Laura hit on the core connection between the picture and the David Warlick quote. The airplane is a piece of technology and, like its educational counterparts including weblogs and wikis, is nothing more than a tool. I see these technologies as vehicles (for lack of a better word) for creating new learning experiences, just like traveling on an airplane can transport you to a new place. I am not excited about the tool itself (airplanes, weblogs, or wikis for example), but what you can do with it (shining the light on real learning).

The one key point that Laura did not address was the bird. If you look closely (or even click on the picture), you will see a tiny bird. The bird is a metaphor, in my mind at least, for similar ways of doing what new technologies now leverage. For example, wikis (a new technology) allows for asynchronous writing collaboration, something that can be done through face-to-face (F2F) writing conferences. If opportunities exist, however, wikis can allow someone to collaborate across geographical boundaries (an American working with someone in South America) which is something that isn't easily possible with F2F conferencing. Similarly, an airplane can transport people through the air to new locations just like a bird can fly to a new place (not transporting people or happening as fast).

That's it...