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Some Chinese school officials have gone against the wishes of the national government and removed Internet filtering software becuase it "has strong conflicts with teaching software we need for normal work." On the other hand, many public schools in the US not only tolerate draconian filtering policies, but elect to implement such policies on the local level! Why are we willing to sacrifice educational opportunities for some imagined sense of security about our children? If you haven't looked over the "Unmasking the Digital Truth" Wiki, I highly recommend that you do so. It discusses some of the common misconceptions about Internet filtering in schools and associated laws. (http://unmaskdigitaltruth.pbworks.com/)

Article about how some schools in China have uninstalled the controversial Internet filter (Green Dam), which was required to be installed on all public systems by mandate of the Chinese government.

Article about how I-Pads will make electronic patient records easier to use, less expensive, and eventually transform health care. Interesting to read after our online discussion about AI in informal learning- health communication and medical training.

With the privacy concerns surrounding medical records, HIPPA legislation and the password security that is now required of personnel in hospitals to access medical records with ever changing password authentication tokens, I wonder if iPad wireless communication poses any risk to data being hijacked.

Cherie- I actually discussed this issue with a relative who is a doctor and he said that while his office is trying to switch to digital records, he is also concerned about privacy, increased government/insurance company regulation, and a disconnect in patient care/communication (looking down instead of talking to the patient). He also is concerned about time management with so many patients- the time it will take to record information on a tablet instead of the time he takes verbally recording patient information in just a few seconds.

Online college M State is offering 3D interactive instructional content

The distraction of technology, especially mobile phone and computer, has always been a concern to us. When I was in middle school, few students owned cellphones or laptops. So we have no chance to be immersed in the virtual world. But apparently we couldn't enjoy the benefits of the latest technology either at that time. If I were able to choose, I would definitely choose the colorful school life which is enriched by the various technologies.

Florida virtual school goes worldwide

"What would digitized classrooms look like, and how could technology improve pupil engagement and mastery of concepts? How might educators scale up successful pilot projects? On October 6, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings will host a forum on education technology and its potential to transform the modern American classroom." Looks like it could be a pretty good conversation for students like us to participate in!

Barnes and Noble releases the Nook, which is a competitor to the Amazon Kindle. It has E-ink on the top, and a color screen below.