As an educator, I have those moments of nagging doubt. Am I connecting with my students? Will this material/skill/thought process have an impact on their learning in the future. I have tried to visualize what my fifth graders will be doing in several years. What kind of skills will they need? There is no shortage of opinions on skill sets needed (back to fundamentals, writing and research, blind leaps of faith into cutting edge tech trends, critical thinking). If you consider the digital revolution of the past 20 years, it is quite possible that we have absolutely no idea what skills our students will need. Some of the required technology lessons are already obsolete. I wonder if those pundits who say that critical thinking and writing skills are the salvation of humanity might be right. After all, I would rather have someone who can think taking care of me than someone who knows an outdated computer program. Virginia Heffernan wrote an interesting op-ed on this topic for the NY Times:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/education-needs-a-digital-age-upgrade/?smid=pl-share
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