Some thoughts on week one's readings

Reading the article Get Connected, Get in the Know, it is mentioned that all members of the school community must "develop a broad understanding of the appropriate and inappropriate uses of technology". Such education must be started early, and still I don't think it will curb the problem. Cyberspace has become for many younger people "a primary social channel" and as and as in reality, there will exist social cliques, gossip and bullying. We are informed that "0ver 70% of respondents" to Kids Help Phone have "experienced cyberbullying". Unless there is a way to hold students accountable for their actions, this behaviour is going to persist. Those who bully will continue doing so, they know it is wrong, they do not need lessons in using technology ethically to know that they are causing harm. However, because there are no consequences, and consequences are difficult to enact, there is little to deter them from carrying out unethical deeds online.

The article mentions that students want/require a "supportive school climate" that offers someplace to report cyber bullying and discusses equipping students who are bullied with the "interpersonal skills to respond online to an individual who is bullying". I feel that these are good practical measures when combined with an effective education, that includes character development on ethical uses of technology, mentioned above, at a young age, we can come closer to absolving cyber-bullying.

Something that confused me in this week's readings was the mention of learning that can be provided "just in time", under the "Advantages of Online Learning". Does this mean that the learning is provided in "real-time" or that the learning is much needed and coming just in time, given that technology is progressing at such a rapid and steady pace? I was also unsure of the meaning of "endpoints". In the Visual Collaboration section of one of our weekly articles it stated that in 1999 there were 398,000 endpoints at $15,000 each and in 2003, this number had risen to 2.1 endpoints at $1,500 each. What are endpoints?

I also began to wonder while reading about the development of online learning, can online learning take into account the different "types" of learners that we seek to cater in our classrooms? If a child is catered to throughout their academic career as an auditory learning, will her/his needs be met in an online course? Or will such learners be forced to adapt to new learning methods?

The Stephen Downes article on educational blogging also notes that students in the future will develop "new skills and attitudes" and states specifically that these students will have more experience writing online that with a traditional pen and paper. This is great news for me given the horrible and ever-worsening (perhaps I am online too often?) state of my handwriting!

I felt a particularly interesting point in this article was the "situation of equity" that blogs afford their users. Some students do speak more than others in the classroom, just as some would write more than others online. But, everyone can view their similarities and differences and an equal forum is created for the expression of these.