I think this article is quite ironic coming from someone within education.

Sate and federal governments are embarking on programs to install computers into schools, but every teacher I have talked to (or attempted to talk to) really don’t know what to do with the computers, so now they are talking of using the computers to develop a “global community”. They encourage the students to use programs such as YouTube and Myspace to “connect” with children in other parts of the world.

Meanwhile the education system remains almost totally aloof and remote from the public, and because of its lack of communication, it is continuously at loggerheads with various state and federal governments, as well as parents and also the students.

While the education system continuously asks for more public money, it continues to spend this money on imports to the extent there is virtually nothing left in the education system with a “Made in Australia” sticker on it.

One could search for many days in classrooms to find such a sticker, with nearly all items in a classroom now being imported from China, and in the case of software and textbooks, nearly all being produced by US companies.

Due to the practice by the education system of importing almost everything, and rarely using anything produced by Australian companies, the education system will shortly be at loggerheads with Australian industry as well as governments, parents and students.

So in Australia we have the education system, and then there is everyone else.

There is no longer any connection or relationship between these two separate groups.

I agree that technological modes of communication only facilitate the want of the user. I had a school principle come into my office earlier this year and we were talking about technology etc. below is a quote from him (not sure how original):

"Where we are digital immigrants - they are digital natives".

I use this quote directed at today’s youth appropriately. It is the unfamiliarity to older generations of these new modes that is disconcerting to them. Why do they find it disconcerting? It can only be deep conservatism... trying to recall a newspaper story I saw a while ago: 'cyber bullying' or something to that effect. The media/public outcry from this article was not that bullying was occurring but that technology was cause (the implication in that article being that if mobile phones, myspace etc were banned this bullying wouldn't occur). A total nonsense, bullying as an example of human interaction/communication will always be. As long our societies are the way they are - and technological advance will continue as it has - more communication modes will come 'online' and we'll have to deal with that at some point.

Terribly sorry for the ramble (we do that sometimes we old folk)

Regards

Matt, I agree with you that it appears to be only a deep conservatism which fuels criticism of innovations. I agree with the author too, that claims that such innovations will impact negatively on society are usually proved to be groundless. I think I have more belief in humankind that to believe that new technologies will cause 180degree changes in peoples basic make-up.

Shallow people will manipulate new things in a shallow way, practical persons will utitilse them in practical ways...the product itself may make changes to a person's life but not, I think to the person's nature.

Personally, I find Face-Book absolutely indispensible in my personal circumstances, but I am aware there are those who value it for different reasons.

I believe there were people who grumbled and muttered over the advent of electricity - and yes, it certainly changed life - even, it could be argued, the world. But human nature?

I think it would take more than FaceBook to do that.

Being a youth worker and an active computer user I agree with many things you have said. I have found this form of communication to be good and bad for lack of personal contact and face to face conversations.
I have been a youth worker for over 30years and watched as three generations of change occurred in the youth arena.
Strange when I talk online to those kids who now have kids.They are happy to converse online but not face to face,, very sad
Regards
Yvon

Being middle aged, I certainly would not consider myself a digital native.

However, I find that now I am able to keep in contact both verbally and visually with friends and family overseas in ways I never could before.

Writing on facebook is still writing and should be encouraged.

While old farts like myself will never full understand the full extent of its abilities as the youth do, I do recognise that people communicate the way they do simply because they can. We didn't because we couldn't.

I must be a luddite...I don't get much joy from communicating using the internet. It is useful for email etc, but give me a pub, a pint and some good company any day. Also, there is no substitute for body language...it's an essential part of communication (probably more telling than what is said) and is sadly lacking on the internet- even with a camera you can't really get the full sensorial picture. I would prefer to be in the presence of those I'm talking to and to get the full picture of what they are saying, rather than having them at the other end of a camera, or as a few sentences on a screen.

But then again I prefer to go into the bank and talk to people rather than use machines (it's far more interesting), walk around the office rather than use email, and generally like to be outdoors rather than indoors. I think I'm fast being left behind, but I like where I'm being left!