They must be smart.They said it. SCN Encourager 7/8/2013

You know what “they” say…

They say that the best vacations are those where you go away and see new things, but you come home with “new eyes.”

With so many of us traveling over the July 4th holiday weekend, it seemed fitting to greet you with a pithy travel-related observation.

The part about coming home from a trip with “new eyes” rang true for me.

I wish I was the one who thought this line up… and that I didn’t have to credit some anonymous “they” entity… but I didn’t want to chance it.

It would be my luck that one of YOU is actually connected to a “THEY” in some way and that any manufactured self-promoted pontificating of mine would bring on a court summons for copyright infringement.

So fine. “They” said it, not me.

But here’s where the “new eyes” perspective caused me to do a re-think, specifically about some of the video links I send to you in the Encourager.

Conventional wisdom tells us (anonymously again) to only link to short videos – that people do not want to watch a video longer than two or three minutes.

Well, Apple has created a video that is more than 9 minutes and you really should take a look at it.

If you’re engaged at all in promoting 21st century learning in your schools, you’ll be proud to see how the combination of technology and human gumption are significantly impacting lives forever.

You’re shaping this kind of future.

At least that’s how I viewed this inspirational video.

My “old eyes” perspective frequently has me fretting about the speed of change, the many dangers lurking on the internet, and all of those techie things that I’ll never know or understand.

And, I’m not saying that I’ve shed my “old eyes” mindset altogether, either. Unfortunately, my “old eyes” are grounded in some all-too-comfortable “old ways”… so I think I’ll have to keep using them for awhile.

Besides, I have this whole “fretting” business down pat. (What parent doesn’t?)

I’m just grateful that for about 10 minutes over the holiday, those unknown “they” guys challenged me to try out “new eyes” and watch a YouTube video that effectively blows past the recommended 180 second limit.

To see a young woman without feet use technology to experience the thrill of wearing shoes “with heels” will grab you.

If it doesn’t, watch the story of how technology helps a mom connect with her son’s inner thoughts and personality.

I know you won’t be counting the seconds.

The four stories in this video are compelling.

And the people featured in each story are supported by four different apps that I never even knew existed.

And yes, these awesome life-changing apps come along with that essential standard 21st century disclaimer: Apps available in both Mac and Android.

Tom Page, SCN
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