Stay on Target #EdChat #StarWarsEdu

I was watching Star Wars: A New Hope this weekend and something stood out to me at the end of the movie that had me thinking about technology integration and education.  Watch the clip of Luke blowing up the Death Star.

I love this scene because Luke decided to trust his training and use the Force. He shuts off the computer and goes for it. I think this has a nice connection to educators in the classroom. 

We all have had extensive training in various areas of education, but there is this pressure to use more technology to reach our students. Now, there are great things that technology can do to support student learning in ways that are not possible without them. The technology can get us there with the students, but it has to come down to the training to really get the students learning. For Luke, the technology got him to the Death Star, but he needed his training with the Force to complete the mission. 

Do not let technology make all of the decisions for you this school year. They are just tools to help support your training and innovative ideas. When it comes to completing our mission, educating all students, we need to use our instincts. If we do this, we can blow up a million Death Stars. 

Some might think the connection is flimsy and very nerdy, but the idea is still important. No matter what is going to be thrown at us this school year, we need to trust our instincts, believe in our training, and sometimes, hope a Han Solo flies out of nowhere and saves our butt when things are at their worst. :-)

Have a great school year and, as always,