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In an acknowledgment of the realities of the digital age — and of competition from the Web site Wikipedia — Encyclopaedia Britannica will focus primarily on its online encyclopedias and educational curriculum for schools. The last print version is the 32-volume 2010 edition, which weighs 129 pounds and includes new entries on global warming and the Human Genome Project.

Since it was started 11 years ago, Wikipedia has moved a long way toward replacing the authority of experts with the wisdom of the crowds. The site is now written and edited by tens of thousands of contributors around the world, and it has been gradually accepted as a largely accurate and comprehensive source, even by many scholars and academics.

The Britannica, the oldest continuously published encyclopedia in the English language, has become a luxury item with a $1,395 price tag

We are very fortunate to work in a school district which places a high value on the use of educational technologies, so many valuable sites are not blocked including YouTube, Wikipedia, Flickr, del.icio.us, and other social networking sites. Of course, we have strong filters protecting students from inappropriate material, but generally speaking, we believe that our responsibility as educators in the 21st Century is to teach students how to use the Internet responsibility as opposed to automatically shutting them out of everything which is done in too many schools through the world and across our country.

That learning is important and that education should be fun, interesting and challenging.” Can you talk a little bit about how you as an administrator can foster a climate where “education is fun, interesting and challenging?”

. The power of the Internet! I also have used YouTube and TeacherTube videos in faculty meetings to introduce a topic or reinforce a point, and I try to incorporate an activity that engages teachers with technology such as a digital camera scavenger hunt in the building for our staff.