Have you Shape-Shifted?

While reading the article: Shape Shifting Portfolios: Millennial Youth, Literacies, And The Game Of Life, I began to recall how much my own portfolio has progressed and changed throughout this semester in 307.

I realize that I now have the benefits of knowing how to use technology tools, how to teach them, how to integrate them into my classroom, and how to relate to my students on a different level because of these advances. Teachers who are knowledgable about technology will have the upper hand against those teachers who are not educated about these resources. I will also be able to perform an example of how these tools are beneficial to students and in the classroom if I were ever asked to do this on the spot. That alone, if you ask me, is impressive.

While reading this article, I kept reminding myself: "the future is now the past" and how Friedman emphasized how competitive this world is now. We need to teach our students how to be "untouchables" and this is a difficult task when some students will not be interested in creating their own shape-shifting portfolios. We cannot force them into doing this activity but we have to encourage them and remind them of the benefits of this and that they will indeed be out there in the field one day against a lot of competition. We have to positively and encouragably (is that even a word?) put the fear of God in them(haha).

The future is already in our hands and we have to do all we can to benefit our students so that they can be successful in this flat world. If we don't do that, then we clearly are not doing our jobs.