Brooklyn-based writer and producer Rachel Dretzin is an award-winning journalist and the brain behind PBS FRONTLINE’s “Digital Nation.” Rachel’s unanswered questions after creating her 2008 FRONTLINE documentary “Growing Up Online” provided the catalyst for Digital Nation. The project began as an interactive web conversation about the impact of digital technology on our lives. Site user stories helped shape the upcoming 90-minute Digital Nation documentary airing at 9 pm on February 2^nd on PBS. We sat down to talk with Rachel about the impact of internet technology on education and parenting.

On the Digital Nation site you have an “Old School vs. New School” quiz that helps people understand their beliefs about technology in education. What sorts of divisions have you seen?

There is a huge divide within schools–a huge cultural and generational divide between people who are embracing new technology and those who aren’t. There are a lot of schools concerned about liability and that’s the reason they are afraid of letting kids have access to the internet. Sites like Google and YouTube can be tremendous teaching tools, but schools are afraid kids will fall on some site and then the school will get sued. A lot of teachers feel constricted.

Digital media is a great way to get kids engaged but there are teachers who feel it’s contributing to a general loss of patience and perseverance

Because everything’s “now”?

Yes, this instant gratification. There’s a kind of reverence for a certain kind of learning. Some teachers feel more strongly that it’s important to be more contemplative in classes. But a huge number of teachers are going to be reaching retirement age so we’re going to be welcoming a new cadre of teachers.

You mean how teachers in today’s schools of education are on Facebook in class?

Yes, they’re now in their early 20’s so they grew up with technology–things are going to be different when they dominate the teaching profession.

How do you keep a balanced relationship with technology in your own family?

With my own kids–not that well! What I have going for me is that because I think about this stuff a lot I talk to my kids about it. That said, I have as much trouble as the next person unplugging–I’ve made a point that when I get home at 6:00 or 6:30 that’s sacred time. I don’t want people sitting around on screens. But I sometimes sneak into the other room to check my laptop! My husband and I find ourselves struggling more than our kids do, but I’ve decided to be transparent with the kids about it and talk about what’s of value and worth preserving.

The thing I’m most concerned about with my own kids is issues of attention. I’m not worried about addiction to video games or content on the net– they’re young so they’re not looking at porn–but I do worry are they not going to look people in the eye when they’re talking to them? Are they going to cut corners emotionally and in their social life because they can get away with saying things online that they can’t say face to face? Are they going to be texting when they are talking to someone?

What’s the number one thing you’re hoping people will take away from Digital Nation?

My measure of success is do people turn off the TV and argue amongst themselves for an hour? The goal isn’t to make people think the internet is good or bad, or even to give a list of ideas of how to manage it, but to start a conversation around what it means that in a very short time we’ve undergone a massive social revolution. We’re talking about internet addiction and keeping kids safe but are we talking value-wise about what is it we want to hold on to and what we want to leave behind?

We’ve also tried to build a Digital Nation web site that’s very rich and will hopefully be one of the places people can share stories and experiences.