My first tangent took me to Steam Cafe because I thought it would be a fun idea to have something like the SMS display system Milne describes. I've really wanted to find a hardware project I can build with some interested students... perhaps something Arduino-based. Of course, I have absolutely no extra time right now (unless LEGOS are involved) but if I point a competent student in the right direction, she can do all the work. Anyway, I was hoping to find plans for this system on the web site, but I started to get too deep and made myself return to the task at hand: Milne's article.
Next tangent had me thinking about how sending a single email interferes with the "rapid-fire discussion with colleagues" described on page 18. I've been sitting in way too many meetings lately (by the way, I could never survive as an administrator, I hate committees) and this old "interface mechanism" really got me thinking. How many times has the recorder missed important discussions or interaction because she was busy formatting the document?
Final thought... even though Milne claims costs for things like LCD displays are dropping precipitously, I can only think one thing when reading the final few pages of his vision for future learning environments: expensive! It's not just the upfront hardware costs we need to be concerned with, it is the installation, configuration, upkeep and replacement costs that blow these visions out of the water for the time foreseeable future. I'm sorry to sound jaded, but I have worked in a fairly affluent school district for the past ten years and you would not believe the lack of basic tech support I've encountered. I really don't see these systems implemented in anything less than very well-funded, forward thinking, private institutions.
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