While watching Steve Jobs' Stanford commencement address, he presented a few themes which I found quite applicable to my own life. Namely he talked about following your passions, have faith that by doing so you will become the person you want to become, time for individuals is limited, and never settle for the comfortable or easy route. I think he gives good advice for anyone, not just those graduating from college because we all will make decisions on the type of person we want to be, and the type of life we will want to live. Steve Jobs' ideas represent one way to live, and personally I find them appealing.
I wonder what I would have studied in college if I had the choice of any course in the world. The good news is that with the technology we have now, we can learn about nearly anything we want to, assuming we have the appropriate skills. Massive quantities of information are available to anyone connected to the internet, so I guess I need to ask myself, why don't I spend more of my time learning about whatever I want? To take that question one step further, how can I give my students more choice about what they learn? I agree with Mr. Jobs' argument that we should follow our passions, so I think I need to help my students find their passions. I then need to help develop within them the confidence to follow those passions. Of course I need to do the same, or I'll just be a hypocrite. Fortunately, helping young adults grow and learn maths has become one of my chief passions in life, so by helping my students I also help myself.
Technology, I think, could help my students immensely to find and learn about their interests. There's no way I could become knowledgeable enough to teach them about every possible life path they might choose, but I can teach my students how to use technology to find their own paths. I foresee using my digital network of educators to help develop engaging maths lessons, but also requiring my students to use their devices to help create valuable lessons for each other as well. This could come in the more obvious form of research, or in the form of digital proofs which they can share with the world to receive authentic feedback of their work. In this way I see technology as the agent which gives both my students and me the freedom to pursue our passions.
Jobs, S. (2005, June 12). Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address. [Video File] Retrieved from https://youtu.be/UF8uR6Z6KLc?list=PLbRLdW37G3oMquOaC-HeUIt6CWk-FzaGp.
I wonder what I would have studied in college if I had the choice of any course in the world. The good news is that with the technology we have now, we can learn about nearly anything we want to, assuming we have the appropriate skills. Massive quantities of information are available to anyone connected to the internet, so I guess I need to ask myself, why don't I spend more of my time learning about whatever I want? To take that question one step further, how can I give my students more choice about what they learn? I agree with Mr. Jobs' argument that we should follow our passions, so I think I need to help my students find their passions. I then need to help develop within them the confidence to follow those passions. Of course I need to do the same, or I'll just be a hypocrite. Fortunately, helping young adults grow and learn maths has become one of my chief passions in life, so by helping my students I also help myself.
Technology, I think, could help my students immensely to find and learn about their interests. There's no way I could become knowledgeable enough to teach them about every possible life path they might choose, but I can teach my students how to use technology to find their own paths. I foresee using my digital network of educators to help develop engaging maths lessons, but also requiring my students to use their devices to help create valuable lessons for each other as well. This could come in the more obvious form of research, or in the form of digital proofs which they can share with the world to receive authentic feedback of their work. In this way I see technology as the agent which gives both my students and me the freedom to pursue our passions.
Jobs, S. (2005, June 12). Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address. [Video File] Retrieved from https://youtu.be/UF8uR6Z6KLc?list=PLbRLdW37G3oMquOaC-HeUIt6CWk-FzaGp.