Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom thyself to consider that the nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change the things which are, and to make new things like them.
Marcus Aurelius http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/marcus_aurelius_3.html
Knobel and Lankshear provide a remarkable perspective into the state of technology and its application as it relates to Literacy. One of the views I was drawn to was their assessment of how "The Old Guard" was vilifying the advent of technology into the educational environment and warning against hazards that may present themselves to our students. Knobel and Lankshear point out that students have more of a comprehensive understanding of the Internet and related technology than do the teachers charged with their education. Students know how to effectively employ these technologies in their social and educational environments. Sometimes they do so simultaneously without the teachers being any the wiser. Contemporary students have, for the most part exhibited a degree of withitness that imparts a certain degree of self-reliance and actively make conscious decisions that may or may not expose them to harm. These researchers' growth in this field has mirrored the advancements that have been pivotal in the fields' own development. Their contemporaries in this field may lack certain expertise because they came up after the onset of these advancements and do not have fist hand fundamental underpinnings that make Knobel and Lankshear so well respected. The only caveat I would impart to you is that however far advanced we become and however much we embrace and incorporate the advent of current and future technologies into the mainstream of our lives, we should never lose sight of the fundamental principles that have driven and guided this and future advancements.
