Calvin Ball, hybrid plants, and the Golden Rule

Stages...new stages in learning. Is there a stage a developmental psychologist could name and describe for what we go through with participation in Classroom 2.0 and Web 2.0 activities? World networking--what does it do to us?

To me, it's qualitatively different from anything else I've done. It's a plunge, a dive into a type of connectedness never previously imagined. It's thoughtful participation in a much larger whole, a whole that generates questioning, exploration, discovery. Participation of this sort generates energy. It's like physical exercise: the more you do it, the more you can do it. It's participation in a sport in which the teams and rules of the game keep changing. Who would know that such a thing could be so satisfying, challenging, and fun?! (Any Calvin and Hobbes fans out there? This is pretty high-level Calvin-ball!)

The thinking isn't individualistic: a seed is planted, it becomes a hybrid tree that takes on its own character, absorbing and regenerating energy. Branches spread out, elongate; roots go deeper and find new sustenance, and constantly the plant is changing and adapting. The plant's environment is changing, too, and branches of the trees can actually join on to other trees' branches, redefining the nature of tree-ness. Good heavens, it's weird. But thrilling! And it all happens so fast.

I would suggest that what really makes Classroom 2.0 work is the positive orientation of its participants. We're working to make others succeed, and through this, we become part of the success. Here we have a dynamic actualization of golden rule. We learn, we share, we learn more. We support each other's endeavors, and constantly question all that we're doing, grappling with the Purpose of Things. These things, to me, make up the essence of Classroom 2.0.

Do you notice yourself changing, through participation in Classroom 2.0, and Web 2.0 activities? Has your world view changed? Has your view of learning changed?