31 Day Challenge - Perpetual Blogging and Conflict with First Life

Britt Watwood suggested that I should post my response to his And On the Seventh Day post in my own blog; so here goes.

My response here constitutes a bit of a F2F conversation with Britt over coffee, but for the sake of the blogger community, I’ll reply. This also counts toward my meager participation in the 31 day challenge. :=)

As I walked to Starbucks with Britt, I started talking about thoughts I was having about the first 7 days of the 31 day challenge. I said that I felt like posting that the 31 day challenge is just that; 31 days of 24/7, non-stop commitment to blogging. The idea promotes the concept that you have to always be monitoring, reading and writing. I also said that since the challenge started just before last weekend and I chose to address a number of other personal time demands in my 1st life (yard, house, church, piping, etc.), that knocked two days out. My days have been busy with work issues and evenings this week have also had other time demands; suddenly I’m feeling stressed and most of 7 days behind. Britt then stopped me and said, “read my recent post”. The point is that Britt has already posted about several of the ideas I’ve been contemplating. I could accuse him of taking my ideas, but that’s not the case. Ideas are in the air. I think that’s why there are so many similar posts. When the time is right, forces present ideas and the first to snag them gets credit. This concept is not a new one. It is a thought that was shared with me by Jewett Campbell (a graduate school instructor), who’s father was an inventor. His father told him that “ideas are in the air”. Essentially, if you make contact with one, act on it quickly.

I’m getting the sense from this networked community that we are all struggling with balance in our lives. And, periodically, we recognize some of the issues raised by Britt in an earlier post as well as thoughts shared by Jeff Nugent about his fishing trip. The metaphor discussed there was the stream and ideas, blogs, twitter, etc. represented information constantly flowing down the stream. Jeff learned during is vacation that it’s OK to dip into the stream and then walk away for a while.

I’ll continue to look for threads of these ideas in other posts as we all begin to figure out our individual rhythm of participation and how to make this experience meaningful without creating unnecessary stress.

Bud

Play: the First Learning Experience

I know you don't have time to attend a class or workshop on some new technology or learning practice, but - for your own good, take a break to play.

Abbie in the Sandbox - Photo adapted from Flickr
Uploaded on August 28, 2007 by COmfH
licensed under Creative Commons ShareAlike 2.0.

Where have I been?

It's been a while since I've posted to this blog. I've been busy: playing. Well, more appropriately, I've been learning about many things, and this "creative play" has re-invigorated my contemplation about learning and helping others learn. Some time ago, Jeff Nugent suggested that learning begins in play and I thank him for his prompt, his shared interest in learning and his support which allows me the opportunities I have each day. Listen to some of my play.

Transferring knowledge gained during play:

The podcast link above is a bit of silliness created on a Macbook Pro, in an audio program called Garageband. The point here is that learning to use a new technology for an ultimately serious business such as education, can be fun. The acquisition of knowledge can be achieved by playing with tools and then transferring the knowledge gained to more meaningful ends. My ultimate goal is to be able to assist faculty in the use of such tools to create audio files and podcasts to meet their educational objectives. I also plan to work with my colleagues, Jeff Nugent and Britt Watwood to create informative podcasts and provide additional resources for our faculty.

Consider the following strategies for overcoming barriers to learning new technologies:

• Find and take time to explore something new to you: commit to no more than 15 minutes each day (you just might get inspired to keep working)
• Play - Have fun
• Laugh
  
• Learn in short, but regular segments (scaffolding)
• Eliminate risk – Don’t set out to create a masterpiece - experiment in a "sandbox" environment
  
• Ask questions: what will happen if I …?
• Take advantage of many free resources and people who are willing to help via the web
  
• Don’t be afraid to “break” anything
• Experiment with the intent to learn from failure as well as success
• Share your successes and failures with others
• Seek advice from others who have experimented with the technology or application you are learning
• Transfer learning from your personal fun experiments and projects to your professional work

I plan to study and share more of what I learn about the notion of learning through play, but right now, I want you to just go have some fun!

When Work and Learning Becomes Even More Fun

Today has actually been spent "working" and beginning to familiarize myself with the MacBook Pro. As part of my experimentation, I worked with basic recording in Garage Band. I've been learning about recording, saving and exporting in different formats, podcasting, etc. In addition, I'm flat out celebrating the experience by sharing a tune called Stool of Repentance. Enjoy!

This tune was composed by William Dixon, circa 1734. I first heard this tune played by Jim McGillvray, during a summer workshop with Donald Lindsay. I feel a very strong identity with this tune and I feel like I'm at fireside with William Dixon each time I play it.

On this recording, I am playing my new Scottish Smallpipe, made by John Walsh. This smallpipe comes with both A and D chanters and has adjustable drones. For information on this pipe, see http://www.hotpipes.com/walsh.html .

This recording was made on April 12, 2008 as I experimented with iTunes on my new MacBook Pro.

For more information about tune, scroll to Stool of Repentance at (more info.).

Invitation to Collaboratively Tell Our W2.0 Story

I was pleasantly surprised by Britt Watwood’s observations and posting about my current work and the creative process. I am inspired; and something is trying to come out.

The collaborative exploration of the web 2.0 environment in which I regularly participate with Britt, Jeff Nugent and other online colleagues, introduces me to new tools, access to resources, thoughts shared in blogs, tweets and conversations which continue to unfold across time and in various media formats; who would not be inspired (and periodically overwhelmed) by the creative opportunities within our grasp? My goal is to share this vision with our faculty and inspire them to invest time in similar explorations for their own teaching and learning practice.

Several months ago, Jeff Nugent nudged me in the direction of digital storytelling and provided a link to Allan Levine’s Fifty Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story. At the time, I was focused on a short-term goal and specifically wrestling with production issues in Camtasia; Fify Ways became option paralysis. Recently, Jeff has prompted me to consider attending a workshop on digital storytelling at the Center for Digital Storytelling. I’ve done some initial investigation and I am reviewing their handbook and other related resources and the creative juices are beginning to flow. This interest in digital storytelling seems to tie into my upcoming role as an observer in the CTE Teaching and Learning Institute. I have been asked to document highlights, faculty interaction, themes, etc., and identify opportunities for follow-up presentations and possible podcasts by participants. This request has inspired me to create a digital story. More correctly, it has inspired me to create opportunities for faculty participants to tell their own stories, both individually and collectively through tools like VoiceThreads, Google Docs and a Wiki.

As an experiment, I’ve created a VoiceThread with images which begin to speak to me about my typical work day. While editing this, it occurred to me that it is a story which is shared by many of us. So, in the open and collaborative spirit of Web 2.0, I invite you to go to that site and add your own comments, thoughts, questions, etc. Let’s see what story unfolds.

Use the embedded (small) view below or access larger VoiceThread directly

Note: I cannot take credit for all the images used in this story. Although most of the images were taken by me, several incorporate views of various web pages. I also want to acknowledge and thank those who have shared their vision and images through Flickr.

Time by Eirk: http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikvanhannen/537167308/

We Had the Best Sunset by Fort Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortphoto/875593611/

Less is More - Inviting the Next Conversation

When time is of the essence and information abounds, we all struggle with the desire to share exciting ideas and opportunities.

• Get attention
• Share idea
• Generate interest
• Explore next level

It might be worth a few minutes of your time to look at How to Get on TV - Be Zen! - Video Interview at NBC 11

Transparency Leads to a New View of Blended Learning

I recently had a few interesting and reflective Twitter exchanges with Wes Fryer, while he was attending a presentation. His Tweets were basically stating that the media being used to share ideas became a distraction in and of itself. The experience of overhead projector slides with 10 point type left him with the feeling that he was back in one of his 1980’s high-school classes. He reported (tongue-in-cheek) that he was somewhat relieved when the presentation was enhanced by PowerPoint and the use of a videotape. He also observed that he was the only person in the room who was taking notes (and Twittering) on a laptop, while all others were taking notes with paper and pen.

For the sake of fun and a bit of a reality check, I challenged Wes to flash-forward 20 years: 2028, and envision comments he might hear, such as: “Remember when Mr. Fryer actually carried a computer to the class?” This prompted a story by Wes, about his 8 year old son’s reaction to their viewing of some YouTube clips which promoted the Commodore 64 computer. His son could not believe that was ever “cutting edge technology”.

I’ve observed over the years that new technologies and contemporary design are always challenging and sleek in their own time. However, like Wes’s son, in a few years, I can hardly believe the thing I’m reviewing was ever “sleek,” “sexy,” or “cutting edge.”

New technologies usually capture our attention and cause us to focus on the tools. However, there seems to be a natural progression of our focus from tool to function (or promise) to transparency and back to tool again as its ability to meet our ever-growing demands begins to fade. I have long held that for technologies to be used effectively, they must become “transparent.” For a long time, I considered the telephone as an example. For most of us, the telephone became a part of our everyday experience and a means to communicate. As we integrated this into our life, it became transparent. This “transparency" represents the second step in the evolution of the use of a technology. It serves to accomplish a task or solve a problem, and in that capacity, it ceases to be an object of attention, but an extension of our lifestyle. When our needs for tools can no longer be served by our current technologies, we begin to notice them in light of their weaknesses. We seek new or improved tools to meet our new demands. It’s after we finally replace a technology that we look back and see it as clunky and wonder how we ever functioned with these early tools.

This notion of “transparency” is important as we incorporate technologies into teaching and learning; particularly in the online arena. For some time, I’ve heard the term “blended” being used to represent classes which incorporate some online resources. However, I argue that the focus of these “blended classes” is generally on a tool, such as Blackboard or a specific task. I now think that a real “blended” class arrives at that distinction when the mixture of delivery methods and tools becomes “transparent.” At this point, the focus is on learning and communication of ideas.

I suggest that embracing this transparency becomes a Personal Learning Style (PLS) and that learning can and does occur at any time and in any place. It is aided by a multitude of media and tools which can become so blended into our lifestyle that we accept them as part of our life. This notion is reflected by one of Britt Watwood’s students in his blog posting, Thick and Chunky Instruction, when she equated the “internet” and “oxygen” as co-equals - both necessary for life. What an exciting contrast to the experience in which the media that was being used to share ideas became a distraction.

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