Chapter 7

Three things I didn't know about the chapter were:
1."The U.S. Department of Defense developed the first version of the Internet during the 1970's to allow quick communication among researchers working on DOD projects in about 30 locations." I honestly wasn't sure who developed the first version of the net, but I found this very interesting considering it was our DOD. I thought maybe it was NASA or something.
2. Mosaic was "the very first web browser." Because of the graphics it used there was a huge spike of Internet use and then the Net progressed into what it is today, kind of like wildfire.
3.Metacrawlers "programs use more than one search engine at the same time to locate things." Examples: Dogpile and Hotbot. I've heard of these search engines, but I didn't know they used several others to find the information. I kind of thought all search engines used each other to find the information asked for. So this was news to me.

Two things I'd use in my classroom are:
1. Blogs-As an English teacher this could be very useful because it would allow me to assess students' writing as they do weekly journal entries, it would allow for participation points, and I think students would enjoy reflecting on the literature they are reading in their own words and on their own time.
2.Electronic Whiteboards aka smartboards-Highly effective in giving a presentation or demonstrating what students are supposed to be doing for their assignments. The smartboard is a nice break from chalk or markers too, seems to be more interactive with students and breathes new life into a classroom.

One question I have about the chapter is: Why isn't videoconferencing used more today than it is? Does the problem lie within the technology itself or with the operators or with the amount of time in which a person has to set it up and take it down?