Shifting from 2.0 to 3.0/A Friedman Perspective

Shifting from a 2.0 round world to a 3.0 flat world will be challenging for not only our students, but also for the many ELA teachers that rely upon the traditional methods of teaching literature, writing, and reading skills.

Unfortunately I don't see enough teachers ready to make the shift towards incorporating technology into the classroom. If our teachers aren't able to "think outside of the box" then how can we expect our students to do so? It scares me when I think about all of the teachers who are unwilling to change how they teach or who are not willing to raise their expectations for what students can accomplish.

Friedman talks about going from one type of platform (people to people) to another (country to country) as something to be cautious of. Students lacking the experience of effective communication would find it challenging to communicate on a country to country basis, especially if they are not able to effectively communicate on a person to person basis to begin with. The challenge then for ELA teachers is to make sure that our students are able to communicate on a person to person basis before they begin the next level. Students need a foundation before they can build upon that foundation. In my opinion, a weak foundation does not make for firm footing on the next level. In this instance learning to be an effective communicator on a personal level is a must before moving on to the next level.