Evolution or Devolution?

Some random thoughts and links that I want to return to later, and maybe you will too!
I find it ironic that I am getting the most efficient updates on the newer media from one of the oldest, newpapers.
Case in point: the Kindle, an e-book reader. The Wall Street Journal (4 December 2008) reported that Kindles are sold out again this holiday season as an "it" gift. According to the article, e-book sales of 80 participating publishers in September rose 77.8% from a year earlier. This has some interesting long-range implications for education. The Kindle's adaptability includes adjustment of type size (perfect for the vision-impaired). Other wireless e-book devices are also in the works.
While the MPS and other districts still do not authorize the site use of You Tube, clip surfing is getting more sophisticated by the day, and we educators cannot keep up. Now, companies like VideoSurf (test version @ http://www.videosurf.com/) and Digitalsmiths allow viewers to quickly find favorite scenes with a panel of thumbnails. A kind of popular Cliff's notes for the digital age. And we thought students' attention spans were bad before!
What kind of challenge will this be for educators who want to help students develop enough concentration to examine sustained narratives in literature or history without benefit of preconceived imagery? Who does the editing and for what audience? How do we keep up?
The weekly New York Times magazine feature on newer media, "The Medium," offers advice on staying mentally flexible, and recommends the following sites to explore: http://www.newser.org/ (allows setting news preferences from serious to fluff, and one that is very promising to educators, http://www.newsworldmap.com/ from Google, which shows news breaking out all over the globe--a potential bonanza for World Language teachers. I've already posted this link on my Webpage.
There is also what the columnist terms a "brilliant" experiment in reporting breaking news at http://www.livenewscameras.com/. All worth a few minutes of time.
Now, if I can just find a block of time to set up my Spanish language-learning Wiki!

Brain Scans or Scatterbrains?

Dr. Gary Small of UCLA has been in the news quite a bit regarding his studies on impact of technology use on brain patterns. In another life, I might have become a neurologist, (if only I had had physics with a teacher like John Rozeboom before I left high school!). Small has a website with many different articles. His latest work suggests young people who spend inordinate amounts of time interacting with technology rather than humans may alter their ability to relate well to others. (Many educators have already amassed lots of anecdotal evidence of that!). On the other hand, older people may benefit from the mental stimulation of Internet use (I am living proof). Here is the link: http://www.drgarysmall.com/newsappears.htm#news.