Notes from poolside..

I'm in Bonner Springs kansas at a LaQuinta Inn with my family after the MACE MTI conference, watching my kid swimming in the pool outside. My wonderful wife and I are in the air conditioned lobby but our line of sight is perfect. As I watch him scamper and play with friends he just met, I think about Classroom 2.0 and the online teacher community. Was it like this for you, that when you were a kid, you could make the "five minute"friend easily simply by virtue of having a pool in common. It seemed to me that once I grew up and started a job, I became isolated accidentally and ten or fifteen years flew by before I noticed. Like dating after a divorce, making new friends becomes foreign and scary and the opportunity can sometimes rarely present itself. To me Classroom 2.0 is a pool and I can make the five minute friend with a chance they will become life-long intellectual playmates.

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Comment by Steve Hargadon on July 28, 2007 at 1:09pm: It sure has happened for you and me!

Comment by Ginger Lewman on July 28, 2007 at 2:11pm: I find that I make friends easier here because of the barriers I put up for myself in real life. Perhaps it's because with this electronic barrier, I have the control in how much time/committment I offer these friends. But as you've noted elsewhere, while ppl here are not truly friends, when we actually do meet in RL, we seem to be able to pick up conversation quickly and naturally without the traditional superficial chit-chat that humans use.

*incidentally, I'm glad we're not dogs--while I often find the chit-chat uncomfortable, I think it's much better than enduring literal dog-sniffing!*