Before I had computers in my classroom, before I even know anything about
them, a friend introduced me to bulletin boards. She was on a local BBS
that a dad had started to teach his kids about the Internet. Many lively
discussions between high school kids and adults took place on that board,
kept kids at home in front of the computer in the evenings, and gave some
adults a window into popular culture. 

I attended one event at a local burger joint where people from the list
(it was local) got together and met each other for the first time. That
was so much fun! And that is still what I'm excited about sharing in
regards to technology - the ability to connect with people that you never
would have been able to find before. This has evolved into social
networking, which I think has huge potential for education - education in
the broadest sense of the word, some of which takes place in the classroom
and a lot of which we just do on our own as we explore.

Anyone got a good story about you, or a student, making an unusual
connection online? (Educational or informational, not dating. We have
plenty of those stories!) I have certainly made some valuable connections
with all of you on this list over the last few years.

Marian Thacher
OTAN

The Technology and Literacy Discussion List <technology at nifl.gov> on
Thursday, December 20, 2007 at 12:51 PM -0800 wrote:

>Hello all,

>It’s a good time of the year to take stock and reflect. A recent CNN

>article (link below) begins, “Like a first love or a first car, a first

>computer can hold a special place in people's hearts. For millions of

>kids who grew up in the 1980s, that first computer was the Commodore 64.

>Twenty-five years later, that first brush with computer addiction is as

>strong as ever.”

>

> 

>For you, what was that first piece of hardware, software, or internet

>application that captured your imagination and brought you in to the

>technophile/techie fold?

>When working with your students is there something that is sure to get

>them hooked and motivated to explore using new technologies?

>

> 

>I was a Commodore 64 owner myself. It was mostly used for playing Pong,

>but it was fun and was a gateway. How about you?

> 

>http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/ptech/12/07/c64/index.html

>

> 

> 

>Mariann Fedele

>Director,

>NYC Regional Adult Education Network

>Literacy Assistance Center

>

>Moderator,

>NIFL Technology and Literacy Discussion List

>32 Broadway 10th Floor

>New York, New York 10004

>212-803-3325

>[ mailto:mariannf at lacnyc.org ]mariannf at lacnyc.org

>[ http://www.lacnyc.org ]www.lacnyc.org

>

> 

>----------------------------------------------------

>National Institute for Literacy

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>Email delivered to mthacher at otan.us



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