Geeking out... Providng children with a learning autonomy.

I recall as a adolescent having limited access to the Internet; however, I do remember my mother purchasing an Encarta encyclopedia CD for the computer. I found myself "Geeking Out" -- The Living and Learning with Media article defines it as: "an intense commitment to or engagement with media or technology, often one particular media property, genre or type of technology." This opportunity to engage with such technology opened a world of knowledge. I remember playing trivia games, information quests games, watching historic videos all of this easily accessed with a click. I think that providing children with these outlets can help them experiment and follow their interests in a self-directed manner. This provides them with a certain autonomy over the information they want to explore. I remember sitting in front of my computer watching videos of the fall of the Berlin Wall, or about the Atomic bomb or when the movie Titanic came out I remember researching extensively about the Titanic. I think that to some extent having access to an online encyclopedia was a really great learning tool for me. I can see how these tools can be used in the classroom in a controlled way, but allowing students to engage in topics of their interest.
I say we provide children with times to "GEEK OUT".