Intrigue

Students must be intrigued and inspired to learn.  All of us do.  As adults, why would we learn about something if we are not interested.  Would you pick up a book about a topic you don't like?   Back when public education started it was easier to gain the interest of our students.  Schools were the only place where people could be intrigued about anything beyond their daily grind.  The public library began a shift away from schools.  Radio and printed material for all ages (comic books) intrigued the youth.  I think school began its movement toward obsolescence when the television became a popular home item.  Cable made it worse.  Home gaming systems and the Internet were the final nail in our coffin of boring obsolescence.  This is how many kids see traditional schooling. Can you blame them?

I had this thought as I was making my last 2 videos for my Flipped experiment.  I used ahead.com to create a presentation.  From what I have heard, it is similar to Prezi.  The kids were SO into it.  They were clicking through, reading slides, zooming around; they loved it.  They were intrigued.  I think this is the value of using presentation tools beyond PowerPoint.  We become a one-trick pony.  The show gets boring and we lose our kids.  Granted this type of intrigue is short-lived.  Its a new toy on Christmas that gets forgotten by New Years.  Even though the intrigue is temporary it increases your skills and deepens your repertoire.  On a separate note, the web-based tools I have been exploring lately are really impressive.  I have always believed Apple had the edge on the creative market when it comes to software, but the web-based tools are giving Apple a run for their money.  If this trend continues, I might actually be convinced that Chromebooks are a better device than a Macbook for schools.  Sorry Apple.