Definitions of Communication

Is this where we are heading? I hope not, but it seems too close to reality than I like. After this cohort, I will leave for the Appalachian Trail for a week. Will I survive without my "sociable robot," called my iPhone. When I come back, will I have missed the latest funny cat video? Will I have missed out on the Facebook
posts about nothing? "I share, therefore I am."

I am as about as guilty as anyone else when it comes to my cell phone and computer. I email, blog, chat, tweet, post and stream. I watch my daughter on her iPad and my other on daddy's computer watching Netflix. I need my girls to focus on our real lives. I make sure my girls get outside and ride, swim, explore, and ramble.

I try to provide more of this:

And less of this:

But it is hard.

With online classes, it is even harder to have that personal connection that I love in the classroom. The camaraderie when you get to know the students, their family and their friends. The understanding of my humor and their humor. The pat on the shoulder. The look of "I caught you, but I might not tell on you, if you get your act together."

Individual communication skills have changed over the years. We "gather in sips:" LOL, BRB, OGM. ; p. We communicate in the virtual world more than we do in real life. Everyone is on a screen, and not in the scenes. We have truly have made the world smaller through innovations like online news and blogs, Facebook, and the like. We know what is happening right now and can watch the events unfold before our eyes. Think of September 11th, 2001, weren't you "glued" to your TV. Now, imagine not being confined to just your TV, watching the events of 9/11 on a computer or your phone, who would have thought of that?! 

I barely make phone calls home anymore. Parents and I communicate in emails. The students view their grades through their portal, not through a printed grade sheet or even a hand written report. New ways of making announcements or sharing upcoming tests is done through text messaging, like Remind 101. 

The future looks great for instant notification and real time assessment feedback. Is that really better for the human contact? It's only a matter of time before the traditional classroom will cease to exist. The teacher needs to utilize technology to better serve the student and parent. At the same time, the teacher needs to value that human element and keep constant communication open to help develop the whole child, academically and socially.

Miranda Lambert might have it right by saying, "It all just seems so good the way we had it, back before everything became automatic."