I’ve been reading through the various blogs today, slowly letting the 1st day of 2007 pass by and trying not to strain myself too much. The coffee is great, the reading is excellent and I’m enjoying the beginning of my year. I’ve been keeping an eye on Bud the Teacher’s blog and Chris Craft’s OpensSource blog and I was struck by the idea that there are so many teachers who are trying to find a forum for discussion regarding pedagogy, curricula, teaching strategies, technology uses, format, new technologies and other such concerns as they begin their journey into the world of Web2.0 that maybe a space in the blogosphere that is a central hub, like a Wiki that will allow people to edit, add, delete and just gather information for further contact would be of some use. I chose the Gen Zext by combining Graham’s blog with Chris’s title, teaching the Z generation of learners. Really, does it matter what stage of teaching you are at? We are all entering the next “generation” of schools at the same time - maybe not at the same place on the continuum or with the same skills but the time, give or take 24 hours, is the same. Therefore, when I find useful information about podcasting or creating wikis or assessment or a flat classroom project, it would be available to anyone who wanted to look at it. As for the other “groups”, this is a personal decision about how one decides to conduct one’s life via the web. I’ve read Chris’s post and the comments on those posts and all of them are right for the person who is writing.
Individual Decision
For me, joining a group will ensure that I do invest time and effort in that group. It may also mean that I don’t take time to read and comment on other people’s blogs due to the time investment in the group. It may not mean this either;) Now, when I join a group, I usually am looking for people who are like minded - who see the world in a similar way as I do. Most groups of which I have been a member seem to fit this model. With that being the case, it is possible to have a diverse group of people as part of a group but not as likely as the former I think. What will happen here only time will tell. As Chris states
If this is going to work, why can’t it work easily? Is it really necessary to have all the discussion and back and forth we’ve had? Can’t we just put out a call for young teachers to come together and talk about what we’re doing in the hopes of connecting people?
With that, let’s see what happens and hopefully we’ll all find a place to brush off the dust, have a cool drink, rest our feet and then see how, together, we can continue to grow, learn and stretch.
Kelly
