Greenhaus Education and Other "Effects"

The question - does social media impact personal life? The answer - yes.  Is that a good thing or a bad thing? The answer - it depends. I have been on vacation the past week or so and am currently on personal leave to finish writing my dissertation proposal (which, as you can see, I am procrastinating!) During my vacation, I swore I would take a break from blogging, Twitter, email, and all things electronic. I lied. I admit - I did honestly make the attempt and in fact, did not turn on my computer one time.  However, the iPad is a constant companion, especially since the books I am reading (currently, the Game of Thrones series) are on there, so I had the iPad with me a lot - even on the beach.  It was very easy to check if I had emails, to check out my Facebook or to send a Twitter or two.  Long story short, I failed miserably at the disconnecting aspect. View from chair and under canopy! Which brings me back to the question of does social media impact p...

As a person who believes in the integration of technology in instruction, my thoughts about online learning/schooling are mixed.  I read this article "Online Grade Schools Becoming a Popular Alternative"  by Mark MacLaughlin  about parents having their elementary children enrolled in an online grade school and it just got me wondering about what might be some disadvantages to this approach. While I completely agree that it gives children more choice in what and how they learn, does it impact other important aspects of actual brick and mortar schools?  These other aspects include interacting with peers, learning 'rules' and limits (expectations of the real world), learning respect for differences and how to deal appropriately with those differences (in other students, in teachers, etc.)?  I am a proponent of online learning, don't get me wrong, but I just wonder if a mixed approach is better.  I know from my own personal experience with my doctorate course...