What's the Point?

For the past year, some of us who teach high school have been discussing the use of blogs, wikis, and other technological innovations to enhance our teaching efforts. In fact, I have already used podcasts and a Smartboard, although I do not use either of these tools to their true capacity. The school district which employs me is interested in expanding the use of some of these so-called "emerging technologies" in the classroom, although there is still fear, trepidation, and ignorance as to how to use them. I may use some of the district's tools to blog/discuss issues with students, but it may be set up in a way where anyone could read entries, but only enrolled students (controlled by the school district) could comment. I would like to have discussions with all my students, past and present, as well as friends, colleagues, and others who find this space and are interested in our discussions.

Please read, think, and comment. This is not meant to be a site where I write and you read. This is a site where ideas are tossed out and the discussion spins out from there. I teach economics and statistics (the "ics"), but topics of politics, mathematics (two more "ics"), philosophy, travel, law, technology, education, and just about anything else can be fair game. Invite your friends and acquaintances - the more people the more interesting our discussions will be. I'll try tossing out ideas, like I do in my class - and like class, some will click and be fun to discuss and others will thud to the ground like the stock market's famous "Dead Cat Bounce." Suggest topics, give your opinion, ask for mine. As many of you know, my classes have a way of wandering off-topic, and the challenge is to bring it back on track. Here there is no track, so we can wander all we want without syllabus, standardized tests, or school admnistrators to limit us.

Let's get started.