As others have noted, I also was surprised by the point made in Weigel, James and Gardner's article that screen-based simulation limits input to two of the five senses. While obvious to me now, I hadn't thought of that before. In general, I found this article particularly useful for the social networking project we're starting at my work. The concerns and possible problems related to using new digital media for educational purposes are ones that we likely will face and need to be prepared for. The idea that the Internet may promote a mob mentality where the majority opinion is viewed as correct in particular is one that we need to guard against. While it's inevitable that problems will arise when administering the site, hopefully the teachers will be able to turn them into teachable moments.
Returning to the theme of global awareness, I had a great talk recently with a teacher at a school in Pakistan. She directed me to a video made by their 5th graders in which they visit their local beach and are shocked--shocked!--to find it dirty. They clean it up, and also interview a few "litterers." While the kids speak in English to the camera, the interviews are untranslated and in what I assume is Urdu. Although I know that most US schools block YouTube, this video is a great example of possible cross-cultural communication/understanding facilitated by the Internet. I think most American kids (and kids from across the globe) will relate to the sentiments expressed by the Pakistani children, and as a result, they hopefully will have a better understanding of our "shared humanity."
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