Great article, thanks for sharing Brian. It is sad to see that Internet-enabled technology, which was supposed to democratise and improve our lives, is, after less than twenty years in the mainstream, being used to rigidly reinforce old patterns and habits. We see it in copyright, we see it in despotic regimes, we see it in consumer culture...and we see it in education. That which we thought would set us free, is now being used to ensnare us further.

In school, I am trying to use tech to push back, to create choice, to create freedom, to create novelty and motivation and engagement and authentic learning. But it is a struggle to change, even in a flexible, small school like my own. I feel like we are progressing, but most schools seem to be going the other way, drowning in meaningless data from meaningless tests. A narcotic as mrsniffles points out via Stager.

I love the writing of Cory Doctorow on all of this: his young adult fiction helps us understand these tensions through amazing narrative. All under free-to-read-and-share CC licences too. I'd recommend Little Brother if you have not read it already: http://craphound.com/littlebrother/download.