"Lessons from Geese" (jamsoun, 2006)

Running the risk of making this blog media heavier than it already is, I'm going to add an inspiring video entitled Lessons from Geese that Vicki pointed out in the current Electronic Village Online workshop, Blogging for Educators (message 419, 2008.01.21)

Lessons From Geese
Uploaded by jamsoun

(Dailymotion,
c. 2006)

Whether the lessons presented in that video are examples of collaboration or cooperation, they definitely are inspiring for groups of people working together. I can hardly wait to watch it again.

ELT notes: Achieving Sleep/Network Balance

Claudia has gone and done it (again). She really touched a nerve. In a post the other night, I had suggested that "commenting is the heart of blogging" (Edubloggers Learning Space, Blogging in Their Own Words, January 25, 2008). However, in ELT Notes, I find today, Claudia referred to much, much more in Achieving Sleep/Network Balance:

The blogger's time management is instrumental when we want to talk other teachers into the conversation. The first perception people have about publishing your thoughts is the amount of time it all must take. So true. I cannot say my blogging (by which I mean, reading, updating, tagging, commenting, analysing and synthesizing in posts) is an activity that can be done in, say, one hour a day. And there is family and health to take care of. And jobs. And why not a totally unrelated hobby (like dancing tango) that can make us feel good about being playful.

(ELT notes, October 21, 2007)

The notion of striving to achieve a sleep/network balance is fascinating, especially after an intensive week on the job (the week before finals) augmented either by staying up all night endeavoring with diminishing success to network effectively in multiple venues, through multiple media, across multiple time-zones; or by spending virtually equally restless nights dream-planning communications that are difficult to recall the next morning.

The weekend dawns and what Claudia calls posers remain: Turn off the computer and go do yoga, or put on eye-shades and hit the cold futon for a few hours before going back to networking? Excessive blogging: formative, playful, or serious; in the long run, just isn't sustainable or healthy. If you've read this far, it's time for you to take a break.

New Label Subsumes B4B

Yo! I've up and changed the labels that I use on this experimental blog. This post marks a turning point in the labels (or tags) that I use:

• From "b4b" - for Blogging for Beginners,
  
• To "b4b/b4e/lwc" - for all of the previous B4B posts, plus:
• New ones for Blogging for Educators, and possibly
• Residual or new posts earmarked for Learning with Computers.

Blogging Cmap (JPG image)

This post represents a Cmap of my current (and projected) blogging activities, exported as a JPG image (no active links), to illustrate - roughly - where, how, why, and for whom I blog:

(blogging080125gg.jpg)

If you click on the image (above), you can get a closer look. You may need to pan and scroll around to view the entire image.

I've got an IT Contest to attend in a few minutes, and exams to prepare afterwards. Then, when I get back to the drawing board, I intend to:

1. Add links to the blog header elements in the Cmap;
2. Simplify and enlarge the whole scheme;
3. Strive to post an interactive version.
   

Then maybe I'll have fresh goes with other mind-mapping tools that I've tried out already, to warm up for new courses next year (starting in April).