Dear Xylvia,
Evolution started as intelligent design - in this case my memories are bringing me way back in the past, to the very opening of an online Network that happened to turn into a genuine CoP - our famous Global Educators' Network, GEN, that attracted so many interesting types, experts reseachers, devleopers, lurkers and nerds. Most of you were located somewhere around the Fraser valley, but one day when this lifelong student did some never ending research online, she found her way to GEN, all the way from Denmark and the one & only Danish University of Education in Copenhagen. I had already read articles by Linda Harasim and many others in the field, but I had not much relevant ping pong back home at my own university, if any. With fumbling fingers, I started to write my first tentative message after several months of reading along; it was a totally long wind but apparently relevant posting - to my great pleasure, I had instant gratification as someone responded quickly -I was thrilled because this meant we were connecting synchronously (OK, I did have some previous experience with online community inertaction, but in Danish only, and mostly about pretty local matters. This was truly Global , and even more so, my repsondent was Cindy, alias Man Xin, a Chinese student at SFU! The story is long, very long indeed, perhaps a never ending personal narrative. But before I stop , I need to tell that I had obtained a study grant to visit people at UBC that was already planned before I joined GEN, and that I had no geographic knowledge of the Vancouver area, as an ignorant European. But suddenly I also fund out that a PhD student from my own university was also visiting SFU - Lars Birch Andreasen, just in case anyone still recall this kind and wise guy - So it was natural for me to visit the GEN group at SFU; where we had an unforgettable lunch in April 2000.
Ah, all those stimulation people and discussions, about each month a new GEN facilitator (kindly but competently scaffolded by our Sylvia, often seconded by our Frances) - always bringing in fresh air and cool ideas, critical viewpoints and espertise, on all goods from the table of online learning design, managenent, environments and strategie - with that little zest of word juggling, joking and spontaneous fun that can help overcome the online stiffness.
(to be continued, I'm the nostalgic type)
Sus in Denmark
PS Today, I still work and play around with constellations of different but interwoven online communities of learning practices, like Tapped In, Webheads in Action, CPsquare, Learning Times, Knowplace, The Nordic Voice, Dekita - connecting with tribes like bloggers, moodlers, skypers, Yahoos, googlers, podcasters, flickies, elggs, technoratis, elluminates, Horizon-Wimbas, breezers - you name it! No wonder I need to have two computers open, with three screens, and never need central heating open unless we get to minus ten C outdoor ...
