I'm sure, like all of you, there were many different points in the discussion last night that inspired you to think further and join-up or re-join some dots in your practice.
However, as my thoughts wandered last night, I found myself being drawn back to a comment Iris made - about how, through the Skype conversation, she had learnt that she was a much better communicator 'in person' and she was struggling with the format of the Skype discussion. We all have to acknowledge that as a way of communicating it is a little disjointed - leading to stops-and-starts in the flow of the conversation. In a real-world conversation we recognise the cues in each others faces and body language - How they are responding to what we are saying before we finish - Do they need more information? - Do they want to add thoughts of their own? - Are they interested at all? We adjust the flow, dynamics and emphasis accordingly. It is the rhythms we create that causes the conversation to build, bouncing ideas, developing greater concepts than our original statements - Sometimes allowing ideas to multiply leap-frogging in new directions, whisking-up our ideas and creating new exciting connections (different for all of us depending on our perspective (Moon 2004)) but capable of triggering new paths of enquiry of even shifts in preconceived areas of 'knowing' - This rhythm and flow is like a dance, where, because of understood frameworks we know when to lead, when to follow, when to connect and how this relationship develops creativity.
This led me on to thinking about Adesola's Blog 'Learning Domains and MAPP', particularly with reference to 'Knowing Knowledge' (Siemens 2006). Siemens' theories are seductive and compelling, the two-way flow of knowledge will inevitable change, not just the hierarchy of Knowledge distribution but also the shared experience of knowledge that forms the foundation for how we position of ourselves in society and culture, leading to a freeing of traditional boundaries both physical and metaphysical.
'We do not consume knowledge as a passive entity that remains unchanged as it moves through our world and our work. We dance and
court the knowledge of others—in ways the original creators did not
intend. We make it ours, and in so doing, diminish the prominence
of the originator.' (2006)
However by Siemens own admission, we are not there ye -, we stand with our feet in two worlds - a knowledge system designed for an industrial era and a new emerging system designed for tomorrow (2006).
So this brings me back to our discussion and how the tools we have with Skype and Blogs are not yet equal to the skills we innately have for communication, connectivity and idea growth - actual real life conversation. As we stand on the bridge between the old and new world, we can not reject the new, as this would be counterproductive - After-all it is the generation of these tools that allow us to study on a course like this, from wherever we are, sharing in a learning process that would be otherwise just available to those who have the means, time and finances to be physically present in the space. What we can do is try to make the new forms of conversations be as productive as possible?
I wonder if it is possible to all share some tips on what makes the connection work more effectively - I began to think about this and here are a couple of the ideas and actions I have started with;
- I have begun to follow you all (not added you all yet but getting there)
This is easier if you have a follow button on your page but can be done though our own dashboards 'reading list' 'manage reading list' 'add'
Following doesn't quite give the experience I want (an alert on my phone every time one of you posts, so I can engage with it in real time wherever I am) - I still need to actively check my reading list to find your post, but at least all new posts are there for me to check on.
- Posting a photo in my profile
For me there was a huge difference last night between those that spoke who had a picture posted and those who spoke without a picture - I emotionally engaged with the speaker and it was somehow easier to connect - I am guilty of not having a picture but will edit that today.
As an extra idea to this I wondered if we could change these pictures before each conversation - allowing the visual to say something about where we are 'emotionally or conceptually' with our learning process or just in life itself?
I would be really happy if any of you would comment on any ideas, tips and tricks, that help you connect to each other, whether this is a practical 'know how' idea or an emotional idea that helps us to 'know' each other better.
At the end of last night discussion I said I was going to look at the strands that ran though my learning - for me facilitating communication was important. Though this blog post I have learnt that I facilitate communication between others because it is really important in my learning - I struggle to learn when I don't feel connected, which I think is what Iris was saying last night!
- Siemans G - Knowing Knowledge - Lulu.com, 2006
- Moon J - A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning - Routledge 2004