Reflctions from readings (June 23 2009)

Chapter8. Designs for Community

The authors point out that there is discrimination for students of lower socioeconomic status and minority students in terms of using computers. For example, Anglo students get much more opportunities to access to computers in schools than other races’ students. Moreover, wealthier students direct the computer, but poor students are opposite to wealthy students: poor students are directed by the computer. In addition, boys have more access to computers than girls. However, the authors overlook the surveys might be out of date. The surveys were conducted in 80s or early of 90s before the Internet emerge. Since the authors published this book in 2003, they should have more concerned about the evidences for supporting their argument that is students from lower income family and minority races get discrimination in accessing computers. I believe that the kind of discrimination was already getting disappeared in 2003, mainly because computer price in 2003 was getting much cheaper than 80s or early of 90s. Thus, to bolster their argument, the authors must provide more recent evidences, because this kind of technology issue might be quickly changeable as technology development.

As lifelong learners in community, students should learn various knowledge domains to contribute to development of the community. Especially, as technology develops, students must learn about virtual communities. People in virtual communities can do almost everything people do in real life. The virtual technology enables even busy people to engage in brainstorm, exchange knowledge, and intellectual discourse by using telementoring and Impersonations. So, teachers should design lesson plans to provide chances for learning about the extended community of the world by virtual technology.