As I was walking past the group on the deck, I noticed they were passing around a tablet.
When I asked what they were doing they replied that they were playing Scrabble.
I pointed to the table below, and yelled, "There's a "real life" Scrabble game sitting on that table!"
They ignored me and continued to pass the tablet.
My 23 year old felt the need to remind me that this was 2014.
I didn't forget the year.
However, why should I forget what it feels like to actually play "real life" Scrabble?
The excitement of choosing your letter, feeling disappointed or thrilled with what you pulled.
The feel of the tiles as you hold them in your hands, fresh from the bag.
The snatching back of letters as you suddenly think of another word.
The feeling of impatience as a player dawdles.
The click as you place, (or slam), the tiles on the board.
Turning the board around so that you can see when it's your turn.
Trying to peek at someone else's letters.
Maybe I'm an old fuddy duddy. Sigh.
But we shouldn't forget "real life" in our classrooms.
We shouldn't get so tied into the next great tech tool that we forget to let them draw, tell jokes, paint, sing, act, activities that don't necessarily require technology.
Can you combine the two? Sure. My kids drew scenes from a story and then we played "Guess My Scene" with another class via GHO(Google Hang Out). But, my kids drew the pictures. On paper. With crayons and colored pencils. And while they drew, the talked, discussed, and reminisced about the story. Real life.
I love tech as much as any other techy teacher, but I won't fail to incorporate "real life" in my classroom. There's just some things technology can't replace.
photo credit: ericmay via photopin cc
It's all about what tool gets the job done best, I guess. Scrabble is a long game, the tiles are easily lost and the board is easily jolted (unless you have one of those fancy boards with the plastic grid), plus, it is pretty easy to "cheat" by "accidentally" spying someone's tiles as you walk by. I can see the appeal of a tablet-based alternative!
ReplyDeleteSame in the classroom. Not to mention the opportunities that tech gives us to not just make something better (more convenient, more accessible, more share-able) but to make something all-together NEW. But, of course, there is the good old "real life" (although I hesitate to call it that, because tech is "real life," too!)