...just trying to play around with chatting here at school. I feel that when all the computers get the "clean sweep" (a.k.a. when they are imaged), iChat will be blocked. There have already been multiple times when I have used iChat to transfer documents/presentations from myself to another teacher and vice versa. I believe we may need to rethink the supposed "sinning" that is involved with chat programs.
The websites for Google Talk and Skype are both blocked. About a year ago I watched a piece on the news (local; WGAL; Lancaster, PA) about two classes presenting speeches to each other (10 miles away) because they felt that presenting to strangers allowed for more authentic critique of their work. One piece of evidence suggesting that chatting might be an important part of this 21st century education everyone is talking about.
-- The state has to think its important: Though the macbook comes equipped with a webcam, the PC package arrives with an external webcam.
