Speaking of changes in the way we learn things, this is just so cool:
When Todd Whitlock wanted to ask legislators questions about the timing of Indiana's ISTEP-Plus test, he didn't bother to make the 100-mile drive from his job to the Statehouse.Whitlock, technology director at North Daviess Community Schools in Odon, simply watched the debate live on his computer and e-mailed his legislator with questions.The power of video, combined with instant messaging, is breaking down the limestone walls of the Statehouse and opening the legislative process to Hoosiers who might never make it to the Capitol gallery."Technology is quickly revolutionizing the legislative process," said House Speaker Brian C. Bosma, R-Indianapolis. "We've been able to use technology to open our doors to the public. It's the greatest open-door initiative since the adoption of the open-door law (barring secret government meetings) some 30 years ago."
Our government is open by design, but that has always been more in theory than in fact. Few people have the time or ability to attend all the local government meetings, let alone get to Indianpolis for the General Assembly. So they had to depend on the press, which usually looks for items of communitywide (or statewide) interest. So you get to read about the downtown parking issue when all you care about is the pothole in the alley behind your house.
But technology is opening up the process. We no longer need to be "there" to participate in something. And even those in government don't need to let the press decide how to present them. Some of the legislators are starting their own blogs.
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Lasik
Lasik