The questions are pretty broad this time, mostly because I think that being more specific is nearly impossible given the generality of the authors' claims. They're mostly designed to spur discussion.

. matthew

1. Where do you see the role of audio/video conferencing in education today? It's obviously used in corporate board meetings and long distance academic pow-wows, but can it create any kind of substantive change in the distance-learning paradigm?

2. The authors are obviously infatuated with 'virtual community spaces'; how do you see these spaces as more or less important than the classroom? How does techno-mediated instruction differ from personal instruction?

3. The authors employ the 'virtual world' concept quite liberally -- do you think this is a viable technology? Should modern technologists be working towards this virtual reality work? Are 'holodecks' the logical endpoint of educational technology?

4. There is also a common usage of "artificially intelligent characters" ("virtual teachers") to fill in much of the rote work in teaching. Do you think that we could create them? What kinds of things would you try to do with such a character? What types of teacherly tasks could be automated, in your opinion?

5. How has television shaped the way you learn? Is it useless, harmful, helpful, mindless, brilliant? Do you feel like writing a symphony after watching MTV, or do you feel like a mindless drone after watching an hour of the Learning Channel? How are TV's used in schools, and how should they be?