A 21st Century News Story

Appropriately so, Haiti continues to dominate international news. I will not typically focus on the same story more than once, let alone three times. However in this case, it seems inappropriate not to do so. However rather than asking specific questions about a story, you will see that I have done something different.

These questions stem from the New York Times' homepage.

Questions to Consider:

1. If a single picture can tell a thousand words, look at these pictures and describe what you see. Do you think that a single picture really can tell a thousand words? Why or why not?

2. Open this Web page of missing people. What does Twenty First Century technology enable both newspapers and readers to do that never would have been possible without the development of this technology? Do you think that these technologies always fulfill a valuable purpose? Why or why not?

3. Consider the satellite images of Haiti available here. What can you actually see on these images? (Do not simply focus on the pictures, but also the words.) In what ways do you think that this technology might improve within the next 16 months?

4. Patiently watch the video contained on this page. In what ways is the learning experience from watching this video different from simply reading a newspaper article? Do you think that there will ever be a time when all news will be transmitted in video instead of in written text? Why or why not?

Questions for Younger Children and Everybody Else:

1. In 20 years how do you think that technology will be different than it is today?

2. Do you think it is important to know what is happening in far away places? Why or why not?

3. If you could invent one thing to help people know what is happening in places when they are not there what would you invent? Why?