After reading the post in Cool Cat Teacher Blog, it got me thinking a lot not only about where our schools are now in regard to the internet, but where will they be soon?
I think she's right. The internet is a huge resource that is completely underutilized in schools today. She talks mostly about the internet being 'the library card of the modern age'. I think there is a lot of truth to that. Instead of requesting books, movies, and other resources from your own and other libraries, it's basically all a few clicks away. The only cost, primarily, is paying for the bandwidth you use. There are millions of free sites and programs on the web that are awesome teaching tools. Even better, students now days will be completely happy with using online resources, and probably know more about how to use them than an actual library.
So, if all these amazing resources are becoming readily available online, and you can basically buy any book as an ebook, how much longer will print libraries be useful and utilized? The question begs an answer, that I, nor anyone I know has the answer to.
Everyone is very used to libraries, but when things become outdated, then what? Society tends to hold tightly to certain things, but easily let others go. Will all these be let go? Or even some? It's hard to say. Technology is advancing so quickly, it's difficult to keep up with. I would be just as happy sitting down with the Nook by Barnes and Noble, with hundreds of ebooks on it, then I would be with a paperback. But not everyone is me.
Try to imagine schools without a library, or even towns. Strange. I guess only the Lord knows where this age is taking us.
No comments:
Post a Comment