This entry falls under the category of self-flagellation. I participated as a panelist in a seminar about how faculty can better use technology and I failed to mention our class. The panel was the first in the “Discovery and Discussion” Series on Educational Technologies for Fall 2007 at the University of Missouri. I was one of three students who briefly introduced how we used technology and then fielded questions from faculty members about how they could use technology in instruction.
The point another panelist and I made is that if professors expected students to learn new technologies, they should select those that are Web-based and open-sourced. Students hate feeling forced to buy expensive software and hardware. I should have presented our class as a great example of not only broadening students experience with Internet technology, but also introducing them to free applications others have developed. My brief exposure to this blogging software has almost convinced me to dump my Blogger account (although that's free too.) I'm excited to start using the wiki software too.

I applauded the faculty members who attended because they demonstrated a sincere desire to adapt and improve. But what I realized also is that Dr. Foley deserves kudos for embracing technology so readily. Both Mark Jarvis and I were struck afterwards with how well he gets it. To me it seems unlikely that someone from such classical background would understand not just how technology should be applied, but the potential technology has to reshape the world.

For the Internet to achieve its full potential, I think we need to be more open to how it can bring society together, rather than fearful of the disruption it might cause. This fear is what has crippled news organizations who dump their stories nonchalantly online without understanding how people who find them online actually use them. I look forward not only to learning more from Dr. Foley about the Internet but also to expand my mind to think beyond traditional linear boundaries.