Hey, where's Perry?

Yes, Phineas and Ferb are baby-sitting my daughter while I write a blog post.  Although I'm mindful of the guilt involvd with this practice, sometimes TV baby-sitting is unavoidable for me.


However, Phineas and Ferb can become an interesting analogy for technology in the classroom.  Phineas and Ferb create amazing inventions everyday, while their secret-undercover pet Platypus (Perry) disappears to fight the (semi-)evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz.  While these always seem like separate events (building train to Mars vs. destroying The Illuminator), they also collide in some fashion by the end of the show.  This collision resolves the plot of each show and wraps it up in a tidy bow (hmmm, this could also be an analogy to my organizational style...). 


Technology and classroom instruction can seem like two opposing forces of nature, particularly when (as I am) teachers are first beginning to seriously integrate the two.  Students view technology as Facebook and hanging out with latent friends; teachers view instruction as building critical thinking and knowledge.  However, my hope is that technology and instruction will collide in ways I don't expect and bring positive results to student learning (that being said, of course I am working very hard to match the objectives, etc.).  I've observed the best "teaching moments" are rarely orchestrated or follow a schedule, and I'm optimistic that technology in the classroom will benefit students and their critical thinking skills in ways I haven't anticipated.