Years ago, schools relied on books and chalkboards and pencils. Teachers taught, students listened. Today, the wonders of the digital world are available to the youngest of our students. If my grandmother were to enter one of our elementary classrooms today, she would be astonished at what the children were doing. No longer are students just sitting ramrod straight in chairs and simply repeating what their teacher tells them. Pupils easily navigate on ipads, computers and interactive white boards. Teachers integrate digital tools with traditional ones, working with small groups and one-to-one while other children investigate, experiment, and read individually or cooperatively with all manner of media. This all runs smoothly!
Most of the time...
Every now and then the bits, bytes, and electrons that are vital to the digital flow of information stop moving the way that they should. Somewhere there is a breakdown and it is time to investigate, diagnose, and repair. The problem can be mysterious and utterly frustrating. But it is never impossible! Last week a stubborn and baffling internet issue interrupted connection for only a few specific computers. On Friday morning, as a few of us gathered to pray together, I asked for prayer for this very situation, knowing that God cares about everything we face. By the end of that day, with some help from our technology consultant, Steve, I had some ideas about what could be done to solve the problem and had restored connections for everyone, at least temporarily. On Monday, Steve came in to the school and we re-arranged some switch connections, identified which wires went where, and ended up with an even more robust infrastructure than we had before the mini-crisis. This did involve some "head-in-the-ceiling" detective work! (Thank you, Steve) I am grateful.So let the wonders continue, and as even more new technology enters our world and our classrooms, God will continue to be at the center of it all, and He knows where all of the wires go!