"We need to be governed by knowledge and not ruled by fear."

In a Cnet News.com post The Internet's new Dr. Spock?, Henry Jenkins, an MIT researcher, comments in one of his interview responses about the general attitude of blocking access to technology rather than teaching to it:

We need to be governed by knowledge and not ruled by fear. So, yeah, there are bad things out there in the Internet, but there is so much good stuff going on that it would be a shame to lock it up and shut down social networks or shut down access to gaming technologies because of concern for the negatives.

The article is worth a read, as is his MIT site, where there is plenty of information on current research on technology and learning. Some interesting findings:

• "Civilization III appeals particularly to those students for whom a traditional education is simply not working. Students who do well in the classroom, however, are more reluctant to view gaming as a legitimate learning tool and experience much more frustration when playing the game." (Kurt Squire, " Changing the Game: What Happens When Video Games Enter the Classroom?")

• "games can communicate powerful ideas and open new trajectories for learners" (Kurt Squire, "From Content to Context: Videogames as Designed Experience")

• ideas on instructional design for games, particularly interesting to me is that the military has used educational games effectively for years (Kurt Squire, "Game-Based Learning: Present and Future State of the Field")

• HARNESSING THE POWER OF GAMES IN EDUCATION, by Kurt Squire and Henry Jenkins shows how games might be effectively used.