The copyright dates of a typical school library's books on science, American states and foreign nations are pretty discouraging. The old technology has not keep up with the times. Pre-modem education sent children to learn about countries, states, products and economies which no longer exist. In post-modem schools, students make the answers. Teachers show students how to navigate through vast databases so as to locate information which will provide the basis for new insights.
Information is hot, fresh, current and rich.
The modem is a rapidly obsolescing product of the analog age, translating the computer's digital messages for analog telephone connections. Questioning converts data into information and information into insight. Text Literacy Good teachers have always taught students to be critical readers, but the task of finding meaning in thousands of pages of electronic text is a new challenge requiring new skills. Numerical Literacy Understanding the modern world requires some ability to think mathematically, analyze databases and crunch numbers. Once students have the vast databases of the US Census available on their desktops, they must know how to ask powerful questions about relationships and use a spreadsheet to find answers.