by driftword

Professional organizations and annual conferences have long been the bastion of intellectual advance for decades. Those of us who participate in these affairs know their importance to us, our colleagues, our discipline—and ultimately our students. We come away from our annual conferences energized with new ideas and new ways of thinking. What is just as important is that we get the opportunity to conduct face-to-face networking where we can make new professional connections while strengthening established ones. Face-to-face communication IS truly networking in the major leagues—something the virtual world of the internet cannot replace.
 
What if Profpost were to become an off-line/on-line forum—of the archetype variety? What if real educators gathering for a real forum where like-minded people would plan to set aside some significant time to meet and discuss topics and issues face to face in the same room at the same time? Add just a little bit of structure by positing a thorny issue to discuss. Who knows, we might create the same atmosphere of our beloved professional conferences right here at UC —twelve months a year.
 
Imagine the cross pollination of a think-tank environment in our academic setting where wild ideas meet best practices or old ideas are thought of as new again. Think of that: cross-campus colleagues gathering in a spirit of forward thinking—just because we can. Imagine the impact of these meetings if we were able to document these potentially super-charged discussions for the academic world to experience. I am NOT suggesting that this would replace being there. Think of the possible postings on the internet as “intellectual advertising” —our contribution to the greater good. Catch my drift.
 

driftword is a pen name. This contributor chooses to remain anonymous.

by driftword

The use of technology may be holding us back. Big time. Communication technology has become such an accepted part of our lives that we no longer need “real” human contact to feel connected. iPod’s, smart phones, online gaming, and the net have become embedded into our daily lives, habits, and culture. In markets world wide, online games are often regarded as a sort of spiritual opium. And in the multiuser gaming world, virtual reality can be viewed as better than reality. It seems that real interpersonal communication is on the decline. If left unchecked, it is likely that real human interaction may be viewed as outmoded and unnecessary…sooner than later.

In 2007 China, demand propelled online-games sales to top 10.57 billion yuan ($1.46 billion), up 61.5 percent, the agency said where internet cafes are all the rage. Internet cafes, known as “net bars” in Chinese, are often crowded rooms filled with rows of computers and the bleeps of online games. China has recently banned children from internet cafes and last year ordered their owners to enforce time restrictions in the wake of several cases involving obsessive players dying of fatigue after marathon game sessions. Attempts to regulate the booming industry have been undermined by a lack of a proper rating system in China and easy access to pirated games online and on street corners.

Now this: Video gamers and online addicts are seeking intervention to help break their addictions at regional US clinics.

by Elissa Sonnenberg, MSEd

Fall has always been my favorite time of year—crisp breezes offer hints of rebirth after a long, hot, Cincinnati summer. This year, as I look forward to meeting a fresh new crop of UC students, the pre-birth contractions have already begun as talk of semester conversion and an exciting office move pull me back toward campus, anticipating new routines and pedagogical discoveries.

But as July matured, it was the whiff of independence that quickened my pulse—the independence to create new spaces for learning and growing alongside students. The independence to find ways to glimpse how the process of learning can part the curtain between the teacher and the taught, revealing extraordinary, and often unexpected, truths.