Online Communication

I just finished reading the posted assignments and playing on various communication websites. I think this will be a great technique for future use. Currently I feel that there are a lot of people who still do not own computers so in order to communicate with your entire class and parents, this issue would be addressed first. I think it would be fun and a much easier way to get together with parents...online via webcam or just to chat. But it certainly would be nice if this was an option.

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Permalink Reply by Kelly Christopherson on September 16, 2007 at 10:43am

Kim, you're bang on when you say that not all have a computer. I would hazard to guess that about 30% of our school population does not have a computer at home. They do have access at a public library but it's not the same

Being able to communicate over the web would definitely have some advantages but it would also have disadvantages. I'm not sure I want to call parents about problems but letting them know what is going well would be great. I also think it would be great to have students be able to contact their parents with live feed. That would be a bonus. The big thing is not all parents understand the technology, most don't have time for it and, at this point, it is still too unreliable. But in the future, you bet.

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Permalink Reply by ddeubel on September 17, 2007 at 6:19am

Kelly,

I think your post highlights a lot of the problems in the "west", meaning America and Canada. The world is changing but they seem left behind, really and truly. This has all sorts of ramifications. Technology and applications have become "for profit only" and what a profit!

I live in S. Korea. In any city at least(and the country is very urbanized), you'd not at all envision a home that doesn't have internet access, isn't connected. Even the poorest ones. This is the NEW world. Why? Well, the govt has put this a priority, there is a very competitive market and also, parents see this as important and aren't uneducated about it and what it offers.

I've only touched on the surface here but I think that America and Canada are out of touch in many ways. I've taught in Canada as recently as 2 years ago. I know and speak with knowledge of this divide.

Now many will retort, the internet isn't the goal of education and it doesn't mean you aren't educated if you don't use a computer ....etc....etc....
Same arguement they made for so much else in history. Pure cultural defensiveness and not true at all. Education is about access and power. All intertwinned. We risk so much if it doesn't happen. Education means most of all - being a citizen. And in the dangers of this world, we should all want our friends/students/family , to be citizens of the world and not the closeted and primitive, drum beaters of the "tribe"....

David