Comments on: Riffing on Relevance

By: chris

chris — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 04:55:14 +0000

Jim– I think you ARE pushing things to the next level! I also think we are blessed with a lot of headroom right now technologically… now is the time we get to put it to practice and you are leading that charge. There will always be people reinventing wheels, making new and better wheels, and grasping after teleportation… but in the meantime there is a lot of other work to be done that the pure technologists just can’t do! So, continue your quest for world domination

Nancy– you really inspired me at NV and I have many thoughts brewing around some of your recent talks and blogs posts, particularly the idea of “looking over your shoulder.” I mentioned it in response to something Gardner posted recently and it is an exact phrase/idea I have often talked about in a similar context. So much can be learned so quickly that way… and I often wish I could just let the people I am working with watch over my shoulder for a few hours/days/weeks so they would “get it.” But more than that it builds the trust that enables the faith that allows people to take those first steps into social networks, communities of practice and learning, knowing that it will lead to walking and then the exhilaration of running. It’s all tied together in a way that is generating some much-needed excitement…

By: Nancy White

Nancy White — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 03:05:48 +0000

I just have to say, I love reading this interchange, following back to each person’s blog and filling a lovely Saturday night. It is technology, passion, love, persistence, stewardship and just damn fun!!

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 18:04:13 +0000

So, you don;t think I’m a raving lunatic

Wow, I’m relieved, more than that I am glad to hear that th technology may be there to push this stuff to the next level with what we already have. I am basically technically challenged, so I play and promote the least common denominator out of necessity, as much as enthusiasm,

What I am really thinking about after the Open Ed conference is the fact that a lor of people like yourself have already been imagining cheap, sustainable solutions for creating resources and active learning networks. After getting WPMu up and running, in large part from what I learned from all of you at NV2007, I kinda decided to concentrate on Nancy White’s idea of community building. Pick the tool, lives with the warts (as you say), but make sure students and faculty see the real possibilities of these tools. In all honesty, I have spent most of the last three weeks reading posts and comments on UMW Blogs, and replying and making communal connections. And guess what, I love it. It is a blast, and the technology is kinda just taking care of itself. It may break, but I’m sure it will be pretty easy to fix, and the system is easy enough that DTLT has not turned into a WordPress support shop. How can we argue with that kind of model. It costs us nothing, even if it fails.

Thanks for furthering my meager throught here Chris, see you in Vancouver