18 September 2006 Reading (still continued)

• Chapter Eight:
• The idea of a virtual community for a classroom is fascinating. I can definitely see that, with the ability to create an online persona and personal space, the students can escape from real life. Also the ability to “page” one another can create and reinforce ties to others that the student may not or cannot pursue in real life. It fosters social skills; it also helps with communication – especially the expression of the self through description and creation. The restriction to a physical place can cause a tight-knit community to develop where there were just so many separate groups (classes, retired people, and researchers), each isolated in their own locations.
• This book does show its age, though. The concept of talking to several people at once is not unique – not after AIM took off!
• I think it’s a good point about the wonders of a creative process like Pueblo. The school with the “electronic worksheets” is removing all the good an electronic program can offer. Sure, the kids are working and getting some experience with computers, but how much quality is there in their experience? Especially when it stifles creativity; all of those children are going to end up with the same result. That’s not creating valuable experiences for those students – and it also teaches them to accept the default and to look for the pat answer, rather than exploring their own paths and learning to do what they imagine.
• Chapter Ten:
• If I understand, the use of technology ecologically means that it is being used for a good purpose in the setting it is being used in. Well, yeah! If the technology use is gratuitous, or actually harmful, I would expect that it wouldn’t last long in any program.
• I think the point about titles influencing choice is a good one. An art class is going to be less intimidating to those un-tech-savvy students than a technology class would be. And girls are going to be drawn to it, unlike a technology class (apparently). As the authors say, embedding technical training in another activity can bring in students who would normally be hesitant to try it. Avoiding placing technology as a focus allows it to help without taking over, maybe.
• Chapter Eleven:
• I found it interesting that anesthesiologists and nurses didn’t trust the equipment being installed. I wonder if there was a history of “bad blood” that influenced this. I also wonder if, to assuage fears of malpractice, the tapes could be erased automatically after the surgery is finished. It’s good that, at least after the fact, they had privacy meetings and did brainstorm with people who weren’t consulted. This, to me, is an example of a situation where the bad that’s going to come from technology being implemented isn’t immediately obvious, and thus people just have to go ahead and implement it and see if there’s going to be a problem.