The Virtual Field Trip or the Death of the Permission Slip?

"Follow me kids to a place where you wouldn't get beat up for dressing like this"

Wasn't this the vision of the Internet about 10 years ago?  Kids seeing distant places from the comfort and cost effectiveness of their classrooms?  Well hey it's here and what do you know it is actually working.  Check out this article about the schools in Niagara, NY and their distance learning experience.  Imagine following a revolutionary war soldier into battle and seeing through his eyes in real time at the real scenery.  Technology in the classroom is all about improving the level of engagement and until we invent time machines that work without leaving people stuck in alternate dimensions this will have to be the alternative.

A contest worth entering

The boys at Gizmodo have got one great contest going this week and it's for the betterment of society...maybe.  This is a MS Paint contest to illustrate your vision of the future.  This may be the only time anyone asks you for your opinion on matters this great...so have fun with it.

WOW and Distance Learning

I'm assuming my hours logged onto World of Warcraft with people across the nation won't count as distance learning education.  However, it's interesting to see classrooms incorporating online gaming into their distant learning sessions.  I've been reading much about the improvement of this form of education.  I can only imagine how fun it would have been to learn English grammar rules in the 8th grade, while watching a Chinese 5th grader cover the same material.  Nowadays it's not just two classes that can see each other...they are bringing in shared lesson plans, quizzes and even games where the two classrooms can compete.  These are truly inspirational times and you've got to be happy with the way the education system is keeping up with technology.  Just got to keep an eye out on the roll call for a youngster named Leroy Jenkins.