Innovation in the Classroom

Throughout history, it has been seen over and over that groups that embrace change and innovation are the most successful. From Romans mass building of roads and new infrastructure to the industrial revolution, and from the use of trench warfare to something more trivial such as the use of the spread offense in football, there is one commonality. Innovation is the source of success in all of these cases.

One book that has had a huge impact on my worldview is “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman. Friedman writes about globalization and how new technology and innovation is helping countries like India and China become major economic powers. It is only because countries like India and China are so willing to make use of new technology that they were able to become so successful. In contrast, the United States has been very unwilling to invest and accept new technology and innovation in recent years. One could potentially blame our nation’s current plethora of problems on this close-minded attitude towar dinnovation.

I feel that the use of social media in the classroom is a prime example of an innovation that, if embraced and used correctly, could by very successful. Social media has the ability to extend a class from simply being in a classroom one hour every Monday and Wednesday. Students can engage in discussion, ask questions to each other, and be able to communicate to a professor at almost any time of day.

Social media’s uses for the classroom are not limited to simply communicating with fellow classmates and professors. Using a Friedman metaphor, social media can flatten the walls of the classroom and make a class extend into the whole world. Classes can be freed from the limits of geography, low funding, and poor resources through connecting with minds and resources from all over the world. We here at Andrews could, through social networking, interact with students and teachers from England or Japan. Not only does social networking enable us to see the perspectives and ideas of our classmates in a clearer fashion, it can literally open up an entire world of perspectives and ideas to us. Social media is clearly a valuable resource to the modern classroom. All we have to do is have an open mind about it and embrace this innovation for the world of good that it can provide us.