Great About Me section! You'll be inspiring...thanks for being on the network!

Thanks for your contribution to my forum posting. I appreciate any ideas I can get. I had to laugh at your comment about university faculty. I know some who DEFINITELY fit in that category!

Like most places, CA has it's good and bad. Growing up here, it is hard to leave (all except for the housing prices). I've only been to NC once, but liked it. I've known many people who have considered moving there.

Thanks for your comment to my blog. I like the point about using the same tools, just in a different way (for different reasons.) Web 2.0 helps me, and probably a lot of other people, learn. For kids, Web 2.0 helps them do what comes naturally, express themselves and communicate with their peers. I think some of us might hold it against others if they don't get involved, but the fact of the mater is....we don't use tools when we don't see the value. Sometimes we don't see the value until we start to use them. We're a little more of a risk-taking group. I might give twitter a shot.....although I'm not sure who would want to keep track of me. (Maybe my husband....he thinks I lay around and do nothing all summer....he's only partially right.)

Hi Laura, so pleased that you found the link useful. There is so much out there and more coming along everyday that it is hard for any of us to keep up - makes it all the more exciting though - The never ending web learning story that often sets the adrenalin in motion.
I agree with you on the layout of the information - nice and easy, taking you quickly to those areas you select for further investigation. It is nice to find the simple amongst the complex.
Looking at your work it is amazing and such passion behind it. Congratulations and thanks for sharing your learning with me.

Hi Laura
Feel free to join our Secondlife & Croquet Users and Developers group !
SL/Croquet Developers/Users group

Laura,
Thanks for leaving a message on my blog. You asked about curiosity--what a great disposition to explore. Let's "ponder about it" together this year!

My gut level about curiosity is that it's the natural human state; if it's not there, something has blocked it. We need to work on removal of the blocks. (This sometimes may be beyond us, as basic needs have to be attended to first; hunger, poverty, and anxiety get in the way of being naturally curious. Curiosity could be conceived of as a rather high level, say, on something like Maslow's hierarchy of needs. What do you think?)

Thanks so much for your comments. Let's join thoughts and forces and be inquirers together.

I love the "etymology of curiosity" comment you sent, showing how curiosity is related to care and concern, and how there's both a negative and positive side to these can be "lived out." Yes, indeed! Keep your insights coming--and thanks!

I just had to say I've loved your replies over at education ning on improvements to ning!

Fascinating comments. Those are scary thoughts.

Hi Laura,

This didn't really belong to the discussion. On "sleep-inducing otherwise (very very tedious interface)". I have had to use a few VLE to support my teaching. Well, systematically, I choose to write my own webpages rather than use them ;-).

I don't know to what extent you are familiar with learning technologies. But most of the VLE are designed from a behaviorist approach to learning (more info in this student final paper. Behaviorism was born from a recognition of the need to introduce scientific practices into fields of social and psychological sciences. But let's face it, it has met success about exclusively in the context of animal studies. Skinner, the founder of behaviorism, was famous for training pigeons to learn specific behaviors through heavy repetition ;).

Moodle was a superb effort to implement the much more interesting constructivist approach to learning. It however remains a bit too difficult to use for the techno-phobic teachers. Hopefully, with the rapid technical progresses, we will soon see appear some learning environments that are both death easy to use and encourage engaging learning practices.

In the meantime, widgets offer a way to offer a bit more engagement within the current VLE systems ;).

Thanks for being my eyes and ears! I'll get on it!

Thanks for the heads-up on the advertising profile. I sent her a nice note letting her know what our policy is, and why I had to delete her account. I invited her to sign up again if she is interested in being part of the discussion on teaching and learning. :)

Hi Laura,
Thanks for the extra sleuthing - I did email Steve just before you left your comment for him.

On a site like this I feel that plagiarism that remains even after it is brought to someone's attention has to be deleted. I send him a nice email, explained my action, asked him to contact me and said that I would help him to find a community that is more suited to his circumstance.

Yes, Tassy is beautiful. Religion and Science is still challenging here, especially when you get into the depths of varied ways of reading sacred (and other) texts.

I appreciate your comment in the Dewey Group.

Speak soon.

Thanks for visiting my blog! Reading through your posts and your profile, it looks like you've done a significant amount of distance-learning/e-learning teaching. If you don't mind, I'd love to know how you got into it.

Wow! I have been an occasional follower of your various blogs, but I failed to understand that you are a widget maker. Very cool! I love widgets too!

Looking forward to learning from you! I'd love to start doing online teaching and am trying to find openings. Any ideas for me?

Laura:
You are right, I do appreciate that widget; it is just what I have been looking for and thanks!

Thanks a lot for the bumper sticker site...Yes lots of fun and importantly visually appealing

Thanks, Laura. I've been away from the network for some days because of a big project, and so I'm glad to have you looking out! Will check it out.

Unless I didn't look far enough, I am not sure I would do anything at this point. These folks from SameShow or WonderShare have pitched before and he seems to be doing the same thing--what I loved was finding a response to his post with some criticism of the product and the reference to a free solution instead. I'll keep a look out for more, and try to keep steering vendors into productive, not salesy, conversations! Thanks!

Thank you! It was through your comment on my blog post on eClassics that I found Classroom 2.0. Although I have not added to this community, I am trying to keep up with the posts, definitely learning a lot.
I enjoy your Fable of the Day!

OMSI is still going strong, Laura. In fact, it has a great big new building along the Willamette River (it used to be housed near the Zoo- maybe you went there, too, it is also lovely.)

Portland is such a lovely, easy-going city. I hear NC is beautiful too, and the air smells especially sweet there, Is that true?

Nice to have you as my friend, Laura. I enjoy reading your posts!

Hi Laura
Here is another term for our virtual classroom building from women who tech at http://www.womenwhotech.com/ - the digital ceiling

Laura, my grandfather is from Rovigo, and his parents are Verona... Italy is my life part.

Thanks in advance for accept.

Warm Regards from Brazil,

:)
=======================
Laura, mio nonno è da Rovigo, e dei suoi genitori sono di Verona ... L'Italia è la mia vita.

Grazie per accettare.

Cordiali saluti da Brasile,

:)

Laura, I live in Charlotte, N.C.