Today I'm revisiting a common my eJournal and images theme; namely, I am constantly amazed. Perhaps a better word would be shocked. I'm often shocked by how little of the vast potential of their computers that many folks manage to utilize. A personal computer when tethered to an Internet connection becomes the human race's most potent and powerful educational tool. I just don't understand how so many people can remain so ignorant of that power. Things that were pure science fiction a few years ago occur with ease now. For example, I'm streaming a podcast of the Euro Top 40 of 2008 from Radio Netherlands as I type. I can find current news from every single corner of the earth. I can read, watch, hear an abundance of information previously unfathomable.
The Net is more than just information; it's also a method of contact and sharing. I cannot convince some friends whom I consider quite intelligent to sign up for Facebook. I can also complain about fellow educators who cannot get their act together even when they're involved in teaching communication skills. I simply cannot understand why adults wouldn't try something. If they were to join and then later decided to abandon its use, then okay. Yet to not even try is a sin. I vow never to become so old as to not, at least, 'play around' with new things. I do not feel anger at their refusal to keep up-to-date but I cannot help but feel pity at their plight.
It's not an age thing either. Frank Hammond was a Sunapee High School teacher who quite affected my cognitive development. Now, thirty-five years on, I can see why. He provided an excellent quote just this week on my Facebook wall."After years of wrestling with educational issues and commitments on the part of the educator, I have come to the simple but very final conclusion that the job of the school is to 'teach kids to learn how to learn and like it while they're doing it.' In my view, that's it in a nut shell. Having become a senior simpleton, I'm perfectly happy with this obvious outcome."Although well into his seventh decade, he is open and willing to experiment with new technological developments. He has gathered a far greater number of Facebook contacts than I've managed to garner.