Finally this semester I get a chance to pull it all together in writing ... and I'm excited.
It's been tough until now not only because I have been busy with lots of other important stuff, but also because it took a lot of time to learn how to frame the technology argument and embed it within a legal argument. Most folks natural inclination toward law is that it is typically conservative and frequently anti-innovation. And, the natural response to that is anti-law (and that's where I was for a while). But, while that is true in a lot of ways (example), it is not entirely accurate. Many laws may be written in a way that minimizes technology's impact, but underlying those laws are other laws that are in fact quite friendly to technology. And, at the bottom of our legal system, our Constitution is actually quite friendly toward technology, innovation, change, adaptation, etc. It's a document that has survived and prospered for 200+ years now, so I think it can probably handle these latest changes as well. It's just a matter of how we interpret those words in light of our new economy and societal situation.
The idea is that you can hook up the legal literature (from judges, law professors, legislators, etc.) related to education with the emerging literature on twenty-first century learning and business. It's clear by now that this Internet thing is sort of important. And, that global awareness and competitiveness is essential. So, once you don't have convince people of that so much, then you are free to apply these ideas to the legal literature. In fact, that is where much of the debate is likely to turn in the near future. Once the ideas gain acceptance (and, granted we are not all the way there yet but the Big Fish are close), attention must turn to implementation within the existing legal structure. And, for that, we are going to need some help. And, there you have it. A writing niche for me.
So, you'll probably be hearing a lot of that argument from me over the coming months and years.