Hm, a bit overdue, but better late than never.
Poor Dad might come across as someone who is left here from a different world, resisting any change, unwilling to learn, and, consequently, will have to fail. This is true to the extent that yes, he tends to be happy with the present state, whatever that is, and often puts on a know-it-all attitude.
But here is my point. You would expect this man to be a digital outcast. But even he, who is so used to routines and "ways-things-should-be", has changed some of his habits.
He still starts the day with his favourite newspaper, but then connects to the internet and reads other news sites. He has recently taken to YouTube and now he shows me videos I have never seen before. He has joined a social network (he had never been able to keep in touch with friends before) and has just got his sister to do the same. News sites and YouTube are parts of his daily routine, yet he's a conservative guy (in the good sense), getting somewhat longish in the tooth.
From this point on, how can we go on pretending that YouTube and the internet (just to stick with these examples) are just "nice to have" but they have nothing to do with education? How can we go on pretending that these can be done away with (or done without) in our language classrooms? To state the obvious, these media are even more naturally ingrained in our teenage students' lives, and it might not be wise to ignore this fact.
Any comments?