For those of us who are glued to computers as a part of our job, we probably don't hesitate to use email to communicate with associates, family, friends, etc. For that reason, I thought that an article on how more teachers are employing email is significant: " The new ‘teacher’s pet’ is the computer".
“Parents and teachers are e-mailing more and more often,” according to Pat Sine, director of the University of Delaware’s Office of Educational Technology. “And when teachers make an effort to communicate via e-mail, parents [who don’t already have e-mail] make an effort to get an e-mail address, many of them using e-mail at their place of employment.”Some issues don’t lend themselves to e-mail communication, such as major disputes or discipline issues, said Mark Holodick, principal of Concord High School. But for day-to-day communication, e-mail has become the communication tool of choice, he said.
There is room for debate on whether electronic messaging will be the death knell of interpersonal communications, but the idea that teachers and parents have recognized the challenges of direct, syncronous communication and have embraced email as one solution is a good thing.
I found the implication that 'teachers having email accounts' encourages parents 'who do not already have email accounts' to get email accounts to be interesting. Educators do not always take the lead in moving technology from the classroom back to the real world...the general trend is just the opposite. Although I consider the lag in diffusion of email into the education community to be a sign that we're still behind in the chase for technology, the idea that teachers are taking a leadership role in pushing technology back to the community is a noteworthy trend.
I do wonder how long it will be before a poke becomes more common than a handshake or a hug.