Howard Rheingold

TItle of image: Howard Rheingold

Creator name: Joi Ito

Source of the image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/joi/2121488118

Of all the technologically inspired teachers out there, Howard Rheingold is probably my favourite. I first stumbled upon his blog through my Integration of Information and Computer Technology Part 2 course. I absolutely love his emphasis on teaching students how to detect crap online and I love how he asserts that this will have a positive effect on both the individual student or learner as well as on the internet commons. He provides insight on how the development of the internet has shifted the responsibility of detecting crap from the producers (publishers) to the consumers (readers). Prior to the internet, publishers were paid well to ensure that the information they were releasing to the world was accurate. With the advent of the internet, anyone can publish any crap at any time. These ideas were not completely new to me as a user of the internet for research however he did provide a historical context that I had not completely considered. I will work diligently to teach all students how to detect crap, so that this type of information on the internet receives less attention.  

PS. I love those painted shoes.