Internet as Utopia

Earlier this semester, I asked students to respond to the concept of utopia on the internet--either the idea that the internet will bring about a more utopic form of education and community or how the concept of utopia is used to market products. For the first question, notions of the internet as a utopia, I asked students to read Will Richardson's article World Without Walls: Learning Well with Others published on Edutopia (itself an example of using the concept of utopia for marketing purposes).

I left the response assignment intentionally vague, hoping that students would feel free to respond in creative ways. I was not disappointed. The response that most perfectly melded form and content was Jasmine's Facebook note (*disappointed sigh* for the school district that just outlawed teachers and students communicating via web 2.0 software)

Below is Langton's brilliant (and artistically rendered) response to Richardson's article (click images to view full-sized):



One thing that surprised me was how emphatically my students argued for the role of teachers in mediating the online educational experience. I don't think that Richardson suggests that the internet makes teachers obsolete, but he does suggest that it requires a significant redefinition of teaching and learning. They also felt that Richardson ignores the vast swamps of dreck (primarily anonymous youtube comments, 4chan users and pornography) that seem to thrive on the web.

What do you think? I would be particularly curious to hear from my students if I am representing your view correctly.