But I am convinced that the Internet, itself, is not a bandwagon. We are witnessing a radical shift in the way that people will gather their information and learn about their world. There are countless examples of how new communities are gathering and finding support because of this new network - as in the case of the spouses of Alzheimer patients, for example. The prospect of opening classrooms to the world . . . Therein lies the challenge.
Computers are no longer new.
Many teachers began testing them out with children in 1979 and 1980 when the first Apples and TI computers arrived. The frontier has moved light years beyond mouse skills and computer literacy. The computer is fading into the background as user interfaces become so user-friendly that even the most technophobic adult can point and click their way toward information. Finding information is easy. Finding valid, reliable information pertinent to the question at hand is very difficult.