My Online Presence....

 
          My initial reaction to questions concerning my online presence was that I do not really have one.   I used to be very active in several different gaming forums, as well as a member of a Call of Duty clan and an Everquest guild.  School has truly cut into my recreational electronics use.....To be honest; I do not participate regularly in any forums or online communities outside of work and school. That is when it hit me.
          I was filtering the term "online community" through a lens which is no longer adequate for my life, because I was considering only the purely voluntary recreational communities.  I telecommute, however, and for work I participate in the massive online community created by AT&T employees. We communicate using diverse methods, from web meetings to a proprietary instant messaging service.  Many of the coworkers I interact with the most, and in the most detailed ways, I have never met and would not recognize if I had.
         I also participate in a community of online students at Liberty University, many of whom I have come to respect and look forward to our interactions.  I have received instruction, guidance and compassion from classmates and professors, though we have never met.  These things seem the quintessential ingredients of an authentic community, and it happens to be online.
          Beyond these two areas of purposeful interaction there are, in fact, many other online communities through which I flit on a daily basis.  For example, most of my large purchases, and the research which goes into those decisions, are all done online.  Therefore I am a participant in a global online economy.  I regularly access scholarly research on a variety of subjects.  While this may be participation in the more passive role of a consumer, I believe I will still claim participation in that scholarly community.  My Mom will want to hear about that.
           The more I reflect on how I conduct the minutiae of life, the more I realize that, outside of Church, I have a larger online footprint than I do offline.


David Bennett
Rowlett, TX

A Brief Word About the Failure to Integrate

                This week, I have been asked to assess a local school district's use of technology in the classroom as an educational tool.  I have two kids in the Garland Independent School District, so that seems like the best place to start.

                Garland ISD appears to have adequate access to basic technological tools.  Classrooms have computers available inside them, even in the elementary schools.  All computers have adequate network access and teachers provide adequate technical support to the students for the use of the computers within the limited scope of their intended purpose.  It is the limited scope of that purpose which causes the Garland ISD to fall short of it’s potential. 

                Some programs, such as the Advanced Reading program, utilize student assessment and data tracking brilliantly, yet educational technology tools are more often treated as window dressing which can be pointed at as proof of use, rather than as fully integrated and useful tools.  The primary problem in this respect appears to be that teachers do not really understand how to integrate technology into the classroom and lesson plan, or even why they should.   Short a real reason accept the need for the added work of familiarizing and integrating the technology, teachers in Garland ISD are simply failing to explore these tools.