Ok, I am thinking out loud here.
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?
I see us reaching two distinct groups, 1) the international crowd, both Americans teaching internationally and non-American teachers both here and abroad and 2) new and preservice teachers.
I think this manifests as an audiocast where a few of the folks in the network come together and talk about what we’re up to.
We have also talked about a team blog, and I am leaning towards one that aggregates automatically from our existing blogs (provided the url is already entered into the team blog and it matches a predetermined category) to provide a central place for discussion about the next generation of teaching and learning.
Brought down to this basic level, is it really all that bad? There really is (nor ever was) a formal membership, outside of the loose-knit chit-chatting we’ve done so far, and we would not exclude anyone from the conversation in the form of comments and audiocast participation. The team blog would consist of folks that are a part of the organizing of this network, what Downes calls the community of practice. Would we include folks in the team blog that were over 40? I dunno. Haven’t thought about it yet. Truth is, all the folks I’ve been talking to and hashing this out with happen to be around 30. Is that intentional? No, but I do not think it is coincidence that it happened that way.
Are we promoting divisiveness? I don’t believe so. I think we’re just a bunch of folks eager to share the amazing things going on in this crop of new and young teachers. At least, that’s my heart in this.
I spent a lot of time vision casting this months ago, and it is not wasted time, but it looks to me like that falls under the unity category of groups, which appears to be inconsistent with where we’re headed. I have articulated common values previously, and that will be the binding force.
I am hoping once the other folks get back from vacation in other countries they will chime in.
Tom Barrett says:
Hi Chris – no holidays for me so here I am! Just picked up your skype details, Please let me know what I can do to help with the NextGen project.
Ever since I have been teaching I have not been able to find any decent professional development opportunities for myself. I am personally driven by the use of technology in my classroom and in my school. But since I have started blogging there seems so much to learn.
Hope I can help.
Happy new year
Tom
31st December 2006 at 3:44 pm
Mrs. Durff says:
Hey, I’m over 40! Include me!!!!!
31st December 2006 at 4:58 pm
Doug Belshaw says:
I agree, Chris – less theorising, more action! Let’s all blog about where young teachers who want to make a difference using technology can go. We can go from there, moving forward on the discussions we have.
31st December 2006 at 7:33 am
Kelly Christopherson says:
How about a place where all teachers can go who want to make a difference? As many of us try to get into the blogosphere and find place to discuss pedagogy, curricula, teaching methods, technology use and changing the landscape, it would be beneficial and expedient to direct interested parties to partake if they so wish. Where would information regarding the discussion be posted? How will you spread the word?
Kelly
31st December 2006 at 12:42 pm
Generation Zext » Educational Discourse says:
[...] 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 eithe 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? [...]
31st December 2006 at 5:02 pm