Quote from Alec Couros‘ blog post, “It’s not going away“:
We live in complex, media-rich, connected environments. As adults, we have built these spaces for our kids and set them up in situations where I’ve heard members of our generation exclaim, “I’m sure glad Youtube or Facebook didn’t exist when I was a kid!” But these do exist. And no one – no one – really understands the full implications of what these devices and spaces have on the future of our children. So what are our *obligations* in all of this as administrators, parents, and educators? Do we selfishly ignore “it” because it feels uncomfortable and complex? Or do we roll-up our sleeves, embrace this discomfort, and live up to our ethical responsibilities for our kids?
I like the part about embracing the discomfort because I think that this is what’s really difficult for so many people. Change is hard to deal with and the Internet is changing everything. In order to move forward and really use this platform for something fundamentally different, we’re going to have to accept the disorder and discomfort, and figure out how to work within it rather than get upset because we can’t control it.