The boy in the bubble

Back in the 70s I watched a TV movie starring John Travolta as a boy raised in a plastic bubble. Allergic to just about everything he couldn't go outside and play. He stayed in the house and ventured out only in a sort of space suit. It's based on a true story.

I've often felt that people living their avatar rich lives and connecting with others only through the internet are like the BITB. Safe and secure with everything they need but missing out on oh so much. Stuck inside their virtual worlds they are missing out on the real world around them.

But I've had a wee epiphany. No I'm not a raving cyber-geek, some sort of Johnny-come-lately to the virtual world, but I have had my eyes opened a wee bit. The bubble is see-through and there's stuff on the inside that I can use and enjoy.

This yummy delicious thing for instance. I've got a few more bookmarks on my site and now I don't have to try and remember the name of websites. Was it .org? or .govt? Those days are slip sliding away. Just login to my delicious account, click on the link and whammo! (Pause for thought - how many cups of tea could I make with the energy to attach myself via delcious rather than remembering? Hmmmm)

And YouTube. Up to yesterday it was the realm of Flight of the Conchords snippets, music videos and UK comedy shows (check out Larry Hagman's appearance on Shooting Stars). Then on a whim in my ICT class I thought "would YouTube have anything on Pythagoras?" A quick search and wow there's tonnes of stuff. Even a mock movie trailer which cuts together bits of Kindergarten Cop, True Lies and Good Will Hunting. It looks hilarious - I've yet to master getting sound out of the magic box.

So I'm a semi-convert - I've punched a little hole in my bubble. The technology has to be appropriate, but there are clearly interesting ways to introduce subjects and use technology to aid my teaching. The challenge now is to determine what technology there is, find out how to use it, get a handle on what my future students will take for granted, and most importantly use the technology well.

For now I'll keep my waterwings on, have lots of moments of wow and just enjoy it. If only I could remember all of my newly acquired logons and passwords....