So, I showed this video to my computers class a couple of weeks ago. It was really interesting to see their reactions. My students in that particular class are all about 12 years old. They were born in 1999, mostly.
Many of the social networking sites that so defined the growing up years of my time in elementary and high school no longer exist. Things like Craigslist, LiveJournal, and Friendster? They’ve never heard of it.
It’s amazing to me the amount of work that we as a society put into creating things in a completely imaginary space, formed of electrical impulses, that are going to be obsolete before our children can even figure out how to use them. Not that progress is necessarily bad. It’s great that humans try to innovate and connect. But just think of what it will take to prepare these students for adult life: probably at least half of what they’ll need to do or be skilled in at 35 doesn’t even exist yet.
And I get to teach that to them. Wow.
Just don’t get me started on the travesty that is students not knowing what Aladdin, The Lion King, or Beauty and the Beast are. I mean, REALLY? Priorities, people.
Profuse and Various 
“But just think of what it will take to prepare these students for adult life: probably at least half of what they’ll need to do or be skilled in at 35 doesn’t even exist yet.”
-That’s very true. I think the best we can do as educators is prepare them for the fact that “at least half of what they’ll need to do or be skilled in at 35 doesn’t even exist yet” and give them the tools that will enable them to change and adapt at the same pace as technology does.
Lion King is re-released today! And in theatres in 3D lol – kids’ll figure it out. I’m more upset that kids now a days have never ridden Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, but that’s a lament for a different blog.
I think more important than ever learning facts is learning how to be creative – or rather never learning to NOT be creative. After all, like you said, half of what they’ll need to know at 35 doesn’t even exist yet. Someone has to get them to that point. I really don’t think it’ll be us (adults); it’ll be those same 12 year old in a year or two frustrated that their game doesn’t do what they want it to, so the design a way to make it happen. That translates into any number of new advancements.