just playful, I think

Web 2.0; Classroom 2.0. I can see an impressionistic fabric being created. Pretty chaotic. Pretty. Chaotic. Back up; it makes sense.

Shapshot pictures, ourselves; the snapshots drift backwards, recede into the background, only to be shown to be part of a much larger whole, say a piece of color on the edge of a cruiseship.

Then the cruiseship becomes a teeny tiny patch of pixels in a portrait of someone's eye, or the universe, or any sort of thing, in whatever direction you want to go. As in the children's books Zoom and Re-zoom.

What are we a part of? There are so many creative writers on this network. Can you share some images, some poetry or prose about the changing of, shall we say, "world mindfulness"?

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Permalink Reply by Connie Weber on May 19, 2007 at 9:53am

Hi Skip,
The poem is beautiful.
Alongside all this new techno-learning, we need to get to the heart of the matter, which isn't technology at all, but is expression of one's being, on earth.
I share this aversion to having an effluvial life. I constantly experience an anxious, pleading, nagging, demanding urge to create, to not shed exhaust, rather, to share.
I am my happiest bringing out the creativity in others, helping them to express, to come forward from the heart, the center of one's expressive nature. I think that's why you shared the poem--we have to share the poetry of ourselves, whether through poetry or any other form of connected communication.
Thanks, Skip. This provides a pause for thinking.
Wish we could get the poets of Classroom 2.0 to share their work--and their favorite works--more.

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Permalink Reply by Connie Weber on May 19, 2007 at 10:32am

The question seems to be, what has group meaning? The poem you posted is about the need for creativity in life. That seems to me to go perfectly with Classroom 2.0, along with rapidfire techno-learning. Steve's site deserves the balance the poem is calling for: poetry (or poetry as metaphor for other expressions) in life.
Geekiness has its soft side. You can see it by looking at members' blogs. What I want is for people to post "images and metaphors for learning in this new age" as forums. What are some images for the new kinds of learning the people in Classroom 2.0 are immersed in? What are we involved in? Creative images should be part of the mix. That's why I think Classroom 2.0 is the place for this.

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Permalink Reply by Mr. Parisi on May 30, 2007 at 9:04pm

Connie: I actually met the author of Zoom when I worked as a CDROM developer. I love his books! He is a great guy too. I wanted to turn his book into a children's game but the company I was working for didn't share my vision. I'm not a poet but here are two poems I wrote for a class I took on the greenbelt.

The Day

A blazing red sun lifts the sky.
Wondrous creatures begin to cry
Leaves rustle rhythmically at my feet.
Sweat rolls off my brow from the heat.
Banter is plentiful on the trail.
Could this be the Holy Grail?
We march in unison with a thud.
I bounce and jump to avoid the crud. The sky darkens as night nears.
Soon I’ll be home with my dears.

Poison Ivy

The dance begins as I set out to walk the earth. I dart from spot to spot trying desperately not to engage my foe. My foe is smart and hides well. It sneaks up on me. It’s everywhere……. Its shiny leaves beckon to be touched. The coarseness of its roots commands to be stroked. I know better, for its wrath I have felt.

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Permalink Reply by Connie Weber on May 31, 2007 at 5:40am

Frank, thanks for sharing the poems!
Don't drop your wonderful idea of turning the Zoom books into a children's game. It's is a winning concept: go for it!! Have you played the game Zoombinis? To me, that game stands as a model of one of the best logical thinking game for children. It's imaginative and intriguing. Maybe Zoombinis' game-producing group would work with you to get your idea out.
By the way, have you seen Zoom's author's latest book, The Other Side? Banyai once again makes looking at pictures an intellectual enterprise. My class was absolutely thrilled with the process of interpreting meanings in the pictures and their sequence.
That must have been a blast, to meet Banyai!

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Permalink Reply by Kevin on May 30, 2007 at 11:31pm

I'm loving this fabric for the same reasons that kids and adults like myspace. We can share and bring our personalities with us.

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Permalink Reply by Connie Weber on May 31, 2007 at 5:47am

Kevin, I know just what you mean. I was describing to my son what I like about Classroom 2.0. We were talking about FaceBook (his network) and CR2.0 (my network), and finding that through our participation we're experiencing a new feeling of validating connectiveness. Both of us now find group emails to be "flat," not multi-dimensional and open.

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Permalink Reply by Carolyn Foote on May 31, 2007 at 2:56pm

I wrote a post about a metaphor like this a few days ago at my blog...

I was spinning off of a photo that Christian Long had posted of School 2.0 Airlines, and positing we are on a flight, destination somewhat unknown....

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Permalink Reply by Ken Pruitt on May 31, 2007 at 6:11am

http://tipline.blogspot.com/2007/05/photosynth-demo.html

From Jim Gates' Blog...Watch the fabric weaved before your eyes. What will we be doing in just 5 years???

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Permalink Reply by Connie Weber on May 31, 2007 at 10:36am

Ken,
Wow--that is certainly relevant and awe-inspiring! I showed my class the TED video on Photosynth. Too much! What WILL we be doing in 5 years--or even 6 months from now?!
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/129
Thanks!!

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Permalink Reply by Linda on May 31, 2007 at 2:19pm

Wow, it is a treat to watch you all wax profound (profoundly?) on this subject. Now it is my turn to throw a monkey wrench into this. (As I age, I have flashes of "old fartness" as one of our school's tech people said today.) My question, simply stated is, "Is this real communication?" I can't see your face (you could all be well trained dogs typing this from your kennel or robots on the planet Smurf for all I really know) or gather cues from your expression, vocal modulations, or body language. If we get people--kids, adults, world leaders--believing that on line communication is real communication or that it can substitute equally for face to face what will be lost? Do we want to lose it? Should I be e-mailing my spouse or my children rather than talking to them? How can facebook or myspace replace the purr of my cat or the smile of a baby? You all should be ashamed of yourselves for getting me talking like this. Trust me, if I were seeing you face to face I would not rant and rave like this.

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Permalink Reply by Carolyn Foote on May 31, 2007 at 2:55pm

Linda,

In reading your response I think of 100 years ago, when people wrote long long letters as their means of communicating. So much of the historical documentation we have is in those pondering, descriptive letters (perhaps much like a blog). People didn't necessarily see their family on the frontier for years, if ever again, yet kept in touch and knew each other through their writing.

I don't believe it is always necessary to see one another physically to communicate and create a connection.

Is it really an either or? Can't you email your spouse and talk to them too?

Is anyone asking someone to sacrifice the smile of their baby and replace it with Facebook?

I know this may have been a little bit of a satiric post, but I feel like we can't make using technology an "either/or" situation.

Is it easy to go overboard--yes, of course. But what an avenue we have now for meeting and sharing with people who share our profession that we just didn't have five years ago.

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Permalink Reply by Ken Pruitt on May 31, 2007 at 4:35pm

I have a wonder life off the computer and thanks to flickr and my family blog, the people I have never met before can see that. In fact my boy is screaming his head off right now...ahh real life :)