"I think the main difference is one of 'ownership'. That class has its own soapbox to express its views on any given subject. They are not on someone else's stage. That almost unquantifiable feeling of ownership is an important feature in building any community. Whether any discussion becomes truly interactive however, is in large part dependent on how the teacher 'sells' the concept and trains students to interact. Although educators pay great lip service to the importance of interaction, we tend not to provide the basic building block skills for it to happen more naturally and at a more than superficial level."

"It is interesting to note that our children appear much less interested in using technology to enhance their learning than we adults. But that does not mean they are not learning. Through their many hours spent with digital media, they are learning about themselves and others through electronic communications and interactions, for better or worse..."

Adjusting for inflation, the income of families in the middle of the U.S. income distribution rose from $41,400 in 1979 to $45,100 in 1997, a 9 percent increase. Meanwhile the income of families in the top 1 percent rose from $420,200 to $1.016 million, a 140 percent increase. Or to put it another way, the income of families in the top 1 percent was 10 times that of typical families in 1979, and 23 times and rising in 1997.