Whenever you hear someone say that laptops or tablets in education are just “gizmos” just give them this list and ask: How many of these things can students do without tech?
- See a van Gogh so close up you can see the individual brushstrokes.
- Dissect a frog without hurting any frogs.
- Talk to an astronaut on the International Space Station.
- Start a movement.
- Right a wrong.
- Write a senator.
- Explore a hidden rainforest.
- Collaborate on a project with someone in another country.
- Translate a text from a language you never heard of.
- Write a play.
- Construct a 3D diorama.
- Tour the US Capitol.
- Check a book out from the Library of Congress.
- Learn the Constitution.
- Send a picture to the mayor of something that needs fixing in your town.
- Learn to speak a new language.
- Make a commercial for a product that only exists in your mind.
- Create a podcast.
- Design a poster for a political candidate.
- Add a backbeat to Beethoven.
- Check the weather in China.
- Explore the moons of Jupiter.
- Write an email to your future self.
- Read a newspaper with no paper.
- Learn to use watercolors without using water.
- Write the biography of your pet goldfish.
- Illustrate the biography of your pet goldfish.
- Check the value of the Yen today.
- Apply for your dream job.
- Read a book.
- Calculate the distance from your house to the Grand Canyon.
- Take a 3D trip through the Grand Canyon.
- Build a robot.
- Program a robot.
- Make a robot dance to a song you wrote.
- Look through an electron microscope.
- Create an awesome birthday card for a friend.
- Check your grammar.
- Translate your wedding vows into Klingon.
- Create a new comic hero.
- Publish a comic book about your comic hero.
- Explore the human body.
- Explore Saturn’s rings.
- Find out what your IQ is.
- Add dramatic music to famous speech.
- Save the world from alien invaders.
- Compose a song.
- Use video to improve your free throws.
- Learn a new word everyday.
- Find a recipe for the best spaghetti in the world.
- Take a trip up the Nile.
- Climb to the top of Mt. Everest.
- Look inside a volcano.
- Make a family photo album.
- Send a tweet to your hero.
- Compare Picasso to Matisse.
- Design a sculpture.
- Print out a sculpture.
- Help a little kid with their homework.
- Help a little kid on an Indian reservation with their homework.
- Paint your room without any paint.
- Share a video of something awesome.
- Do something remarkable.
- Use a green screen to do a weather forecast.
- Learn to play guitar.
- Start a band with only one member.
- Journey to Africa.
- Learn to make ravioli from scratch.
- Write a blog about the restaurants in your city.
- Find an old high school friend.
- Turn your voice into text.
- Turn text into a voice.
- Explore the pyramids in Egypt.
- Explore the pyramids in Latin America.
- Visit Stonehenge.
- Learn the names of the Supreme Court justices.
- Trace your genealogy.
- Add a new ending to your favorite book.
- Say only positive things online.
- Teach a senior citizen how to use their cell phone.
- Take a course on a topic you never thought you would take.
- Learn to program.
- Listen to a song that you loved a decade ago and had forgotten about.
- Have a conversation with Einstein.
- Get a pen pal and meet them online.
- Write an app.
- Change the world.
Whenever you hear someone say that laptops or tablets in education are just “gizmos” just give them this list and ask: How many of these things can students do without tech?
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Author: Tim Holt is an educator and writer, with over 33 years experience in education and opines on education-related topics here and on his own award-winning blog: HoltThink. He values your feedback.
Feel free to leave a comment. Read his previous columns here.
