It was simply motivated by a desire to engage students more, and to make our education more relevant.

Every class is a little bit different. Some classes are relying primarily on a service, where you need a password to get to it. Some classes' teachers are using electronic text books as a resource - not as a primary tool but as a resource and then a lot of our classes are relying very heavily on simply free material that is available on the internet.

We're not trying to eliminate books. We love books.

One mother said that at 8 p.m. in her kitchen, she watched her son have a spirited exchange (online) with his classmates over the content of their homework -- those things just can't happen with paper and pencil.

We've always been pretty aggressive in use of technology and we have a history of taking risks.

When we see what blood we spill, we call out to the gods, but they have forsaken us. We shout to the ancestors; only the sound of the waters answers back. We are left to the mercy which we have for each other.