the role of both face to face (friends, relatives, family, peers, neighbors, memberships to groups, etc) and remote (online help facilities, helplines, etc) social and resource networks needs to be recognized (Selwyn, 2004). Social networks may represent a significant determinant in the process within which different pupils and teachers, as members of diverse communities and collectivities, identify a “use” for digital technology in their daily and leisure lives, develop an interest towards this use, establish an initial and later a meaningful engagement with digital tools and contents and sustain this interest and engagement throughout time by expanding their skills and knowledge.
Gudrun Porath on 12 Jan 10"This year's Question is "How is the Internet changing the way YOU think?" Not "How is the Internet changing the way WE think?" We spent a lot of time going back on forth on "YOU" vs. "WE" and came to the conclusion to go with "YOU", the reason being that Edge is a conversation. "WE" responses tend to come across like expert papers, public pronouncements, or talks delivered from stage. We wanted people to think about the "Internet", which includes, but is a much bigger subject than the Web, an application on the Internet, or search, browsing, etc., which are apps on the Web. Back in 1996, computer scientist and visionary Danny Hillis pointed out that when it comes to the Internet, "Many people sense this, but don't want to think about it because the change is too profound. Today, on the Internet the main event is the Web. A lot of people think that the Web is the Internet, and they're missing something. The Internet is a brand-new fertile ground where things can grow, and the Web is the first thing that grew there. But the stuff growing there is in a very primitive form. The Web is the old media incorporated into the new medium. It both adds something to the Internet and takes something away." "
