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n The Online Classroom Of the Future

The source for the article Girls Education: Key to Virtuous Circle (World Trends and Forecasts JanuaryFebruary 2008) about education for the Third World girls has a kindred article, The Case for Universal Education, posted on Global Envision on September 18, 2007. The technology is now available for worldwide efficient and effective educational instruction. The approach is to use an Online Video Classroom (OLVC). Two specific advantages to such a classroom include having students of comparable intelligence and knowledge levels in separate locations able to learn together. The system is ideal for remote areas and for confined studentswhether for medical or legal reasons. The primary Web site for OLVC is http://Onlinevideoclassroom.com. A case may be made that the future battle of wits will be won by the Third World. Thomas B. Albright Lewisville, Texas Fighting the Cult of the Amateur (January- February 2008). The people whom Keen calls expert gatekeepers very often manipulate information to suit their agendas. I would rather make the decision about what to leave in and leave out after I have been exposed to all agendas, as I consider myself neither an expert nor a dunce, but a fairly well-informed reader. YouTube and Google already manage some of the information through their portals (for example, Google China), and, in no small way, it suits their agendas, also. Lupe Smit Miami, Florida

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n Coping with Fears of the Apocalypse

In the article on Nihilism, Fundamentalism, or Activism: Three Responses to Fears of the Apocalypse (January-February 2008), Richard Eckersley describes bringing hope to the excluded and improving quality of life for all. He draws attention to the social dimensions of sustainabilitythe need to combine material and economic life with the need for conservation and sustainable resource use. Material progress and sustainable development are good, but we also need spiritual development to move forward. Spiritual development gives us a reason to create a better and sustainable world for the sake of generations yet to come; it calls on us to have respect for ourselves, for all people and races, and for the environment. It is the ground floor of hope. By acknowledging all aspects of our being, we will become what Gandhi calls a truth force that will set us free and adopt laws, values, and a sense of moral purpose. Our spiritual instincts lead us to choose what is right, not only for ourselves but for all members of the human race, especially those who are feel excluded, left out, or considered worthless. The Divine is not vengeful but a compassionate being who places the healing of the world in our hands, however weak or flawed we may find ourselves. Let us begin today courageously. What are we waiting for? Sister Brenda Walsh Racine, Wisconsin

n In Defense of Amateur Gatekeepers

As a longtime subscriber and futurist, I find your magazine excellent. As an openminded reader, I both agree and, on occasion, disagree with your content. I write because, as open minded as I think I am, I found Andew Keens magnanimity offensive in

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THE FUTURIST

March-April 2008

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