Kaia

Ok - so the first thing that comes to mind is "You had me at hello" - I mean you had me at Kaia. I am a mom and I don't mean that creepy. I just mean that if I had seen this blog on my first day of class then I would have found it hard to complain about any facet of technology.

Let's start off with her little movie with the pictures she took with her daddy. First of all I love the song playing with the movie. Just Breathe by Pearl Jam is one of the best songs I have heard in a LONG time. Put that song to a movie made by a sweet three year old and you got gold. I love that she and her father were finding beauty in things that weren't beautiful. What perspective! Great parenting.

Moving on to how we came to find out about Kaia. It is awesome that we get to share in this experience because Mr. Chamberlin participated in comments4kids. I looked at the excitement on this little girl's face when Dillon read her the story and heard her say play it again. Priceless! By the way, the class I raved about in my last post was ENG 226 with Jody Conrad. Dillon, the girl in EDM that created the video for Kaia, was in that class with me (both 225 and 226). Sweet girl. She touched a little girl's life with a story read via the internet. I thought to myself now this can touch so many lives all over the world. Human connection is a beautiful thing. I think of all the grandmothers and grandfathers, aunts and uncles, cousins, friends who are away from the people they love. Now they can communicate face to face via Skype. The can create lasting experiences and memories through movies and blogs that can be shared with people they love. I am sold.

Now onto the father's concern about sharing Kaia with the world. As I said, being a parent I hear his concern. I applaud him for considering his daughter and how this could affect her both positively and negatively. I also appreciate that as a teacher he is looking at this as an avenue for future learning. Dr. Scott McLeod talked about fear on his blog. He feels like there is too much fear with regard to allowing the students to use the internet in schools. I commented that I have fears with regards to my children's safety. I always go overboard. But I feel that the fears I have come from a place of love. I hope that is how the school boards feel about the children they are charge of and that is the reason for internet controls. I know that Kaia father loves his daughter. It is so evident in his interaction with her. I know that his fears of putting his daughter out their for the world to see comes from a place of deep love. I thank him that he is taking that risk for the sake of learning. I pray that he is making the right choice. I am not that brave YET with my kids but I want to be. I would love for my kids to connect with children all over the world. I see nothing but positive things happening because this father is taking such a risk.

Bottom line - I loved this week's assignment. You had me at hello - I mean Kaia!