Teach42

Steve,

I’m listening to your podcast right now, and you are talking about the fact that the tech leaders in your meeting did not know about the social software revolution. In my opinion, you simply can not pull as much funding away from public education an not see people falling behind. We learn this stuff when you go out and mix with other people. Conference attendance is way down. School districts are delivering less staff development, and it’s mostly in-house. There is much that is happening today that is intensely exciting, and too many classrooms are not hearing about it.

Interestingly, a surprisingly significant number of the users of Blogmeister (classroom blogging tool) are from outside the U.S. and from private schools.

Concerning the principal who didn’t ban blogs. I agree 100% with what you said. In the 21st century we have to stop assuming the authority of information that we find, and instead, prove the authority — and teach that.

Looking at it through a different lens, perhaps this was blogging at its best (near best). The newspaper wrote something out of context, or worst than that, was trying to sensationalize an issue. Bloggers learned and started talking about it. As you said, many went way overboard. But with out our observation, reflection, and putting it in the global conversation, the truth may not have come to light.

Short, but a great show, Steve!

Glad you enjoyed it! The only problem with the way the newspaper issue was handled was that by my very rough estimations, only about a third of the bloggers who attacked the principal based on the article went out of their way to recant their comments. It’s like when a newspaper runs a controversial story on the front page based on erroneous information, and then confesses its mistake in a 1 inch by 1 inch paragraph on page 23. In many cases, the damage has already been done. It’s a tricky situation, but as the line between blogging and journalism gets even more blurry, we need to constantly consider the consequences of our collective actions.

Oif. Blogging about cramming batteries into a 2600 cartridge is so much simpler