I know that many have seen this video already. I have also seen it in many different forms including targeting college-age students. But, they all carry the same message. What are we doing to meet these digital natives? No wonder they are so bored in school. They are not engaged, challenged, and encouraged to become creators for the most part. As teachers, we have a responsibility to change the way we think and the way we teach. For some, the old style is so deeply ingrained that it can never change. For others, it is a challenge worth undertaking. I hope that many teachers fall into that latter category. Especially when I think of the futures of my own children.

Through the Twitter network, I came across this blog post about contact between students and teachers outside the classroom. This is one of the best I've read. I understand that with the changing world, we as teachers have to be very cautious. That said, I think that if a teacher is willing to interact with students in a strictly teacher/student context, it should be allowed. I live in a small town, so I have the luxury of knowing my students' parents (usually) and they know me. I have students call me to ask the name of an author for a project they are working on or to ask when an assignment is due. Sometimes my husband thinks I'm too accessible for my students, but I always want to be there for them. This year, I had a student ask me to add them as a contact on Skype. When I'm on at home, I'll usually get a "hey" from that student. It excites me that she has taken the initiative to learn these technologies. She was also the first one to go home and work on creating her own wiki. I hope to interact with these students outside of class. I hope to hear from them in the future for help or just to listen to their accomplishments. I have former students as 'friends' on Facebook.(of course they asked me)
I am not so naive that I think that there are not teachers out there who take advantage of these relationships and that is extremely sad. I do not, however, plan to pass on any opportunity that I have to be a help to a child. I do not seek to be their friend, but I do hope that I will always be a mentor to them beyond the one year that they spend with me.