Technology Tsunami Hits Snyder, Texas

Snyder, Texas--not located near any large body of water (unless you count Lake Alan Henry to the north or the small pond called Lake JB Thomas to the southeast) is in the path of a major Tsunami.  This Tsunami is scheduled to hit the end of this month.

Now, how can a community not located near a body of water be taken over by a tsunami?  Tsunamis (the large displacement of water by an earthquake or volcano) happen suddenly and remake the landscape of the islands they impact.  The Snyder Tsunami is not weather related but technologically related.

At the end of the month, the first wave of 700+ MacBooks will be distributed to all Junior High Students for use in class, projects and instruction in the classroom.  Can you imagine the impact that is going to have on this city?   Technology in the hands of the younger generation will have the effect of a tsunami as the lower levels of the culture begin to churn against traditional forms, structures and thoughts as they connect with the availabilty of information and creativity in the classroom.   School as we know it (or knew it) will never be the same again.  Teachers have the new computers too and are having to adapt their styles and methods to include this technology.  It's a new day!

I attended an information meeting this week and the comments were interesting.  All I could do was sit back and wonder what this will mean to the culture of our community (I applaud the adoption of this program). There was resistance from some asking "why?" and the standard "are you gonna force my kids to use this stuff" to which I shook my head and thought "they already are using this stuff". And I had to chuckle at the comment about chat rooms (Chat rooms?--they haven't been around since AOL in 1993).  Nevertheless, I see a tsunami coming.

What has been the impact of large technological changes in your community?