We've got the #power...in our hands!

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Yesterday morning, we had our Apple reps present the options available with iPads to our 3rd and 4th grade teachers. Throughout the hour and a half, our rep Jeff, shared some pretty amazing content and snippets of the possibilities with iPads. One particular video he showed grabbed ahold of me and left me pondering several things. The video was created by Apple as a thank you to their developers and was centered around the impact of technology on business and innovation. There were some stunning statistics concerning the number of apps each person has downloaded, the number of apps downloaded to date, the number of apps available for download, as well as, several inspiring clips of how innovation has changed people's lives. Not going to lie, while watching and listening, all the warm tech fuzzies started to build. It is astounding the information and capabilities we have in our pockets or backpacks with our phones and mobile computing devices. It's one of the things that gets me excited to do my job and to work with learners of all ages to embrace the awesomeness. Then, while relishing in the thoughts of what could be.....a clip from JJ Abrams hit me like a ton of bricks. To say it spoke to me is an understatement. More like tech fuzzies on steroids mixed with goosebumps.

JJ Abrams commented,

"We have before us an incredible generation of film-makers and storytellers."

A simple, short sentence which hold such implications for our roles as educators. It fills me with excitement, wonder, and even chills to think of the power we all harness within our hands.

Prior to mobile technology and video creation apps/websites, creating a video was much more laborsome and difficult. I remember the hundreds of hours throughout several months my dad spent creating a video highlight reel of my AAU basketball team ::ahem, eek:: in the early 90's. After recording our games on a huge VHS recorder, he basically hibernated in my parent's bedroom working two tedious machines to dub the tapes off, watch the videos, then find clips to splice together. Once the video was created, he started working to time the music to the actions of the video. The music was on cassette tapes or CD's...no digital effects, no digital music, no digital features to reduce the creation time or offer options. #SoManyHours

Now, with a few taps on a screen, you can create an iMovie with original music or your favorite recorded song, add text and effects....all within a few hours. Shoot, there are some apps which will take your photos and automatically create a video. It's amazing!

Last year, a breakout hit at the Sundance Film Festival in Cannes, France was created almost entirely with an iPhone 5s, an $8 app, and a couple of extras like a Steadicam Rig (to help stabilize the iPhone since they are handheld and lightweight.) A whole film showcased and created with an iPhone...#MindBlown. The further implication is that I hold even more power in my hand since my personal device is an iPhone 6s (an upgrade from a 5s) to record and publish something that thousands, even millions, of people could view. If that doesn't blow your mind a tiny bit, then I'm not sure what will.

Which got me to thinking. What are we doing in our classrooms to provide opportunities for learners to digitally create? How are we channeling the power of possibilities for our learners? Are we afraid of taking a risk and failing...worrying about what might happen and then choosing not to provide voice and choice for creation because it's something we've never done before? Are we not sure where to start so stuck in paralysis by analysis mode?

For perspective's sake:

• Our current high schoolers (born in 2001) know nothing of a time without information at their fingertips through Google. iPods were their "new technology." 
• Our current middle schoolers (born in 2004) can't envision a time without portable music devices and Google...their new thing: social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. 
• Our primary schoolers (born in 2010) can't imagine a time without Google and social media (iPods already starting to become outdated). Their new technology are iPads/tablets. 
• All of these groups now have the capacity to use smart phones. Thinking ahead, what will the next technology be for our future learners?!? Holy possibilities, Batman!

In reflecting upon Abram's statement, there are a couple of questions plaguing me. How can I help provide opportunities for educators to develop confidence and the skills necessary to provide avenues for their learners to digitally create? How will educators in the classroom provide opportunities to develop those skills for their learners?

Right now, we have learners in our classrooms who could be the next Sundance film festival award winner by using their phone. Or, not to put limits and shooting for the moon, Academy award winners!?! Right now, we have learners who could create apps or technologies which will forever transform the lives of others. Right now, we have learners who are yearning for that opportunity...to create, to design, to share out their work with others, not just after they graduate.

Do you hear that tick, tick, tick? What can be accomplished with the time we have?