The Future is Now

Mrs. Shaw's students

Admittedly, it doesn't take much to impress me; I am pretty easily entertained. That being said, last week I had a discussion with some colleagues that was so mind-altering that I am still trying to understanding how I had not realized it before now.

As we continue to build our school's new curriculum, we are engaging in a number of discussions about "resources."  I put this in quotes because resources are no longer simply textbooks and lab materials.  Resources are available all around us, at the click of your mouse, literally at your fingertips. 

When I asked about the decisions made around science textbooks, I was told we decided to get digital subscriptions. Ok, makes sense to me.  Then I was told that it was actually going to be cheaper to get a class set of Chromebooks then it would be to order enough textbooks for all our middle schoolers.  
Mind. Blown.

I had to stop and ask myself why I was so surprised.  This actually makes sense and seems like a complete no brainer.  The Chromebooks are just one tool, though. This is how we will access all the additional materials, whether it be the "textbook" or anything else students could possibly need to learn about various science topics. This obviously expands the knowledge and learning worlds beyond what could be found in one book. It is now more cost effective to get ALL the "resources" than just one textbook.  

The future is now.