Our blog has been a bit quiet for the last few days because I did not have internet. Southern Ontario and the east coast of Canada and US have been hit by a huge ice storm. The storm raged for a few days which knocked down power lines and has devastated some communities. Attached is a picture of a tree limb that fell on a car parked in front of our home. Luckily, we had power but no internet, phone, or cable TV. Interestingly, when our system went down, I stood in the kitchen and just looked around, somewhat like a lost soul. The internet is so integrated into my daily life, I felt like part of me was missing. I do not want to say that I am “dependent” on the internet because that seems to have a negative connotation; rather, digital technology is just part of my day to day life. Wanting to check the progress of the storm, remaining current with the advisories from the government (re: power outages), and being able to check on family and friends were suddenly not available. Eventually, it dawned on me to switch my phone and IPad over to 3G which I did so I was semi “back in business.” But the experience reminded me how much my communication patterns have changed in just a decade. We need to be preparing teachers and students for 21^st century communication processes and patterns. For those of you who experienced this major ice storm, I hope that you are safe and that your home was not damaged. Clare