Chapter 3 Discussion Questions

These are more my observations than questions.

1. On page 52, where the authors describe "tag clouds," I had to respond that I don't like them. I tend to be very linear and like things in a one thing leads to another format. Although I think applications like wordl are very cool, I never thought of them as an organizing feature. Tag clouds are sort of like jumbled up outlines, which sort of freaks me out. I can see how they could be useful to some people, but I'm not sure they are for me.

2. I think RSS feeds have real potential for on-going research projects. I'm thinking about how to use them (53).

3. I'm thinking hard about my experiences as a teacher and I am realizing just how deeply stuck we are in the 19th century style of learning. We need to get rid of the idea that individuals are competing against one another for the top rank and figure out how to build a collaborative culture of learning! We have the tools, we just have to embrace them. Technology is not going away and it provides opportunities that we must embrace rather than shun.