Where have all the honeybees gone?

At the top of my blog, there is a beautiful image of a honeybee that I found within the public domain via the state library on North Carolina. The honeybee is the state insect of North Carolina. Unfortunately, throughout the United States, honeybees are disappearing at an alarming rate.
Honeybees can be credited with pollinating more than $14 billion worth of agricultural crops every year throughout the United States. “Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food,” said Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation. In the U.S., Bee losses are ranging from 30 to 60 percent on the West Coast, with some beekeepers on the East Coast and in Texas reporting losses of more than 70 percent. A loss of up to 20 percent in the off season is considered to be normal by beekeepers. The exact reason for the steep declines in honeybee populations is unknown. Investigators are exploring theories including viruses, fungus and poor bee nutrition. Another hypothesis is that the use of a group of pesticides are somehow affecting bees’ innate ability to find their way back home.

To read a complete article from the NY Times on this issue visit the following.
New York Times. Honeybees Vanish, Leaving Keepers in Peril http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/27/business/27bees.html?ex=1330232400&en=3aaa0148837b8977&ei=5088

The Internet and Other Long Distance Learning Tools

I recently read a chapter out of the text Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching that discussed distance learning and use of the internet in the classroom. I was disappointed to see that the chapter summed up the effectiveness of distance learning as comparable to face-to-face education. The text clearly states that distance learning classrooms have a higher drop out rate than face-to-face classrooms. I guess in this case effective learning is based on assessment scores, but isn't attendance and commitment much more important. If a higher rate of students drop out due to lack of emotional connection doesn't that make distance learning less effective than face-to-face learning. It disturbs me that assessment in education is so often based on regurgitation of information. There is a big difference between a student learning about something and a student learning from something. I would argue that distance learning fails students in learning from something.
Part of schooling is learning how to socialize, form relationships and collaborate. While opportunities for collaboration do exists on the internet, it has been suggested that too much time on a computer directly impacts an indiviuals interpersonal skills. I would argue that in this world of technology and information overload, that educators should encourage our students to take a deep breathe, slow down, comtemplate ideas, master skills, get dirty, and learn by asking face-to-face questions and working with others face-to-face.
Simply Presenting information, cutting and pasting, googling, is not educating. Hands on activities that allow students to learn from mistakes and feel what they are doing physically and emotionally is education.
I also fear that pushing technology is our schools will only widen the gap between the have's and the have nots.
By no means do I feel that technology should be nixed from our schools, basic computer and technological skills are important. Technology can provide a great way to present informtaion with students when used apropriately and sparingly and the internet can expose students to other cultures in creative ways. But this push to integrate technology regularly into all classes is not only expensive, but is encouraging disconnect from reality and the notion that answers come with a click of a button.I definitely hesitate to embrace the computer age and cater to the way in which it is altering how we teach, obtain information, learn and communicate.