Ann wrote:
>Loved
the reading lists-haven't even heard of some of them, but like Nancy
have been busy with other reading lately-but want to read some of
these. Nancy, maybe we could add a book share to the onlinefacil group?
Sure! We just need someone to ...um... ahem... facilitate it! :-) This comes back to a technical affordance. If we had some shared tagging pratices, we could use tags to connect all these conversations. Tags and RSS -- still early adopter stuff, but the ideas are powerful!
Nancy White
Posts made by Nancy White
>From Debriefing Potpouri . . . by derekc on Saturday, June 03, 2006 1:24:00 AM:
Fractured Attention
Nancy?
haha. Yes, my head explodes regularly. You should see my desk, what a mess.
Actually, one of the challenges and joys of online life is we can read quickly. We have a lot of discretion on how we choose to "listen." We can try to be in all the conversations. But how often are we truly listening to all of them?
I find I often "listen" with half an "ear." My attention is partially here, partially on the stack of work that sits in front of me. If I gave it more attention, my informal learning might be deeper, and more fruitful. As a bumblebee style person, that is a challenge!
It is possible that when we identify a thread that resonates for some of us, we invite ourselves to slow down and go deeper. pay more attention. Maybe miss something in another thread. With informal learning, we have the power to do that, but I'm not sure we've developed the practice.
How do we say "slow down" and what does it mean? Does it put out the campfire, or let the wood burn to coals so we can really roast those marshmallows?
Fractured Attention
Nancy? haha. Yes, my head explodes regularly. You should see my desk, what a mess.
Actually, one of the challenges and joys of online life is we can read quickly. We have a lot of discretion on how we choose to "listen." We can try to be in all the conversations. But how often are we truly listening to all of them?
I find I often "listen" with half an "ear." My attention is partially here, partially on the stack of work that sits in front of me. If I gave it more attention, my informal learning might be deeper, and more fruitful. As a bumblebee style person, that is a challenge!
It is possible that when we identify a thread that resonates for some of us, we invite ourselves to slow down and go deeper. pay more attention. Maybe miss something in another thread. With informal learning, we have the power to do that, but I'm not sure we've developed the practice.
How do we say "slow down" and what does it mean? Does it put out the campfire, or let the wood burn to coals so we can really roast those marshmallows?
A couple of more things to add to the technical pot:
The challenge of the site timing out if you spend a long time composing - this is true with many web based tools. I have the problem of "thinking with my fingers" too so now I sometimes crudely compose in word or in a blank email.
Greg wrote:
Elhanan wrote:
This is my first time here too. Despite the representation of the "unread threads", I've found it hard to navigate between the different topics discussions. Adding the?Tagging" function might be useful as well as using visual collaborative conceptual mapping tools such as the FreeMind OPS.
Derek wrote:
From Debriefing
Potpouri . . . by derekc on Saturday, June 03, 2006 1:24:00 AM:
I take Christie's point about structure. But how is it constraining? I cannot
actually see any different structure within the constraints of Moodle. This is
not more than just a typical threaded discussion - with Marginalia (which I
have come to love. We have freedom to start new threads. This leads to wild
west at times. But it is MUCH better than being locked down as in another
Moodle interaction area I am a member of.
Does anyone know of a tagging plug in for Moodle? Or can we play with the Marginalia plug in Derek mentions below?
Christie wrote:Oh gak, I just wiped out
another reply by clicking away from this page. Add that to the list of things
that I really dislike that this site based structure along with the session
time out problem. I tend to "think through my fingers" when I'm
creating a posting and time slicing those thoughts while doing my
"real" job and that can take a long time.
The challenge of the site timing out if you spend a long time composing - this is true with many web based tools. I have the problem of "thinking with my fingers" too so now I sometimes crudely compose in word or in a blank email.
Greg wrote:
Are
nested threads possible so that I could look at a subtopic or topic to review
the context of various postings?
In moodle, near the top left, you have three ways
to view the discussion: nested, chronological and threads (with just the
headlines showing)
I would like to add my suggestion of searching threads by key words (or maybe we can & I just didn't know?) I've been going back to the home page and clicking from there. David's notes have helped (really appreciated that, David!!!).
You can search forums for key words now - the box is in the upper right. What there isn't, as far as I can find, a facility for tagging posts. That is in my dream list.
Jay wrote:
I want
graphics as well as text. I want multiple channels, not linear text. (Has
anyone else here read The Alphabet vs. the Goddess?) I want to break free of
hierachical discussion. Our campfire died out.
Can you point to some examples so we can see the
vision in your head? I have been struggling to find ways to seamlessly float
across channels with groups that are not early adopters and I have been
challenged. i'd love to see pointers or sketches of dreams.
How does the forgetting curve interact with the online affordances we have for informal learning? Like the ability to come back to this thread (which I had, yes, forgotten) and relive it? Or how the overflow of input I get online seems to make me forget faster?
It's like heaven and hell all rolled into one. Will our online lives be essential to informal learning? For some?
It's like heaven and hell all rolled into one. Will our online lives be essential to informal learning? For some?
I don't know if y'all felt yourself channeled into a conversation, but I was deep into this topic of the boundaries between training and learning, and the tension between formal expectations but informal learning needs with some colleagues. I brought up this conversation. Derek, your point about training was a really useful "handle" for me in the conversation. So in my re-reading wanderings, I wanted to leave a trail of thanks.
One of the downsides of informal learning is we often don't do the sorts of follow up or "evaluation" (take that term lightly, please), including thanking those that allowed us to learn. So this seemed like my chance to add that to my informal learning, rather than leaving it off the radar screen.
One of the downsides of informal learning is we often don't do the sorts of follow up or "evaluation" (take that term lightly, please), including thanking those that allowed us to learn. So this seemed like my chance to add that to my informal learning, rather than leaving it off the radar screen.