By Thomas O’Brien and Edward Fersch, Daily Star
In the 1930s, new transportation technologies changed society. The automobile and its cousins meant that people could travel longer distances in less time. Educators saw the potential of this technology to transform education in rural areas; the school bus was born. Each hollow no longer needed its own school. There was now a safe way for the children from the relatively isolated farm families to travel greater distances to school each day. The one-room schoolhouses were closed and large centralized schools were built in the larger villages. Today, new communication technologies are changing the world. Internet connections, video conferencing and other forms of digital technology have made it possible for us to communicate in real time with more and more people. Our generation needs to realize the potential of this technology to transform education in our time. We no longer need the school bus to bring students to the teacher; we can use this new technology to bring the teacher to the students.
http://thedailystar.com/columns/x1361428302/Time-to-get-off-the-bus-and-on-the-computer
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