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"Guilty" as Charged :)
Submitted by Jennifer Maddrell on Sun, 11/04/2007 - 10:38am.
Megan, you picked up on the fact that I am a huge advocate of using technology to support education. Guilty as charged. As a distance student, it is now impossible for me to separate my learning from the technology that mediates it. You also raised the $1m question :) What is the best way to embrace technology for education? I don't think there is a right way for all people and all situations. Some teachers are having great success reaching out to distant classrooms around the world with teacher moderated social networking sites. Some teacher are having great success having kids create podcasts along side written assignments on wikis and blogs. Some teachers are sending homework assignments out as text messages or in online message boards. Are these means of technology mediated communication and engagement always better than the old fashioned "offline" ways? Probably not. However, these technologies are now part of the world we live in and they can enable amazing connections and experiences. Therefore, I don't think the answer is to block or ban technology. Rather, the answer is to do what teachers do best ... inform and model best practices.
Jennifer Maddrell
