 1900s. It continues to do an excellent job at achieving this goal, but it's not a goal we need to achieve any longer.

An effective personal knowledge network can provide access to new ideas, innovations, successful experiments, failed results, and, if constructed with diversity in mind, contrary opinions that can be cause for reflection, re-consideration, and personal growth.

Knowledge should no longer be considered a stable artifact to be passed from one person to another, but instead should be viewed as a process, always changing and growing.