Hi all,
I received an email recently from school teacher who's starting using
Blogger to create blogs for her students, and to allow them to interact
with others online. The educational value of this appears to be
obvious: she says that experts her students have had dialogue with
through their blogs include a veterinarian and a retired astronomer who
worked on the Hubble Space Telescope.
Her Board of Education just read an article on how blogs have become
the online journals for children now, complete with sordid details, and
are running scared. As a result, they've decided to block Blogger. I
criticize their decision on several points, currently on my site here:
http://www.digitalraindrop.com/Schools-Fear-Technology
I'll add this to my DDN Blog as soon as it syndicates.
I'm curious as to the community's thoughts on this. I believe education
systems should develop digital literacy policy targeted towards giving
children the skills they need to navigate online resources safely and
successfully. On the other hand, I also understand that schools don't
want their children engaged in frivolous internet activities in the
guise of internet research or digital education. Another consideration
is simple practicality: to what extend can an institution govern and
regulate use of a resource by children when those children often have a
greater mastery of that medium than the adults? Is it even possible for
postpone our children's exposure to the internet, and if so, is this
postponement meaningful?
Thanks for reading,
Dave.
------------------------
Dave A. Chakrabarti
Projects Coordinator
CTCNet Chicago
(708) 919-1026
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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