I attended the Canadian Internet Forum's founding meeting.

Many of the well known Canadian Internet scholars were at this the first meeting of the Canadian Internet Forum (hash tag (#CIRAif). It was sponsored by the Canadian Internet Registry Authority. I spoke of the plain political stances represented in the issues that were coming out of this forum. Each statement of an issue or concern by Canadians could be matched by planks in our major political parties platforms.

I also spoke of the disconnect between high tech firms claiming that there is a labour shortage and the number of unemployed persons who know programming or have taken at least one course in computer programming in school. I also meantioned that I was teaching someone at work to program and he was doing a fine job in his middle age. Proving hopefully what I was saying about this labour market disconnect.

I also citicized the idea of pushing for school reform as outsiders to the educational system. I tend to think that Internet literacy is not too different from classical literacy, as in the end these are all reading and writing skills. Making the digital world out as a different skill set is a false strawman argument.

Motivation to learn was also questioned when I spoke outside the meeting room over coffee with another person who had commented on education and her access to university lectures online. She really believed that all classrooms should be online and that if one missed a class one should be able to attend via the web. I told her to read The University of Google.

The book The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It was recommended.

I mentioned in introducing my self as I began to make my comments that, I am a volunteer with Computers for Communities and another ITC community group that Computers for Commmunities recently partnered with, iSisters also made some comments at the fcrum.